2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 119 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for physical sciences students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 15% Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Brigham Young University - Provo to be the best value school for physical sciences students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the medium-sized city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at BYU are $7,700 per year.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Wyoming is a great value for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UW is a fairly large public school located in the town of Laramie.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW are $17,569 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Delaware. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Newark, UD is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UD are $18,128 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UD also is in the top 20% of our Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at The University of Texas at Austin helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value physical sciences schools in the United States. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UT Austin are $22,944 per year.
UT Austin excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Houston. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UH is a very large public school located in the large city of Houston.
UH graduate students pay an average of $18,871 in tuition and fees each year.
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Northern Illinois University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NIU are $11,390 per year.
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Texas Tech University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Texas Tech graduate students pay an average of $17,698 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of North Texas landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. UNT is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Denton.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNT are $15,600 a year.
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Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois Tech are $30,822 per year.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at Illinois Institute of Technology
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Northeastern University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.
Northeastern graduate students pay an average of $26,095 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.
UCSB graduate students pay an average of $28,683 in tuition and fees each year.
UCSB excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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San Diego State University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at SDSU are $19,074 a year.
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Ohio University - Athens Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public school with a very large student population.
OHIO Athens graduate students pay an average of $17,712 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Physical Sciences at Ohio University - Athens Campus Report
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Iowa State University 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 #14 on the list. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Iowa State are $26,948 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Iowa State also is in the top 10% of our Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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University of Nevada - Reno ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UNR is a very large public school located in the city of Reno.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNR are $22,380 a year.
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University of Akron Main Campus landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,936 a year.
Full Physical Sciences at University of Akron Main Campus Report
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Oklahoma State University - Main Campus came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Stillwater, OSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at OSU are $24,175 per year.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 19 | Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton, FL |
| 20 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 21 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Champaign, IL |
| 22 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN |
| 23 | Cornell University | Ithaca, NY |
Physical Sciences by Region
View the Best Value 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
Majors Related to Physical Sciences
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.
- 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.