2025 Best Physics and Astronomy Bachelor's Degree Schools

Physics and Astronomybachelor's programs are on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of popularity. In fact, the major degree program ranks #323 out of the 363 majors we look at each year. This may make is a little harder to find a school that is a good fit for you.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for physics and astronomy students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 24 bachelor's degrees in physics and astronomy during the <nil> academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to physics and astronomy students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other physics and astronomy students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for physics and astronomy to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized physics and astronomy related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for physics and astronomy students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Physics and Astronomy Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Physics and Astronomy in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy.

Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Physics and Astronomy

1

Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ

14 Annual Graduates

Northern Arizona University is a great option for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy. Located in the city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in physics and astronomy from Northern Arizona University

2

University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY

10 Annual Graduates

University of Kentucky is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy. UK is a very large public university located in the city of Lexington.More information about a bachelor’s in physics and astronomy from University of Kentucky

Physics and Astronomy by Region

View the Best Physics and Astronomy Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Rankings in Majors Related to Physics and Astronomy

One of 8 majors within the Physical Sciences area of study, Physics and Astronomy has other similar majors worth exploring.

Physics and Astronomy Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Physics and Astronomy	24

Majors Similar to Physics and Astronomy

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Chemistry	13,247
Physics	7,715
Geological & Earth Sciences	5,022
Astronomy & Astrophysics	1,035
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	828
General Physical Sciences	356
Other Physical Science	192
Materials Sciences	166

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.