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2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major

10 Ranked Colleges
31 Degrees Awarded
$33,500 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Master's Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2021-2022, 436 people earned their degree in astrophysics, making the major the 598th most popular in the United States.

At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 31 astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,979 and $43,370 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in astrophysics. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their astrophysics program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major

The colleges and universities below are the best for master’s degree astrophysical sciences students.

Top 10 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 5 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Caltech Astrophysics Report

2
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Princeton University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major. Princeton University is located in Princeton, New Jersey and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 12 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees to qualified students.

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 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 Princeton Astrophysics Report

3

Out of the 10 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Rochester Institute of Technology landed the #3 spot on the list. Rochester Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Rochester, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astrophysics at Rochester Institute of Technology

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Colorado Boulder. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. CU - Boulder is a large public school situated in Boulder, Colorado. It awarded 2 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 University of Colorado Boulder

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major. UC Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. 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 UC Berkeley Astrophysics Report

6
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. Michigan State University is a large school located in East Lansing, Michigan that handed out 23 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astrophysics at Michigan State

7

With a ranking of #7, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 18 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 full report on Astrophysics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

8

Iowa State University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. Iowa State is a public institution located in Ames, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 Astrophysics at Iowa State

9

Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. Arizona State University - Tempe is a large public school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 4 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full ASU - Tempe Astrophysics Report

10
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

With a ranking of #10, Harvard University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Harvard is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 2 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.3% 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 impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Astrophysics at Harvard University

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

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