2023 Most Popular Physics Schools
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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Physics Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 956 schools in the United States to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Physics program at each school on the list.
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2023 Most Popular Physics Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Physics Colleges.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools in Physics
Our analysis found University of Washington - Seattle Campus to be the most popular school for physics students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public college with a very large student population.
On average, physics graduates from UW Seattle take out $15,799 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $456.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Schools list. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.
On average, physics graduates from UCSB take out $17,525 in student loans while working on their degree.
Read full report on Physics at University of California - Santa Barbara
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Physics Schools list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
On average, physics graduates from UC Berkeley take out $15,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
Read full report on Physics at University of California - Berkeley
Out of the 956 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public college with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at University of Arizona take out is $25,653.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Colorado Boulder. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Schools list. Located in the city of Boulder, CU - Boulder is a public school with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, physics majors at CU - Boulder accumulate an average of around $21,750 in student debt.
Read full report on Physics at University of Colorado Boulder
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular physics programs. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.
After completing their degree, physics graduates from UW - Madison carry an average student debt load of $18,551.
Read full report on Physics at University of Wisconsin - Madison
New York University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Schools list. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
On average, physics graduates from NYU take out $23,500 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $564.
With a ranking of #8, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Physics majors at UCLA take out an average of $21,100 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on Physics at University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - Irvine ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Schools list. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the large city of Irvine.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at UC Irvine take out is $20,814. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $201.
University of Rochester did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for physics students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Rochester, University of Rochester is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Physics majors at University of Rochester take out an average of $19,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for physics students. It came in at #10 on the list. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.
On average, physics graduates from U-M take out $21,250 in student loans while working on their degree.
Read full report on Physics at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
With a ranking of #12, Massachusetts Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, physics graduates from MIT carry an average student debt load of $15,269.
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Schools list. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Columbus.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at Ohio State take out is $26,000.
The University of Texas at Austin landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular physics programs. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.
Physics majors at UT Austin take out an average of $21,533 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $193, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
With a ranking of #15, University of Maryland - College Park did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Physics majors at UMCP take out an average of $18,098 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Physics at University of Maryland - College Park Report
Stony Brook University ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Schools list. SUNY Stony Brook is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Stony Brook.
While working on their degree, physics majors at SUNY Stony Brook accumulate an average of around $24,661 in student debt.
With a ranking of #17, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Schools ranking. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at UIUC take out is $19,750. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $674.
Read full report on Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Chicago came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, physics majors at UChicago accumulate an average of around $19,972 in student debt.
Pasadena City College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for physics students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Pasadena City College is a public school with a very large student population.
University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for physics students. It came in at #21 on the list. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
Cornell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for physics students. It came in at #22 on the list. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
While working on their degree, physics majors at Cornell accumulate an average of around $16,050 in student debt.
University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Schools ranking. Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public school with a large student population.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at UC Santa Cruz take out is $15,573.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Schools ranking. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a very large student population.
On average, physics graduates from UMN Twin Cities take out $24,600 in student loans while working on their degree.
Read full report on Physics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of California - Davis landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular physics programs. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Davis.
While working on their degree, physics majors at UC Davis accumulate an average of around $18,250 in student debt.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Physics Schools
Additional Award Winners
This section shows the remainder of the schools awarded a Most Popular Physics Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 956 different United States physics schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional popular schools for Physics students that almost earned our Most Popular Physics Schools award.
Physics by Region
View the Most Popular Physics Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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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