2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics
14
Ranked Colleges
50
Degrees Awarded
$34,200
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 Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2021-2022, 436 people earned their degree in astrophysics, making the major the 598th most popular in the United States.
At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 50 astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,735 and $124,256 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” ranking analyzed 14 colleges that offered a degree in astrophysics. That schools that top this list have a program in astrophysics in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
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 Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” list to help you make the college decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major
The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
Top 14 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 5 degrees to qualified doctorate’s astrophysical sciences students in 2021-2022.
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 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Caltech Astrophysics Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Princeton University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Princeton, New Jersey is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s astrophysical sciences degrees to 12 students in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Princeton University Astrophysics Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rochester Institute of Technology. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Located in Rochester, New York, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified doctorate’s astrophysical sciences students 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Astrophysics at RIT
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Harvard is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, 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 0.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Astrophysics at Harvard University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Vanderbilt University. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 8 degrees to qualified doctorate’s astrophysical sciences students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Astrophysics at Vanderbilt
University of California - Berkeley landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s astrophysical sciences 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Astrophysics at University of California - Berkeley
Texas Christian University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. Fort Worth, Texas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s astrophysical sciences degrees to 1 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Astrophysics at Texas Christian University
University of Colorado Boulder came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. CU - Boulder is a large school located in Boulder, Colorado that handed out 8 doctorate’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full CU - Boulder Astrophysics Report
With a ranking of #9, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Michigan State University is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 1 doctorate’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Astrophysics at Michigan State
Arizona State University - Tempe ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Arizona State University - Tempe is a large school located in Tempe, Arizona that handed out 4 doctorate’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%.
Read more about Astrophysics at Arizona State University - Tempe
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking, coming in at #11. This large school is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Astrophysics at UMN Twin Cities
Indiana University - Bloomington came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. IU Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, 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 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full IU Bloomington Astrophysics Report
University of Alaska Fairbanks came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. Fairbanks, Alaska is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s astrophysical sciences degrees to 0 students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Astrophysics at University of Alaska Fairbanks
Iowa State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking, coming in at #13. Iowa State is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s astrophysical sciences degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
Read more about Astrophysics at Iowa State
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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.
