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2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major

1,384 Ranked Colleges
21,239 Degrees Awarded
$35,500 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended Chemistry 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 “Most Well Attended Chemistry Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 21,239 people earned their degree in chemistry, making the major the 51st most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, chemistry graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $40,656 and had an average of $22,680 in loans still to pay off.

This year’s “Most Well Attended Chemistry Major” ranking analyzed 1,384 colleges that offered a degree in chemistry. To top this list, a school must have a successful chemistry program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 “Most Well Attended Chemistry Major” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Most Well Attended Chemistry Major

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Chemistry Major”.

1

Out of the 1,384 schools in the Most Well Attended Chemistry Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #1 spot on the list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chemistry degrees to 412 students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Chemistry at University of California - San Diego

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. This large school is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it awarded 226 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Read full report on Chemistry at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

3

Out of the 1,384 schools in the Most Well Attended Chemistry Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 194 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Chemistry at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4

Out of the 1,384 schools in the Most Well Attended Chemistry Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #4 spot on the list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chemistry degrees to 186 students in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Chemistry at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

5
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Out of the 1,384 schools in the Most Well Attended Chemistry Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Florida landed the #5 spot on the list. UF is a large school located in Gainesville, Florida that handed out 177 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 more about Chemistry at UF

6

University of California - Irvine came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 175 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Chemistry at University of California - Irvine

7

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 170 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Chemistry at UC Berkeley

8
University of Virginia crest
University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, Virginia

University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking. University of Virginia is a large school located in Charlottesville, Virginia that handed out 157 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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%.

Read more about Chemistry at University of Virginia

9

University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking. This large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 155 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%.

Full UW - Madison Chemistry Report

10
Purdue crest
Purdue University - Main Campus
West Lafayette, Indiana

With a ranking of #10, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. West Lafayette, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chemistry degrees to 153 students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Chemistry at Purdue University - Main Campus

11

With a ranking of #11, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school awarded 152 diplomas to qualified ’s chemistry students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Chemistry at UT Austin

12
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

University of Chicago landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 146 ’s chemistry degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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 University of Chicago Chemistry Report

13

Florida International University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. Florida International University is located in Miami, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 139 ’s chemistry degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Florida International University Chemistry Report

14

With a ranking of #14, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 135 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read more about Chemistry at University of California - Los Angeles

15
Hunter crest
Hunter College
New York, New York

With a ranking of #15, Hunter College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. This large school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 132 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Chemistry at Hunter College

16
Georgia State crest
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia State University ranked #16 on this year’s Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. This large school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and it awarded 131 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Chemistry at Georgia State

17

University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking, coming in at #17. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 129 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Chemistry at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

18

With a ranking of #18, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. Located in Richmond, Virginia, this large public school handed out 126 diplomas to qualified ’s chemistry students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University

18

With a ranking of #18, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 126 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, 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 more about Chemistry at UCSB

20

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 119 ’s chemistry degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, 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 96%.

Read full report on Chemistry at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

20

With a ranking of #20, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. UC Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 119 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Chemistry at University of California - Davis

20
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

University of Utah landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking. University of Utah is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 119 ’s chemistry degrees to qualified students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Chemistry at U of U

23
Cornell crest
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Cornell University landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking. Ithaca, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s chemistry degrees to 117 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Chemistry at Cornell

24

Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major ranking, coming in at #24. OHIO Athens is located in Athens, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 111 ’s chemistry degrees to qualified students.

Read full report on Chemistry at Ohio University - Athens Campus

25

With a ranking of #25, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chemistry Major list. Texas A&M University - College Station is a large school located in College Station, Texas that handed out 108 ’s chemistry degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Chemistry at Texas A&M University - College Station

Rest of the Best 50 in Most Well Attended Chemistry Major

Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

26
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia
27
28
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California
29
SUNY Stony Brook crest
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York
30
31
32
33
33
35
ECU crest
East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina
36
UO crest
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
37
37
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
39
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
39
NYU crest
New York University
New York, New York
41
UA crest
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
41
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
41
44
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey
45
IU Bloomington crest
Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, Indiana
45
Orange Coast College crest
Orange Coast College
Costa Mesa, California
45
University at Buffalo crest
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
48
UARK crest
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
49
49
UH crest
University of Houston
Houston, Texas

Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Most Well Attended Chemistry Major

While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

Rank College Location
51 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
51 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
51 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
54 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
55 University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wilmington, NC
55 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
57 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
57 Yale University New Haven, CT
59 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
59 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
61 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
61 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
61 Towson University Towson, MD
61 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
61 Wayne State University Detroit, MI
Rank College Location
66 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX
67 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
67 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
67 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
67 Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA
67 Irvine Valley College Irvine, CA
72 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
73 Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC
73 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
75 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
75 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
77 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
77 University of Georgia Athens, GA
77 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
77 Stanford University Stanford, CA
81 University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras San Juan, PR
81 Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH
81 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
81 University of Delaware Newark, DE
85 University of Memphis Memphis, TN
85 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
85 Iowa State University Ames, IA
88 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
88 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
88 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
Rank College Location
88 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
88 Duke University Durham, NC
88 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
88 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
88 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL
96 Boston University Boston, MA
96 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
96 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
96 University of North Texas Denton, TX
96 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
101 University of California - Merced Merced, CA
101 University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR
103 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
103 University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN
103 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
106 Fullerton College Fullerton, CA
106 University of Mississippi University, MS
108 Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA
108 Rice University Houston, TX
110 Auburn University Auburn, AL
110 Northeastern University Boston, MA
112 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
112 University at Albany Albany, NY
112 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
115 Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY
Rank College Location
115 Montana State University Bozeman, MT
117 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
117 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
117 Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo, MI
120 Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Bowling Green, OH
120 California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
120 Appalachian State University Boone, NC
123 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
123 Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS
123 The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX
123 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
123 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
123 Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL
129 Clemson University Clemson, SC
129 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
131 University of Louisville Louisville, KY
131 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
131 Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA
134 Villanova University Villanova, PA
134 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL
134 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
134 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
138 California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA
138 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
138 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN
Rank College Location
138 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
142 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
142 Lehman College Bronx, NY
142 University of Puerto Rico - Humacao Humacao, PR
142 Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA
146 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
146 Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO
148 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
148 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
150 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
150 Washington State University Pullman, WA
150 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA
150 University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO
150 Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY
155 The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX
155 Brown University Providence, RI
155 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
155 Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX
155 Golden West College Huntington Beach, CA
160 Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY
160 Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL
160 The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN
160 Haverford College Haverford, PA
160 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
160 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
Rank College Location
160 Boise State University Boise, ID
167 Moorpark College Moorpark, CA
167 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
167 St Olaf College Northfield, MN
167 Western Illinois University Macomb, IL
171 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
171 Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN
171 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
171 Santiago Canyon College Orange, CA
171 The Graduate Center, CUNY New York, NY
171 Prairie View A & M University Prairie View, TX
171 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
171 Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT
171 St John’s University - New York Queens, NY
171 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
171 University of Massachusetts - Lowell Lowell, MA
171 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
183 California State University - Channel Islands Camarillo, CA
183 The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX
185 Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA
185 George Washington University Washington, DC
185 Georgetown University Washington, DC
185 University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS
185 Austin Community College District Austin, TX
185 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
Rank College Location
185 South Dakota State University Brookings, SD
192 Illinois State University Normal, IL
192 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
192 College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA
192 The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX
192 Tufts University Medford, MA
192 California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
192 Xavier University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
199 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
199 East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN
199 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
199 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY
199 University of New Mexico - Main Campus Albuquerque, NM
199 Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA
199 Ball State University Muncie, IN
199 Williams College Williamstown, MA
199 Butler University Indianapolis, IN
199 Creighton University Omaha, NE

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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