Ranked #60 in popularity, general physics is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for general physics students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 456 degrees in general physics to qualified students.
Your choice of general physics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall General Physics School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best General Physics Schools in Illinois 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.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the general physics degree levels they offer.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in general physics. UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 93 general physics students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.
Illinois State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in general physics. Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 17 general physics students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.
University of Illinois at Chicago is a great choice for students interested in a degree in general physics. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 28 general physics students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year.
Western Illinois University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in general physics. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 37th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 7 general physics students who graduated with this degree at WIU in the most recent year we have data available.
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 general physics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall General Physics School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
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