2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy in the Great Lakes Region
8
Ranked Colleges
21
Degrees Awarded
$38,100
Avg Cost*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2021-2022, 765 people earned their degree in astronomy, making the major the 479th most popular in the United States.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 173 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 21 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,182 and $43,142 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in astronomy. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their astronomy program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree astronomical sciences students.
Top 8 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy in the Great Lakes Region
Out of the 8 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 99%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Astronomy at Northwestern University
Out of the 8 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #2 spot on the list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 2 masters’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Astronomy at Ohio State
Out of the 8 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 30 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full University of Chicago Astronomy Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 3 masters’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Astronomy at Indiana University - Bloomington
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Case Western Reserve University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Case Western Reserve University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Astronomy at Case Western Reserve University
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified masters’s astronomical sciences students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Astronomy at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 22 degrees to qualified masters’s astronomical sciences students in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UIUC Astronomy Report
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. University of Wisconsin - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 10 masters’s astronomical sciences degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UW - Madison Astronomy Report
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
