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2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid

224 Ranked Colleges
6,971 Degrees Awarded
$29,600 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master's For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

Physical Sciences is the 18th most popular major in the country with 52,879 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $38,122 and had an average of $22,339 in loans still to pay off.

At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 6,971 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,398 and $43,194 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 224 colleges that offer a degree in physical sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality physical sciences programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the physical sciences program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Physical Sciences 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 “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid.

Top 25 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences (With Aid)

Out of the 224 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Edinburg, Texas, and it awarded 20 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley are $15,151, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UT Rio Grande Valley Physical Sciences Report

Out of the 224 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin landed the #2 spot on the list. UT Permian Basin is a public institution located in Odessa, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 15 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at UT Permian Basin are $6,900, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Physical Sciences at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 19 diplomas to qualified masters’s physical sciences students in 2019-2020.

Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Cal State LA are $17,723.

Read more about Physical Sciences at California State University - Los Angeles

#4

The City College of New York

New York, New York

Out of the 224 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, The City College of New York landed the #4 spot on the list. The City College of New York is a public institution located in New York, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 23 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at The City College of New York are $20,832, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at The City College of New York

#5

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Top 25% in overall quality

Out of the 224 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences 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 #5 spot on the list. Chapel Hill, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are $30,248, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Physical Sciences Report

Top 20% in overall quality

University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. UW Seattle is located in Seattle, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 91 masters’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

On top of its placing in this ranking, UW Seattle also did well on our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Washington - Seattle Campus are $30,294, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UW Seattle Physical Sciences Report

With a ranking of #7, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. Cal State Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 28 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Fullerton are $17,892, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physical Sciences at Cal State Fullerton

With a ranking of #8, Missouri University of Science and Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. This medium-sized school is located in Rolla, Missouri, and it awarded 10 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at Missouri University of Science and Technology are $30,943, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Missouri University of Science and Technology

#9

University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida
Top 25% in overall quality

University of Florida came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Gainesville, Florida, and it awarded 24 masters’s physical sciences 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.

Full University of Florida Physical Sciences Report

#18 in overall quality

University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, this large public school handed out 51 degrees to qualified masters’s physical sciences students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Madison, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison

#11

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey
#11 in overall quality

Princeton University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. This medium-sized school is located in Princeton, New Jersey, and it awarded 82 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Princeton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Princeton are $56,470, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physical Sciences at Princeton

California State University - Bakersfield landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. This fairly large school is located in Bakersfield, California, and it awarded 9 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at CSUB are $18,437, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full CSUB Physical Sciences Report

#13

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#14 in overall quality

University of California - Los Angeles ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 87 students in 2019-2020.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UCLA Physical Sciences Report

#14

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California

University of California - Riverside ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. University of California - Riverside is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 54 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at UCR are $28,686, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of California - Riverside

#15

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#6 in overall quality

Harvard University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. Harvard is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 43 masters’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

Harvard also made our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #6. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Harvard University are $50,654.

Read more about Physical Sciences at Harvard

#16

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #16, Massachusetts Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid list. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 14 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

MIT not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology are $56,719, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Physical Sciences at MIT

Top 20% in overall quality

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences 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 45 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC excels when it comes to physical sciences quality. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

California State University - Long Beach did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #18. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 30 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at CSULB are $17,784.

Read more about Physical Sciences at California State University - Long Beach

#19

Hunter College

New York, New York

Hunter College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #19. Located in New York, New York, this large public school handed out 4 degrees to qualified masters’s physical sciences students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Hunter, the school also landed the #0 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Hunter College are $20,828, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Hunter

#20

University of Wyoming

Laramie, Wyoming

University of Wyoming came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Wyoming is a public institution located in Laramie, Wyoming. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 25 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 UW are $16,615.

Full University of Wyoming Physical Sciences Report

#3 in overall quality

Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Columbia University in the City of New York is located in New York, New York and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 73 masters’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

Columbia did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia are $51,194.

Read more about Physical Sciences at Columbia

#22

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona
#22 in overall quality

University of Arizona did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #22. University of Arizona is a large public school situated in Tucson, Arizona. It awarded 110 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Arizona also took the #22 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arizona are $33,399, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Arizona Physical Sciences Report

#23

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Purdue University - Main Campus is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 27 masters’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

Average graduate tuition and fees at Purdue University - Main Campus are $28,794, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Purdue University - Main Campus

Top 20% in overall quality

University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #24. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 43 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine excels when it comes to physical sciences quality. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456.

Full UC Irvine Physical Sciences Report

#25

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan
#15 in overall quality

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 90 students in 2019-2020.

U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Physical Sciences 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.

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Rest of the Best 34 in Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s For Those Getting Aid

Not only did these schools make the top 34 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

#28

Appalachian State University

Boone, North Carolina
#29

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#32

University of Missouri - St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri
#33

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina
#34

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NASA.

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