2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region
4
Ranked Colleges
10
Degrees Awarded
$37,200
Avg Cost*

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2021-2022, 765 people earned their degree in astronomy, making the major the 479th most popular in the United States.
Across the Middle Atlantic region, there were 138 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 10 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $63,038 and $47,245 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in astronomy.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region”.
Top 4 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy in the Middle Atlantic Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - College Park. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. University of Maryland - College Park is a large public school situated in College Park, Maryland. It awarded 1 masters’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Read full report on Astronomy at University of Maryland - College Park
Out of the 4 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute landed the #2 spot on the list. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Troy, New York. It awarded 1 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 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Astronomy Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cornell University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region. Cornell University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Ithaca, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.4% 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%.
Read full report on Astronomy at Cornell University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia University in the City of New York. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astronomical Sciences Major in the Middle Atlantic Region. Columbia University in the City of New York is a large school located in New York, New York that handed out 3 masters’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Astronomy at Columbia
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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.