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2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid

7 Ranked Colleges
24 Degrees Awarded
$25,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid

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 “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 1,268 people earned their degree in astronomy and astrophysics, making the major the 222nd most popular in the United States. 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 Southwest region, there were 141 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $25,179 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 24 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,970 and $95,025 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

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 Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

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. 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.

Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid.

Top 7 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Southwest Region (With Aid)

#1

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Tucson, Arizona, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Arizona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arizona are $33,399, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Arizona Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid. UT Austin is a large school located in Austin, Texas that handed out 2 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region doctor’s degree astronomy students with aid list, UT Austin has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UT Austin are $22,886, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at UT Austin

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Tempe. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. ASU - Tempe is located in Tempe, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

ASU - Tempe did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Arizona State University - Tempe are $27,048, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at ASU - Tempe

#7 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, New Mexico State University - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. New Mexico State University - Main Campus is a fairly large public school situated in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It awarded 1 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

NMSU Main Campus also took the #7 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at New Mexico State University - Main Campus are $18,275, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at NMSU Main Campus

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M University - College Station. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid. Texas A&M University - College Station is located in College Station, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our southwest region doctor’s degree astronomy students with aid list, Texas A&M College Station has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Texas A&M University - College Station are $22,743.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Texas A&M University - College Station

#6

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, Arizona
#6 in overall quality

Northern Arizona University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Flagstaff, Arizona, this large public school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region doctor’s degree astronomy students with aid list, NAU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at NAU are $19,489, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Northern Arizona University

#7

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, Texas
#4 in overall quality

Texas Christian University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Worth, Texas. It awarded 1 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

TCU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Texas Christian University are $32,268, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Texas Christian 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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