2023 Best Value Physics Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Physics School for You
In 2020-2021, 13,674 people earned a degree or certificate in physics, making the major the #69 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Physics Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 243 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best value experiences for physics students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality in Physics
Our analysis found Brigham Young University - Idaho to be the best value school for physics students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. BYU - I is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the town of Rexburg.
BYU - I undergraduate students pay an average of $4,416 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Provo. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Physics Schools list. BYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Provo.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BYU are $6,120 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, BYU also did well on our Best Physics Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. Located in the town of Pembroke, UNC Pembroke is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UNC Pembroke are $7,495 a year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - River Falls. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public school located in the town of River Falls.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - River Falls are $15,661 per year. While working on their degree, physics majors at UW - River Falls accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.
UW - River Falls also claimed a spot on our Best Physics Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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The excellent programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in the United States. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUE are $11,496 per year.
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University of Wyoming landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. Located in the town of Laramie, UW is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW are $16,957 per year.
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Western Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #7 on the list. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WIU are $13,297 per year.
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Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #8 on the list. SRU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Slippery Rock.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SRU are $14,615 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, SRU also is in the top 20% of our Best Physics Schools ranking.
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University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. UW - Eau Claire is a large public school located in the city of Eau Claire.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Eau Claire are $17,149 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Eau Claire also is in the top 10% of our Best Physics Schools ranking.
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University of Wisconsin - La Crosse did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the small city of La Crosse, UW - La Crosse is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - La Crosse are $18,014 per year. Physics majors at UW - La Crosse take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - La Crosse also did well on our Best Physics Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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East Tennessee State University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
ETSU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,740 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #12, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. Edinboro is a small public school located in the town of Edinboro.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Edinboro are $15,062 a year.
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Clarion University of Pennsylvania ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. Clarion University is a small public school located in the remote town of Clarion.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Clarion University are $16,052 a year.
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University of Wisconsin - Whitewater did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the distant town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public college with a large student population.
UW - Whitewater undergraduate students pay an average of $16,602 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Whitewater also is in the top 15% of our Best Physics Schools ranking.
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Southern Arkansas University Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #15 on the list. Southern Arkansas University Main Campus is a small public school located in the town of Magnolia.
Southern Arkansas University Main Campus undergraduate students pay an average of $14,530 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that physics majors at Southern Arkansas University Main Campus take out is $23,000.
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East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. East Stroudsburg University is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of East Stroudsburg.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at East Stroudsburg University are $19,797 a year.
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Christopher Newport University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Newport News, CNU is a public college with a small student population.
CNU undergraduate students pay an average of $27,790 in tuition and fees each year.
CNU excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools list.
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Lock Haven University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the distant town of Lock Haven, LHU is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at LHU are $20,702 a year.
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University of North Alabama came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools ranking. UNA is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Florence.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UNA are $20,220 a year.
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University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. Located in the town of Stevens Point, UW - Stevens Point is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
UW - Stevens Point undergraduate students pay an average of $17,035 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Stevens Point also is in the top 20% of our Best Physics Schools ranking.
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University of Akron Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #20 on the list. University of Akron Main Campus is a large public school located in the city of Akron.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 per year.
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University of Houston did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the large city of Houston, UH is a public college with a very large student population.
UH undergraduate students pay an average of $21,891 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, physics graduates from UH carry an average student debtload of $25,399.
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Northern Illinois University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
NIU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,738 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Minnesota - Morris landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. Located in the town of Morris, UMN Morris is a public college with a small student population.
UMN Morris undergraduate students pay an average of $15,940 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UMN Morris also is in the top 20% of our Best Physics Schools ranking.
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University of Wisconsin - Parkside ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. UW - Parkside is a small public school located in the suburb of Kenosha.
UW - Parkside undergraduate students pay an average of $15,714 in tuition and fees each year.
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Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great value schools for Physics students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Physics Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 37 | Stockton University | Galloway, NJ |
| 39 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg, TX |
| 40 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 41 | Georgia Southern University | Statesboro, GA |
| 42 | University of South Florida - Main Campus | Tampa, FL |
| 43 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI |
| 44 | Oklahoma State University - Main Campus | Stillwater, OK |
| 45 | SUNY Geneseo | Geneseo, NY |
| 46 | Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago, IL |
| 46 | Cleveland State University | Cleveland, OH |
| 46 | University of Nevada - Reno | Reno, NV |
Physics by Region
View the Best Value Physics Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Physics Rankings
Majors Related to Physics
Physics is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Physics
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | 21,239 |
| Geological & Earth Sciences | 7,821 |
| General Physical Sciences | 3,823 |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics | 1,375 |
| Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology | 1,140 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to A. T. Service.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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