2021 Best Physical Sciences Colleges for Non-Traditional Students
130Colleges
29,960Bachelor's Degrees
$36,291Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Physical Sciences Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Physical Sciences is the #18th most popular major in the country with 29,960 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.
For this year's Best Physical Sciences Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking, we looked at 130 colleges that offer a bachelor's in physical sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality physical sciences programs as well as strong support for students classified as non-traditional.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the physical sciences program at the school, affordability, and presence of non-traditional students. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 Physical Sciences Schools for Non-Traditional Students list to help you make the college decision.
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.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
2021 Best Physical Sciences Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for non-traditional students studying physical sciences.
Top 15% Best Physical Sciences Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus tops the 2021 list of our schools in the United States that are best for non-traditional physical sciences students. Penn State University Park is a fairly large public school located in the small city of University Park. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Penn State University Park, the school also landed the #2 rank in our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences ranking.
The student loan default rate at Penn State University Park is lower than is typical, just 0.0% of students default in three years. All students are part time.
Texas A&M University - College Station comes in at #2 in this year's ranking. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the midsize city of College Station. Texas A&M College Station not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #5 on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list.
The student loan default rate at Texas A&M College Station is lower than is typical, just 0.6% of students default in three years. Approximately 24,343 students take at least one class online at Texas A&M College Station. There are roughly 9,943 part time students in attendance at Texas A&M College Station.
University of California - Berkeley earned the #3 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population. UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences rankings.
About 0.5% of UC Berkeley students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 26,398 students at UC Berkeley that take at least one class online. 4,099 students are part time.
The #4 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population. As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Madison, the school also landed the #4 rank in our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.2%. There are approximately 11,375 students at UW - Madison that take at least one class online. 4,683 students are part time.
Rutgers University - New Brunswick landed the #5 spot in our 2021 best physical sciences schools for non-traditional students. Rutgers New Brunswick is a fairly large public school located in the small city of New Brunswick. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Rutgers New Brunswick is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. There are approximately 30,054 students at Rutgers New Brunswick that take at least one class online. 7,559 students are part time.
Our rankings recognize University of Arizona as the #6 school in this year's rankings. University of Arizona is a very large public school located in the large city of Tucson. University of Arizona excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list.
About 1.6% of University of Arizona students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 18,254 students take at least one class online at University of Arizona. There are roughly 12,642 part time students in attendance at University of Arizona.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus comes in at #7 in this year's ranking. UW Seattle is a fairly large public school located in the city of Seattle. UW Seattle also made our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list, coming in at #7.
About 0.7% of UW Seattle students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 8,815 students at UW Seattle that take at least one class online. About 9,705 of the students at UW Seattle are attending part time.
University of Colorado Boulder earned the #8 spot in our 2021 rankings. CU - Boulder is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Boulder. CU - Boulder did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. There are approximately 24,299 students at CU - Boulder that take at least one class online. 7,631 of CU - Boulder students are attending part time.
Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #9 spot in our 2021 best physical sciences schools for non-traditional students. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public school located in the city of Bloomington. IU Bloomington also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list. It's in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
The student loan default rate at IU Bloomington is lower than is typical, just 1.4% of students default in three years. There are approximately 18,013 students at IU Bloomington that take at least one class online. There are roughly 5,256 part time students in attendance at IU Bloomington.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities comes in at #10 in this year's ranking. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis. UMN Twin Cities excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.6%. There are approximately 21,237 students at UMN Twin Cities that take at least one class online. 13,655 of UMN Twin Cities students are attending part time.
University of California - Los Angeles comes in at #11 in this year's ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population. UCLA also took the #8 spot in our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences rankings.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.7%. Approximately 25,859 students take at least one class online at UCLA. There are roughly 2,161 part time students in attendance at UCLA.
Our rankings recognize Virginia Tech as the #12 school in this year's rankings. Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Virginia Tech is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.5%. Approximately 19,796 students take at least one class online at Virginia Tech. 2,831 of Virginia Tech students are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize University of Virginia - Main Campus as the #13 school in this year's rankings. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, University of Virginia also did well on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list. It's in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
About 0.5% of University of Virginia students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 4,175 students take at least one class online at University of Virginia. 2,758 students are part time.
Ohio State University - Main Campus comes in at #14 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a very large student population. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Ohio State also is in the top 10% of our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences ranking.
About 1.2% of Ohio State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 42,293 students at Ohio State that take at least one class online. 8,459 students are part time.
Michigan State University earned the #15 spot in our 2021 rankings. Michigan State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of East Lansing. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Michigan State is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.8%. Approximately 33,526 students take at least one class online at Michigan State. 6,517 students are part time.
The University of Texas at Austin earned the #16 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a fairly large student population. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UT Austin also is in the top 10% of our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences ranking.
About 0.8% of UT Austin students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 23,198 students at UT Austin that take at least one class online. About 3,479 of the students at UT Austin are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the #17 school in this year's rankings. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population. UIUC also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list. It's in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.6%. Approximately 35,475 students take at least one class online at UIUC. About 10,007 of the students at UIUC are attending part time.
Northeastern University comes in at #18 in this year's ranking. Northeastern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston. Northeastern excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Physical Sciences list.
The student loan default rate at Northeastern is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. Approximately 7,987 students take at least one class online at Northeastern. About 1,267 of the students at Northeastern are attending part time.
San Diego State University earned the #19 spot in our 2021 rankings. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.
The student loan default rate at SDSU is lower than is typical, just 1.1% of students default in three years. There are approximately 21,657 students at SDSU that take at least one class online. About 5,452 of the students at SDSU are attending part time.
Rest of the Top Schools for Best Physical Sciences Colleges for Non-Traditional Students
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for non-traditional students studying Physical Sciences that almost earned our Best Physical Sciences Colleges for Non-Traditional Students award.
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 the rest 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).
Physical Sciences is the #18th most popular major in the country with 29,960 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.
