A degree in physics is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #68 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
College Factual looked at 4 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Physics Schools in Illinois ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 469 degrees in physics to qualified students.
Your choice of physics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Physics School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Physics Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
The schools below may not offer all types of physics degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in physics. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 93 physics students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, physics degree recipients generally make about $52,329 in their early careers.
Illinois State University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in physics. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 17 physics students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.
University of Illinois at Chicago is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in physics. UIC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Chicago. This university ranks 10th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 28 physics students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available.
Western Illinois University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in physics. WIU is a moderately-sized public university located in the town of Macomb. This university ranks 37th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 7 physics students who graduated with this degree at WIU in the most recent data year.
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).
Credit for the banner image above goes to A. T. Service.
Your choice of physics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Physics School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
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