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 distant 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 join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Brigham Young University - Provo. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Provo.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BYU are $6,120 per year.
BYU excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools list.
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Out of the 243 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Pembroke landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the distant town of Pembroke, UNC Pembroke is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
UNC Pembroke undergraduate students pay an average of $7,495 in tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - River Falls is a great value for physics students. UW - River Falls is a moderately-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.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - River Falls is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools list.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a great value for physics students. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a large student population.
SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Wyoming came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools ranking. Located in the town of Laramie, UW is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UW undergraduate students pay an average of $16,957 in tuition and fees each year.
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Western Illinois University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools ranking. 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 ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. SRU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Slippery Rock.
SRU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,615 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, SRU is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools list.
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With a ranking of #9, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. UW - Eau Claire is a fairly large public school located in the small 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.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Eau Claire is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools list.
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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 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.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - La Crosse is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools list.
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East Tennessee State University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. Located in the small city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ETSU are $12,740 per year.
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Edinboro University of Pennsylvania landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. Edinboro is a small public school located in the fringe town of Edinboro.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Edinboro are $15,062 per year.
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With a ranking of #13, Clarion University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. Clarion University is a small public school located in the 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 came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools ranking. Located in the town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Whitewater are $16,602 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Whitewater also did well on our Best Physics Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #15, Southern Arkansas University Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. Southern Arkansas University Main Campus is a small public school located in the town of Magnolia.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southern Arkansas University Main Campus are $14,530 per 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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With a ranking of #16, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. East Stroudsburg University is a medium-sized public school located in the city of East Stroudsburg.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at East Stroudsburg University are $19,797 per 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 school with a small student population.
CNU undergraduate students pay an average of $27,790 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, CNU also is in the top 15% of our Best Physics Schools ranking.
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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.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LHU are $20,702 per year.
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University of North Alabama did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #19 on the list. UNA is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Florence.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNA are $20,220 per year.
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University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. Located in the distant town of Stevens Point, UW - Stevens Point is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stevens Point are $17,035 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Stevens Point is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools list.
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University of Akron Main Campus came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools ranking. University of Akron Main Campus is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Akron.
University of Akron Main Campus undergraduate students pay an average of $11,880 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #22, University of Houston did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. Located in the 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 landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year.
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University of Minnesota - Morris ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools list. Located in the remote 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.
UMN Morris also claimed a spot on our Best Physics Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #25, University of Wisconsin - Parkside did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. UW - Parkside is a small public school located in the midsize 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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