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Best Colleges for Chemistry

50 Chemistry programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Chemistry, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $168,396. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Doctoral Degree	$168,396	—	72	89.3
2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	Doctoral Degree	$137,404	—	50	87.7
3	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Doctoral Degree	$136,333	—	48	87.2
4	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	Doctoral Degree	$148,634	—	36	86.9
5	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Doctoral Degree	$132,569	—	48	86.7
6	Stanford University Stanford, CA	Doctoral Degree	$170,898	—	31	86.5
7	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Doctoral Degree	$125,069	—	54	86.4
8	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$82,386	$11,077	126	86.2
9	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	Doctoral Degree	$123,152	—	57	86.2
10	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	Doctoral Degree	$139,296	—	32	86.1
11	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Doctoral Degree	$131,278	—	46	86.1
12	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	Doctoral Degree	$137,217	—	31	85.4
13	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Doctoral Degree	$116,234	—	56	84.7
14	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Doctoral Degree	$135,654	—	27	84.3
15	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Doctoral Degree	$117,395	—	43	84.2
16	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	Doctoral Degree	$115,831	—	49	83.8
17	Yale University New Haven, CT	Doctoral Degree	$125,373	—	28	83.7
18	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	Doctoral Degree	$119,626	—	31	83.4
19	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	Doctoral Degree	$123,298	—	26	82.9
20	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA	Doctoral Degree	$115,630	—	37	82.6
21	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	Doctoral Degree	$114,619	—	36	82.2
22	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	Doctoral Degree	$119,378	—	25	82
23	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	Doctoral Degree	$118,789	—	26	81.9
24	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	Doctoral Degree	$105,406	—	56	81.7
25	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Doctoral Degree	$111,674	—	35	81.2
26	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	Doctoral Degree	$132,367	—	13	80.4
27	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$107,724	—	36	80.4
28	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	Doctoral Degree	$116,010	—	24	80.4
29	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	Doctoral Degree	$117,141	—	21	80.2
30	University of Delaware Newark, DE	Doctoral Degree	$112,400	—	27	80.1
31	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	Doctoral Degree	$100,761	—	42	80
32	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$79,311	$15,121	43	80
33	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$79,869	$16,738	42	79.5
34	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	Doctoral Degree	$113,129	—	23	79.2
35	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	Doctoral Degree	$114,312	—	21	79
36	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Master's Degree	$95,163	—	43	78.9
37	University of Georgia Athens, GA	Doctoral Degree	$109,307	—	26	78.8
38	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	Bachelor's Degree	$79,736	$16,962	39	78.8
39	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$77,249	$16,050	346	78.4
40	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,995	$14,910	23	78.2
41	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,810	$13,000	112	78
42	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	Doctoral Degree	$110,812	—	20	78
43	Villanova University Villanova, PA	Master's Degree	$109,388	—	21	77.8
44	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Doctoral Degree	$95,591	—	32	77.8
45	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Master's Degree	$119,157	—	7	77.7
46	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	Master's Degree	$94,728	—	36	77.7
47	Emory University Atlanta, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,034	$19,625	104	77.2
48	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	Master's Degree	$94,513	—	33	77.1
49	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$78,270	$18,033	52	76.7
50	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,713	$15,805	103	76.6

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How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Chemistry field (CIP 40.05) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Chemistry programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Chemistry program?+

By our outcome score, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 for Chemistry, with median graduate earnings of $168,396.

How are these Chemistry programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Chemistry programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.