2025 Best Physics and Astronomy Schools

You'll be studying one of the lesser sought-after majors if you pursue a degree in physics and astronomy. It is ranked #356 out of 395 major degree programs in terms of popularity. As such, your educational options may be more limited than if you were in a more popular field.

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 degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 55 degrees in physics and astronomy annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

• Best Overall Physics and Astronomy Schools List

Pick Your Physics and Astronomy Degree Level

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Physics and Astronomy Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Physics and Astronomy in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of physics and astronomy degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Schools in Physics and Astronomy

1

Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ

Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type

Northern Arizona University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in physics and astronomy. NAU is a very large public university located in the city of Flagstaff.More information about a degree in physics and astronomy from Northern Arizona University

2

University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

33 Physics and Astronomy Degrees Awarded

University of Kentucky is a good decision for students interested in a degree in physics and astronomy. Located in the city of Lexington, UK is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a degree in physics and astronomy from University of Kentucky

Physics and Astronomy by Region

View the Best Physics and Astronomy 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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Physics and Astronomy Related Rankings by Major

Physics and Astronomy is one of 8 different types of Physical Sciences programs to choose from.

Physics and Astronomy Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Physics and Astronomy	55

View All Physics and Astronomy Concentrations >

Most Popular Majors Related to Physics and Astronomy

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Chemistry	20,985
Physics	13,447
Geological & Earth Sciences	8,124
General Physical Sciences	3,141
Astronomy & Astrophysics	1,396
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	1,183
Materials Sciences	642
Other Physical Science	500

View All Physics and Astronomy Related Majors >

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.