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2025 Best Physics Schools in New York

13 Colleges in New York
1,121 Physics Degrees Awarded
$52,956 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in physics, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #68 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 13 schools in New York to determine which ones were the best for physics students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,121 degrees in physics to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Physics School

Best Physics Schools in New York The physics program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Physics rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for physics schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

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.

Pick Your Physics Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Physics
Master's Degrees in Physics
Doctor's Degrees in Physics

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 Best Physics Schools in New York list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Physics in New York

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the physics degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top New York Schools in Physics

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Physics Degrees Awarded
$60,348 Median Starting Salary

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a good decision for students interested in a degree in physics. Located in the small city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #64 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means RPI is a great school overall.

There were roughly 60 physics students who graduated with this degree at RPI in the most recent year we have data available. Those physics students who get their degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute make $7,392 more than the average physics graduate.

More information about a degree in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In NY
51 Physics Degrees Awarded

Columbia University in the City of New York is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in physics. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were roughly 51 physics students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in physics from Columbia University in the City of New York

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
109 Physics Degrees Awarded
11.9% Growth in Graduates

Cornell University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in physics. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.

There were roughly 109 physics students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the physics program report average early career wages of $50,933.

More information about a degree in physics from Cornell University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In NY
110 Physics Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in physics has to check out University of Rochester. University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Rochester. A Best Colleges rank of #82 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Rochester is a great university overall.

There were roughly 110 physics students who graduated with this degree at University of Rochester in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in physics from University of Rochester

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Physics Degrees Awarded
32.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. This school ranks 13th out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were roughly 59 physics students who graduated with this degree at RIT in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the physics program report average early career wages of $48,374.

More information about a degree in physics from Rochester Institute of Technology

6
SUNY Stony Brook crest
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 Physics Degrees Awarded
6.9% Growth in Graduates

SUNY Stony Brook is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Stony Brook. This university ranks 14th out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 116 physics students who graduated with this degree at SUNY Stony Brook in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, physics degree recipients generally earn around $44,562 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in physics from Stony Brook University

7
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In NY
32 Physics Degrees Awarded

Located in the midsize city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #62 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Syracuse is a great university overall.

There were roughly 32 physics students who graduated with this degree at Syracuse in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in physics from Syracuse University

8
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
141 Physics Degrees Awarded
7.8% Growth in Graduates

NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 141 physics students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the physics program state that they receive average early career income of $26,691.

More information about a degree in physics from New York University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In NY

University at Buffalo is a very large public university located in the suburb of Buffalo. This university ranks 18th out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were approximately 27 physics students who graduated with this degree at University at Buffalo in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in physics from University at Buffalo

10

CCNY is a fairly large public college located in the large city of New York. This college ranks 65th out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were approximately 24 physics students who graduated with this degree at CCNY in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the physics program report average early career wages of $48,908.

More information about a degree in physics from The City College of New York

Best Physics Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Physics Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 334 635
Maryland 279 286
New Jersey 273 272
District of Columbia 188 79
Delaware 175 37

View All Rankings >

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

Physics Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Physics 944
Acoustics 82
Optics/Optical Sciences 63
Other Physics 23
Elementary Particle Physics 5
Theoretical & Mathematical Physics 4

View All Physics Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 1,347
General Physical Sciences 755
Geological & Earth Sciences 503
Other Physical Science 216
Astronomy & Astrophysics 93
Materials Sciences 85
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 74

View All Physics Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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