2023 Most Popular Colleges for Physics
955
Ranked Colleges
13,674
Degrees Awarded
$37,600
Avg Cost*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Well Attended Physics Major” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 13,674 people earned their degree in physics, making the major the 68th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $42,960 and had an average of $22,756 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Physics Major” ranking analyzed 955 colleges that offered a degree in physics. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in physics.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Physics Schools
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 “Most Well Attended Physics Major” list to help you make the college decision.
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.
Most Well Attended Physics Major
The colleges and universities below are the best for physics students.
Top 25 Most Popular Colleges for Physics
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Physics Major. UW Seattle is a large public school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 262 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physics at UW Seattle
Out of the 955 schools in the Most Well Attended Physics Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #2 spot on the list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 199 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full UCSB Physics Report
Out of the 955 schools in the Most Well Attended Physics Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. University of California - Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 197 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Read full report on Physics at UC Berkeley
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Colorado Boulder. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major list. University of Colorado Boulder is a large school located in Boulder, Colorado that handed out 158 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Physics at University of Colorado Boulder
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arizona. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major list. University of Arizona is a public institution located in Tucson, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 162 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read more about Physics at University of Arizona
New York University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking, coming in at #6. NYU is a large school located in New York, New York that handed out 130 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full New York University Physics Report
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin. It awarded 144 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Physics at University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of California - Los Angeles came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physics degrees to 123 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Physics at UCLA
With a ranking of #9, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major list. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 122 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Physics at University of California - Irvine
University of Rochester ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended Physics Major list. University of Rochester is a fairly large school located in Rochester, New York that handed out 118 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full University of Rochester Physics Report
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking, coming in at #10. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 118 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Physics at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 116 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Physics at MIT
Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. Ohio State University - Main Campus is located in Columbus, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 114 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Ohio State Physics Report
The University of Texas at Austin landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. The University of Texas at Austin is located in Austin, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 111 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Physics at UT Austin
University of Maryland - College Park came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. UMCP is a public institution located in College Park, Maryland. The school has a large population, and it awarded 109 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Physics at University of Maryland - College Park
Stony Brook University landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. Stony Brook, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physics degrees to 108 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
Read more about Physics at SUNY Stony Brook
With a ranking of #17, Harvard University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major list. Harvard is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 107 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physics at Harvard
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physics degrees to 106 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking, coming in at #19. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 102 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Physics at University of Chicago
Pasadena City College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. Pasadena City College is a large public school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 100 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Pasadena City College Physics Report
University of Pennsylvania came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. UPenn is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 99 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Physics at UPenn
Cornell University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. Cornell University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Ithaca, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 96 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Physics at Cornell University
University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physics degrees to 95 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Santa Cruz Physics Report
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #24 on this year’s Most Well Attended Physics Major list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 94 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full UMN Twin Cities Physics Report
University of California - Davis came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Physics Major ranking. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 90 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of California - Davis Physics Report
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