Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

41 Colleges
$21,934 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$42,323 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physical Sciences School for You

Physical Sciences is the #19 most popular major in the country with 50,306 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 41 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for physical sciences students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the physical sciences programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Physical Sciences Schools

$11,496 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to be the best value school for physical sciences students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUE are $11,496 per year. The average amount in student loans that physical sciences majors at SIUE take out is $24,100.

Full Physical Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - River Falls. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the distant town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

UW - River Falls undergraduate students pay an average of $15,661 in tuition and fees each year. Physical Sciences majors at UW - River Falls take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

In addition to its great value ranking, UW - River Falls is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Wisconsin - River Falls Report

$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 41 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WIU are $13,297 a year. Physical Sciences majors at WIU take out an average of $25,687 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

Out of the 41 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Eau Claire are $17,149 a year. The average amount in student loans that physical sciences majors at UW - Eau Claire take out is $21,375.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Eau Claire also is in the top 10% of our Best Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Illinois State are $24,172 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Illinois State also did well on our Best Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

With a ranking of #6, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physical sciences students. UW - Stevens Point is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Stevens Point.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stevens Point are $17,035 per year.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Report

$11,880 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, University of Akron Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physical sciences students. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 a year. On average, physical sciences graduates from University of Akron Main Campus take out $23,675 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Akron Main Campus Report

$15,714 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, University of Wisconsin - Parkside did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physical sciences students. Located in the suburb of Kenosha, UW - Parkside is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Parkside are $15,714 per year. The average amount in student loans that physical sciences majors at UW - Parkside take out is $26,700.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Parkside

$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

Northern Illinois University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIU are $14,738 a year. Physical Sciences majors at NIU take out an average of $20,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Physical Sciences at Northern Illinois University Report

Grand Valley State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physical sciences programs. Located in the suburb of Allendale, GVSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

GVSU undergraduate students pay an average of $19,628 in tuition and fees each year. Physical Sciences majors at GVSU take out an average of $27,063 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

Best Physical Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best physical sciences schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 951
Michigan 1,288
Ohio 1,581
Illinois 1,686
Wisconsin 873

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

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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.