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Most Popular Schools for Physical Sciences

2026 Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools

There are 1,557 colleges that offer a degree in Physical Sciences. Learn more about the most popular schools below:

Finding the Best Physical Sciences School for You

Today’s Physical Sciences students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick-and-mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school halfway across the country without even leaving your house.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 1,557 schools in the United States offering Physical Sciences programs. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school’s program.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for Physical Sciences majors.

The most popular school in the United States for Physical Sciences students is University of California-Berkeley. Located in Berkeley, CA, this is a public institution. This school awarded 581 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $57,445. Read More…

University of Washington-Seattle Campus comes in at #2 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. University of Washington-Seattle Campus is a public school located in Seattle, WA. During the most recent year for which we have data, 505 people earned their degree in Physical Sciences from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $53,990. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Washington-Seattle Campus

University of California-San Diego comes in at #3 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. University of California-San Diego is a public school located in La Jolla, CA. This school awarded 499 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $44,612. Read More…

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus landed the #4 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus is a public school located in University Park, PA. This school awarded 467 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $54,468. Read More…

University of California-Los Angeles landed the #5 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. University of California-Los Angeles is a public school located in Los Angeles, CA. This school awarded 460 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $41,763. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of California-Los Angeles

University of Wisconsin-Madison landed the #6 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. Located in Madison, WI, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 443 people earned their degree in Physical Sciences from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $53,379. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison

University of California-Santa Barbara comes in at #7 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. Located in Santa Barbara, CA, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 423 people earned their degree in Physical Sciences from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $38,259. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of California-Santa Barbara

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor comes in at #8 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. Located in Ann Arbor, MI, this is a public institution. This school awarded 392 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $64,597. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #9 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. The University of Texas at Austin is a public school located in Austin, TX. This school awarded 389 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $51,060. Read More…

Texas A&M University-College Station comes in at #10 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. Located in College Station, TX, this is a public institution. This school awarded 383 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $54,018. Read More…

#11

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

University of Arizona comes in at #11 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. University of Arizona is a public school located in Tucson, AZ. This school awarded 373 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $44,998. Read More…

#12

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida landed the #12 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. University of Florida is a public school located in Gainesville, FL. During the most recent year for which we have data, 369 people earned their degree in Physical Sciences from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $48,898. Read More…

University of Colorado Boulder comes in at #13 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. Located in Boulder, CO, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 361 people earned their degree in Physical Sciences from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $48,932. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Colorado Boulder

University of California-Irvine comes in at #14 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. University of California-Irvine is a public school located in Irvine, CA. This school awarded 360 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $40,474. Full Physical Sciences at University of California-Irvine Report

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign landed the #15 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. Located in Champaign, IL, this is a public institution. This school awarded 354 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $53,513. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

#16

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago landed the #16 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. University of Chicago is a private nonprofit school located in Chicago, IL. This school awarded 345 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $77,119. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Chicago

#17

Purdue University-Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University-Main Campus comes in at #17 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. Located in West Lafayette, IN, this is a public institution. This school awarded 338 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $61,124. Full Physical Sciences at Purdue University-Main Campus Report

Ohio State University-Main Campus comes in at #18 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. Ohio State University-Main Campus is a public school located in Columbus, OH. During the most recent year for which we have data, 331 people earned their degree in Physical Sciences from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $49,087. Full Physical Sciences at Ohio State University-Main Campus Report

#19

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University landed the #19 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. Johns Hopkins University is a private nonprofit school located in Baltimore, MD. This school awarded 325 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $89,069. Full Physical Sciences at Johns Hopkins University Report

University of California-Santa Cruz comes in at #20 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. Located in Santa Cruz, CA, this is a public institution. This school awarded 310 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $37,107. Full Physical Sciences at University of California-Santa Cruz Report

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities landed the #21 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is a public school located in Minneapolis, MN. This school awarded 289 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $47,373. Read More…

Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #22 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. Located in New York, NY, this is a private nonprofit institution. This school awarded 285 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $75,228. Read full report on Physical Sciences at Columbia University in the City of New York

#23

University of Virginia-Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia-Main Campus landed the #23 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. University of Virginia-Main Campus is a public school located in Charlottesville, VA. This school awarded 277 degrees in Physical Sciences in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $64,471. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Virginia-Main Campus

#24

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, NY

Stony Brook University landed the #24 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools ranking. Stony Brook University is a public school located in Stony Brook, NY. During the most recent year for which we have data, 275 people earned their degree in Physical Sciences from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $51,412. Read full report on Physical Sciences at Stony Brook University

#25

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania comes in at #25 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Physical Sciences majors. Located in Philadelphia, PA, this is a private nonprofit institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 274 people earned their degree in Physical Sciences from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $86,069. Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Pennsylvania

#26

New York University

New York, NY
#27

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA
#28

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY
#30

Stanford University

Stanford, CA
#36

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI
#38

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ
#39

Yale University

New Haven, CT
#40

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL
#45

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT
#46

Emory University

Atlanta, GA
#47

Mississippi State University

Mississippi State, MS
#49

University of Rochester

Rochester, NY
#50

Georgia State University

Atlanta, GA

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that also graduate students in this major every year.

Rank College Location
51 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
52 Washington State University Pullman, WA
53 Brown University Providence, RI
54 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA
55 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
56 Florida International University Miami, FL
57 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA
58 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
59 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
60 Middlesex College Edison, NJ
61 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
62 Irvine Valley College Irvine, CA
63 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
64 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
65 University of Houston Houston, TX
66 Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN
67 Montana State University Bozeman, MT
68 Richard Bland College South Prince George, VA
69 Boston University Boston, MA
70 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
71 University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO
72 University of Delaware Newark, DE
73 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
74 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
75 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
76 El Camino Community College District Torrance, CA
77 American River College Sacramento, CA
78 CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY
79 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
80 Western Nevada College Carson City, NV
81 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
82 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
83 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
84 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA
85 Iowa State University Ames, IA
86 Rice University Houston, TX
87 The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX
88 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
89 Empire State University Saratoga Springs, NY
90 University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL
91 Duke University Durham, NC
92 Brigham Young University Provo, UT
93 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
94 Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO
95 Wayne State University Detroit, MI
96 California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA
97 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
98 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH
99 Appalachian State University Boone, NC
100 Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY
101 Tulsa Community College Tulsa, OK
102 University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV
103 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
104 United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
105 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
106 University of Georgia Athens, GA
107 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
108 Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA
109 University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM
110 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
111 CUNY Medgar Evers College Brooklyn, NY
112 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
113 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
114 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
115 The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX
116 University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC
117 Northeastern University Boston, MA
118 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
119 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
120 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
121 University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA
122 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN
123 CUNY Hunter College New York, NY
124 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN
125 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
126 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
127 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
128 University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL
129 Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH
130 Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO
131 University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI
132 Villanova University Villanova, PA
133 Clemson University Clemson, SC
134 Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH
135 University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR
136 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
137 University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC
138 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
139 Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH
140 Boise State University Boise, ID
141 University at Albany Albany, NY
142 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
143 University of Wyoming Laramie, WY
144 Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC
145 Auburn University Auburn, AL
146 University of Memphis Memphis, TN
147 College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY
148 Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO
149 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI
150 Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL
151 University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
152 Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, CA
153 Tufts University Medford, MA
154 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
155 Wesleyan University Middletown, CT
156 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE
157 University of North Texas Denton, TX
158 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
159 The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX
160 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
161 University of California-Merced Merced, CA
162 University of Louisville Louisville, KY
163 University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN
164 University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO
165 California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA
166 California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA
167 Seattle Central College Seattle, WA
168 Baylor University Waco, TX
169 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
170 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL
171 University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS
172 Moorpark College Moorpark, CA
173 Illinois State University Normal, IL
174 Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI
175 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
176 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
177 East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN
178 Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY
179 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
180 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY
181 College of Charleston Charleston, SC
182 Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA
183 Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX
184 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI
185 Ball State University Muncie, IN
186 Haverford College Haverford, PA
187 Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO
188 California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA
189 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK
190 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX
191 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH
192 California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
193 Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA
194 Towson University Towson, MD
195 Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
196 Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL
197 University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH
198 Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA
199 Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA
200 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS

Physical Sciences by Region

See the most popular Physical Sciences schools in a specific region of the United States.

Region
New England
Middle Atlantic
Great Lakes
Plains States
Southeast
Southwest
Rocky Mountains
Far Western US

More Physical Sciences Rankings

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Physical Sciences Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 19,434
Physics 12,910
Geological & Earth Sciences 7,622
General Physical Sciences 2,661
Astronomy & Astrophysics 1,580
Atmospheric Sciences 1,341
Materials Sciences 650
Other Physical Science 422
Physics and Astronomy 39

References

*The average salary above is for the top 25 schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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