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2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

8 Ranked Colleges
27 Degrees Awarded
$41,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

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 Great Lakes region, there were 224 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 27 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,428 and $121,375 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy and astrophysics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent astronomy and astrophysics programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the astronomy and astrophysics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most 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 Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 7 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northwestern University Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 2 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Chicago

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s astronomy degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Madison, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523.

Full University of Wisconsin - Madison Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. U-M is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 5 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor are $49,548.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at U-M

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Ohio State is a public institution located in Columbus, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region doctor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Ohio State has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio State are $37,141, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Ohio State University - Main Campus

#6 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 2 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#7

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana
#7 in overall quality

Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. IU Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at IU Bloomington, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Indiana University - Bloomington are $33,338.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Indiana University - Bloomington

#8

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan
#6 in overall quality

Michigan State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Michigan State is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 1 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

Michigan State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan State University are $37,056, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Michigan State University

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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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