2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in the Rocky Mountains Region
17
Ranked Colleges
337
Degrees Awarded
$62,256
Avg Salary

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2021-2022, 49,473 people earned their degree in physical sciences, making the major the 19th most popular in the United States. In , physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $40,118 and had an average of $21,983 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 2,079 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,145 and $21,454 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 337 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,612 and $39,317 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking, we looked at 17 colleges that offer a degree in physical sciences. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in physical sciences.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region master’s degree physical sciences students.
Top 17 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in the Rocky Mountains Region
Out of the 17 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado School of Mines landed the #1 spot on the list. Mines is located in Golden, Colorado and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 45 masters’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Physical Sciences at Mines
Out of the 17 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Montana Technological University landed the #2 spot on the list. Butte, Montana is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 9 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Physical Sciences at Montana Technological University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Colorado Boulder. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. This large school is located in Boulder, Colorado, and it awarded 63 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at CU - Boulder
Out of the 17 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Montana State University landed the #4 spot on the list. MSU Bozeman is a fairly large school located in Bozeman, Montana that handed out 24 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full MSU Bozeman Physical Sciences Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wyoming. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in Laramie, Wyoming, this fairly large public school handed out 23 degrees to qualified masters’s physical sciences students in 2021-2022.
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 more about Physical Sciences at UW
Colorado State University - Fort Collins did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #6. Colorado State University - Fort Collins is a large school located in Fort Collins, Colorado that handed out 53 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at Colorado State University - Fort Collins
University of Idaho did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Moscow, Idaho, this fairly large public school handed out 4 degrees to qualified masters’s physical sciences students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Physical Sciences at University of Idaho
University of Utah came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Salt Lake City, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 31 students in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Physical Sciences at U of U
Utah State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #9. USU is a large school located in Logan, Utah that handed out 16 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at USU
Brigham Young University - Provo ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. BYU is a large school located in Provo, Utah that handed out 14 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.4% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full BYU Physical Sciences Report
With a ranking of #11, University of Northern Colorado did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Greeley, Colorado, and it awarded 3 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
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%.
Read more about Physical Sciences at University of Northern Colorado
Boise State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Boise, Idaho is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 15 students in 2021-2022.
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 Boise State University Physical Sciences Report
Idaho State University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Idaho State University is a public institution located in Pocatello, Idaho. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 9 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at ISU
With a ranking of #14, The University of Montana did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Missoula, Montana, and it awarded 7 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at The University of Montana
University of Denver came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. DU is a fairly large school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 5 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Denver Physical Sciences Report
With a ranking of #16, University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. CU Anschutz is a large public school situated in Denver, Colorado. It awarded 15 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
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%.
Full CU Anschutz Physical Sciences Report
Colorado State University - Pueblo came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Colorado State University - Pueblo is a medium-sized school located in Pueblo, Colorado that handed out 1 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 Physical Sciences at Colorado State University - Pueblo
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.