2023 Most Popular Physics Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Physics Master'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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Physics Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 247 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the physics master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for a Master's in Physics
Our 2023 rankings named New York University the most popular school in the United States for physics students working on their master’s degree. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
About 18% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 82% are male.
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The in-demand master’s degree programs at University of Arizona helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular physics schools in the United States. Located in the city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 54 students majoring in physics at University of Arizona, 70% are male and 30% are female.
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Out of the 247 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Rochester landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Rochester, University of Rochester is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Of the 52 students majoring in physics at University of Rochester, 73% are male and 27% are female.
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The in-demand master’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular physics schools in the United States. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.
Of the 42 students majoring in physics at UW - Madison, 76% are male and 24% are female.
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Out of the 247 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 29% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 71% are male.
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With a ranking of #6, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students working on their master’s degree. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
Of the 37 students majoring in physics at UCSB, 81% are male and 19% are female.
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With a ranking of #6, University of Oregon did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Eugene, UO is a public college with a fairly large student population.
About 24% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 76% are male.
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University of Colorado Boulder did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Boulder, CU - Boulder is a public school with a very large student population.
Of the 33 students majoring in physics at CU - Boulder, 91% are male and 9% are female.
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Yale University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.
Of the 32 students majoring in physics at Yale, 72% are male and 28% are female.
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University of Pennsylvania ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
Of the 32 students majoring in physics at UPenn, 75% are male and 25% are female.
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Brown University ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Women make up 17% of the physics majors at the school.
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University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
Women make up 24% of the physics majors at the school.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.
Women make up 37% of the physics majors at the school.
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Harvard University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
Women make up 30% of the physics majors at the school.
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Stony Brook University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. SUNY Stony Brook is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Stony Brook.
Of the 26 students majoring in physics at SUNY Stony Brook, 77% are male and 23% are female.
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Johns Hopkins University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
About 27% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 73% are male.
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Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 36% of the physics majors at the school.
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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 master’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.
About 9% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 91% are male.
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Northwestern University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
Of the 23 students majoring in physics at Northwestern, 65% are male and 35% are female.
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With a ranking of #20, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students working on their master’s degree. Ohio State is a very large public school located in the large city of Columbus.
Women make up 24% of the physics majors at the school.
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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree physics programs. UCLA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
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Duke University ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
Women make up 33% of the physics majors at the school.
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North Carolina State University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. NC State is a very large public school located in the city of Raleigh.
About 20% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 80% are male.
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Texas A&M University - Commerce ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the distant town of Commerce, Texas A&M Commerce is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 25% of the physics majors at the school.
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With a ranking of #23, The Graduate Center, CUNY did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students working on their master’s degree. The Graduate Center is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of New York.
Of the 20 students majoring in physics at The Graduate Center, 85% are male and 15% are female.
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Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional popular schools for Physics students that almost earned our Most Popular Physics Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | California State University - Northridge | Northridge, CA |
| 40 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 40 | Indiana University - Bloomington | Bloomington, IN |
| 40 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 44 | Towson University | Towson, MD |
| 44 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 44 | University of North Texas | Denton, TX |
| 44 | University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN |
| 44 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins, CO |
| 49 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte, NC |
| 49 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 49 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI |
| 49 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Champaign, IL |
Physics by Region
View the Most Popular Physics Master'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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