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2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

6 Ranked Colleges
25 Degrees Awarded
$34,600 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Astronomy & Astrophysics is the 222nd most popular major in the country with 1,268 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, astronomy and astrophysics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $27,700 and had an average of $21,346 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 238 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $14,817 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 25 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,342 and $136,270 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 6 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy and astrophysics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality astronomy and astrophysics programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the astronomy and astrophysics program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region doctor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 6 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. California Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 7 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech also took the #1 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at California Institute of Technology

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Seattle, Washington is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s astronomy degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UW Seattle are $30,294, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s astronomy degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Berkeley Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#5

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Cruz. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Cruz are $28,952.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz

#6 in overall quality

University of Hawaii at Manoa came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UH Manoa is a fairly large public school situated in Honolulu, Hawaii. It awarded 5 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

UH Manoa also took the #6 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UH Manoa are $34,550, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at UH Manoa

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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

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees 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.

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