2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics (With Aid)
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2019-2020, 14,123 people earned their degree in physics, making the major the 67th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $42,475 and had an average of $22,421 in loans still to pay off.
At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 2,093 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,398 and $43,194 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 171 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in physics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent physics programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the physics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The physics school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid”.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid
The colleges and universities below are the best for master’s degree physics students with aid.
Top 25 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is a large school located in Edinburg, Texas that handed out 12 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley are $15,151.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 5 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Cal State LA are $17,723, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The City College of New York. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. CCNY is a fairly large school located in New York, New York that handed out 7 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at CCNY are $20,832, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Out of the 171 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #4 spot on the list. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UNC Chapel Hill are $30,248.
Full University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Physics Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 30 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. UW Seattle is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 20 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Washington - Seattle Campus are $30,294, but some majors have different tuition rates.
California State University - Fullerton ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Cal State Fullerton are $17,892.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 4 degrees to qualified masters’s physics students in 2019-2020.
MIT also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at MIT are $56,719, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Princeton University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Princeton is a medium-sized school located in Princeton, New Jersey that handed out 29 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Princeton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Princeton are $56,470.
University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison also took the #21 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Physics at University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Florida landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Florida is a large public school situated in Gainesville, Florida. It awarded 5 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at UF are $30,130, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Harvard University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
Harvard also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #8. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Harvard University are $50,654.
California State University - Long Beach came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 19 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Long Beach are $17,784.
Full California State University - Long Beach Physics Report
Hunter College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. Hunter College is a large school located in New York, New York that handed out 4 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Hunter College are $20,828, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
University of Arizona landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Arizona is a public institution located in Tucson, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 53 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Arizona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arizona are $33,399, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
With a ranking of #16, University of Wyoming did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. University of Wyoming is a fairly large public school situated in Laramie, Wyoming. It awarded 6 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at UW are $16,615, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Stanford University landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.
Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Columbia is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 17 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Columbia, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia University in the City of New York are $51,194, but some majors have different tuition rates.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 14 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #20. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor are $49,548.
With a ranking of #21, Appalachian State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Boone, North Carolina, and it awarded 20 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Appalachian State University are $21,439, but some majors have different tuition rates.
With a ranking of #22, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. West Lafayette, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Purdue University - Main Campus are $28,794.
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of California - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #24. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456.
Read more about Physics at University of California - Irvine
The University of Texas at Dallas landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. UT Dallas is located in Richardson, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 23 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Dallas are $28,610, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Rest of the Best 26 in Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid
Not only did these schools make the top 26 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
Footnotes
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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- Credit for the banner image above goes to A. T. Service.
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