2023 Most Popular Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Physics Bachelor's Degree 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 Most Popular Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 778 schools in the United States to see which bachelor's degree 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.
2023 Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for physics majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for a Bachelor's in Physics
Our 2023 rankings named University of Washington - Seattle Campus the most popular school in the United States for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 21% of the physics majors at the school.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, physics majors at UW Seattle accumulate an average of around $17,050 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $456.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Santa Barbara is a great place for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
About 11% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 89% are male.
Physics majors at UCSB take out an average of $17,121 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular physics schools in the United States. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
About 25% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 75% are male.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at UC Berkeley take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $15,953.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Colorado Boulder. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Boulder, CU - Boulder is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 15% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 85% are male.
Physics majors at CU - Boulder take out an average of $23,816 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means The University of Texas at Austin is a great place for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.
About 29% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 71% are male.
On average, physics graduates from UT Austin take out $22,862 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $193, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.
Women make up 15% of the physics majors at the school.
Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $201.
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University of Maryland - College Park landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree physics programs. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 21% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 79% are male.
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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree physics programs. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Of the 79 students majoring in physics at UCLA, 80% are male and 20% are female.
Physics majors at UCLA take out an average of $21,236 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Women make up 33% of the physics majors at the school.
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University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree physics programs. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 75 students majoring in physics at UC Santa Cruz, 79% are male and 21% are female.
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Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Columbus.
Women make up 11% of the physics majors at the school.
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University of Chicago landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree physics programs. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 65 students majoring in physics at UChicago, 74% are male and 26% are female.
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University of Arizona landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree physics programs. Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 37% of the physics majors at the school.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, physics majors at University of Arizona accumulate an average of around $24,186 in student debt.
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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 65 students majoring in physics at UMN Twin Cities, 85% are male and 15% are female.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, physics majors at UMN Twin Cities accumulate an average of around $23,998 in student debt.
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Stony Brook University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. SUNY Stony Brook is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Stony Brook.
Of the 64 students majoring in physics at SUNY Stony Brook, 83% are male and 17% are female.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, physics majors at SUNY Stony Brook accumulate an average of around $22,153 in student debt.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
Women make up 22% of the physics majors at the school.
For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $674.
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With a ranking of #16, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.
About 24% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 76% are male.
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University of Massachusetts Amherst did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. UMass Amherst is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Amherst.
Women make up 25% of the physics majors at the school.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at UMass Amherst take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $19,677.
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University of California - San Diego came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a very large student population.
Of the 56 students majoring in physics at UCSD, 86% are male and 14% are female.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, physics graduates from UCSD carry an average student debt load of $19,846.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.
Of the 56 students majoring in physics at UW - Madison, 88% are male and 13% are female.
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With a ranking of #19, New York University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Of the 56 students majoring in physics at NYU, 77% are male and 23% are female.
When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $564.
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University of California - Davis came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.
Women make up 30% of the physics majors at the school.
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
About 22% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 78% are male.
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Cornell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #24 on the list. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
Of the 53 students majoring in physics at Cornell, 74% are male and 26% are female.
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Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree physics programs. Purdue is a very large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.
Of the 52 students majoring in physics at Purdue, 79% are male and 21% are female.
Full Physics at Purdue University - Main Campus Report
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Additional Award Winners
This list shows the rest of the schools awarded a Most Popular Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 778 different United States physics schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
Physics by Region
View the Most Popular Physics Bachelor's Degree 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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