2023 Most Popular 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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 234 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular doctor's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Physical Sciences program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for physical sciences majors pursuing a doctor's degree.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for a Doctorate in Physical Sciences
Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the most popular school for physical sciences students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 124 students majoring in physical sciences at UC Berkeley, 73% are male and 27% are female.
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The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular physical sciences schools in the United States. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
Women make up 29% of the physical sciences majors at the school.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UW Seattle is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Seattle.
About 40% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 60% are male.
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Out of the 234 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the # 4 spot on the list. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
About 32% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 68% are male.
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The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular physical sciences schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 36% of the physical sciences majors at the school.
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University of California - San Diego came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.
About 35% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 65% are male.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.
Women make up 49% of the physical sciences majors at the school.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 89 students majoring in physical sciences at UW - Madison, 67% are male and 33% are female.
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Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of College Station.
Of the 88 students majoring in physical sciences at Texas A&M College Station, 69% are male and 31% are female.
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Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 35% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 65% are male.
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University of California - Los Angeles ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.
About 34% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 66% are male.
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Harvard University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
About 32% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 68% are male.
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University of Arizona ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. University of Arizona is a fairly large public school located in the city of Tucson.
Of the 77 students majoring in physical sciences at University of Arizona, 81% are male and 19% are female.
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University of Colorado Boulder did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. CU - Boulder is a very large public school located in the city of Boulder.
About 26% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 74% are male.
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Michigan State University ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Michigan State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of East Lansing.
Of the 73 students majoring in physical sciences at Michigan State, 66% are male and 34% are female.
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With a ranking of #15, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a very large student population.
About 41% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 59% are male.
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University of Houston ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UH is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Houston.
About 29% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 71% are male.
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University of Chicago ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
About 19% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 81% are male.
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With a ranking of #19, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the city of Minneapolis.
Of the 65 students majoring in physical sciences at UMN Twin Cities, 69% are male and 31% are female.
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California Institute of Technology did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pasadena.
Of the 64 students majoring in physical sciences at Caltech, 69% are male and 31% are female.
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Yale University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 41% of the physical sciences majors at the school.
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Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
About 32% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 68% are male.
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Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Of the 59 students majoring in physical sciences at Columbia, 69% are male and 31% are female.
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The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.
About 36% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 64% are male.
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University of Southern California landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Of the 58 students majoring in physical sciences at USC, 66% are male and 34% are female.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA |
| 38 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 38 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins, CO |
| 40 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 41 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 41 | Duke University | Durham, NC |
| 43 | University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN |
| 43 | Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 43 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT |
| 43 | The Graduate Center, CUNY | New York, NY |
Physical Sciences by Region
View the Most Popular 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 |
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.
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