2023 Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree School for You
Physical Sciences is the #19 most popular major in the country with 50,306 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
The Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 119 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the physical sciences doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 15% Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Illinois Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Rochester Institute of Technology is a great place for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of California - Santa Barbara helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in the United States. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Chicago came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
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With a ranking of #7, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Northeastern University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.
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With a ranking of #10, Wake Forest University did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Iowa State University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public college with a very large student population.
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University of California - Berkeley came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Cornell University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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University of Maryland - College Park landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. UMCP is a very large public school located in the large suburb of College Park.
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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.
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University of Wyoming landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. UW is a large public school located in the town of Laramie.
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Drexel University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
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Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | Baton Rouge, LA |
| 19 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 20 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 21 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD |
| 22 | University of Houston | Houston, TX |
| 23 | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA |
Physical Sciences by Region
View the Best Physical Sciences Doctor'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 |
More Physical Sciences Rankings
Physical Sciences Related Rankings by Major
Physical Sciences Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | 21,239 |
| Physics | 13,674 |
| Geological & Earth Sciences | 7,821 |
| General Physical Sciences | 3,823 |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics | 1,375 |
| Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology | 1,140 |
| Materials Sciences | 658 |
| Other Physical Science | 538 |
| Physics and Astronomy | 38 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Computer & Information Sciences | 254,454 |
| Engineering | 198,468 |
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 177,778 |
| Engineering Technologies | 85,188 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 52,396 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 NASA.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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