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Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

16 Colleges
$29,954 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$55,327 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physics School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, physics was ranked #69 in the country. In fact 13,674 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in the Plains States Region 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.

2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Physics Colleges.

Top 10 Best Physics Schools

$15,940 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named University of Minnesota - Morris the best value school in the Plains States Region for physics students. Located in the town of Morris, UMN Morris is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UMN Morris are $15,940 a year.

Read full report on Physics at University of Minnesota - Morris

$18,165 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Wichita State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Wichita, WSU is a public school with a large student population.

WSU undergraduate students pay an average of $18,165 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Physics at Wichita State University Report

$16,498 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Missouri State University - Springfield. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region list. Missouri State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Springfield.

Missouri State undergraduate students pay an average of $16,498 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Physics at Missouri State University - Springfield

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region list. Iowa State is a very large public school located in the small city of Ames.

Iowa State undergraduate students pay an average of $25,446 in tuition and fees each year.

Iowa State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Physics at Iowa State University Report

The excellent programs at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMN Twin Cities are $33,818 per year. After completing their degree, physics graduates from UMN Twin Cities carry an average student debtload of $24,600.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UMN Twin Cities also did well on our Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Physics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Winona State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Winona.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Winona State are $16,684 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Winona State also is in the top 15% of our Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

Read full report on Physics at Winona State University

University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. UMN Duluth is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Duluth.

UMN Duluth undergraduate students pay an average of $19,148 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Physics at University of Minnesota - Duluth

$30,570 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, University of Missouri - St Louis did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. UMSL is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

UMSL undergraduate students pay an average of $30,570 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Physics at University of Missouri - St Louis Report

University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Mizzou is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Columbia.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mizzou are $30,450 per year. Physics majors at Mizzou take out an average of $22,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Mizzou also did well on our Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Physics at University of Missouri - Columbia Report

#10

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

University of Iowa ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa are $31,905 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Iowa also did well on our Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Physics at University of Iowa

Best Physics Colleges by State

Explore the best physics colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 134
Minnesota 236
Kansas 84
Iowa 141
Nebraska 69
North Dakota 23
South Dakota 24

More Physics Rankings in the Plains States Region

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 16 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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