Ranked by graduate earnings

Best colleges for Physics

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

Quick answer

For Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $131,025. 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	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$131,025	$18,500	67	90.5
2	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$118,649	$15,961	53	89.6
3	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	Master's Degree	$179,750	-	70	89.5
4	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$96,215	$13,590	89	86.8
5	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$103,477	$17,150	48	86.4
6	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Doctoral Degree	$177,589	-	34	85.7
7	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$96,043	$15,000	99	85.4
8	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Doctoral Degree	$178,137	-	23	84.9
9	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	Doctoral Degree	$165,099	-	32	84.4
10	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Doctoral Degree	$163,024	-	34	84.3
11	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Doctoral Degree	$141,253	-	42	83.3
12	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Doctoral Degree	$159,892	-	24	82.8
13	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Doctoral Degree	$166,997	-	16	82.8
14	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	Master's Degree	$127,533	-	47	81.5
15	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	Doctoral Degree	$132,984	-	38	81.5
16	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Doctoral Degree	$141,034	-	28	81.4
17	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$95,018	$18,000	53	81.3
18	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA	Master's Degree	$150,865	-	13	79.9
19	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Doctoral Degree	$136,420	-	17	79.4
20	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Doctoral Degree	$120,347	-	35	79.3
21	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA	Master's Degree	$150,865	-	7	77.9
22	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$110,029	$21,500	33	77.8
23	Whitworth University Spokane, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$99,842	$19,500	16	76.9
24	Appalachian State University Boone, NC	Master's Degree	$111,173	-	17	76.2
25	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$92,826	$19,500	49	75.4
26	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	Master's Degree	$124,295	-	11	75.3
27	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Master's Degree	$106,130	-	15	74.4
28	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	Bachelor's Degree	$94,543	$21,500	65	74.2
29	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$90,900	$19,500	71	74
30	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$92,293	$21,148	63	73.6
31	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$99,165	-	17	73
32	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$96,805	$23,886	51	72.5
33	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$96,138	-	22	71.8
34	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$85,219	$15,965	161	71.7
35	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$91,650	-	66	71.3
36	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$93,914	-	26	70.2
37	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	Bachelor's Degree	$103,167	$24,250	20	69.7
38	Le Moyne College Syracuse, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$99,009	-	8	69.3
39	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	Bachelor's Degree	$88,207	$20,500	43	68.3
40	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	Master's Degree	$95,208	-	11	67.9
41	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$85,708	$21,000	79	66.5
42	Utah State University Logan, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$93,461	-	9	65.5
43	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	Bachelor's Degree	$103,167	$24,250	0	65
44	Willamette University Salem, OR	Bachelor's Degree	$89,506	$19,500	11	64.8
45	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$91,438	$21,677	15	64.7
46	Southern Arkansas University Main Campus Magnolia, AR	Bachelor's Degree	$89,685	$22,250	31	64.2
47	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$92,746	$26,224	51	63.4
48	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$81,840	$20,270	50	62.9
49	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$87,856	$23,000	42	62.7
50	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$78,569	$14,354	58	62.6

Filter Physics by state & degree level →

Hidden Gems for Physics

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Physics - the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$150,865	91%	79.9
2	Whitworth University Spokane, WA Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$99,842	90%	76.9
3	Appalachian State University Boone, NC Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$111,173	90%	76.2
4	University of Oregon Eugene, OR Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$124,295	88%	75.3
5	George Mason University Fairfax, VA Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$96,138	87%	71.8
6	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$93,914	72%	70.2
7	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$103,167	77%	69.7
8	Le Moyne College Syracuse, NY Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$99,009	83%	69.3
9	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$95,208	83%	67.9
10	Utah State University Logan, UT Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$93,461	92%	65.5
11	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$103,167	63%	65
12	Willamette University Salem, OR Strong Physics outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$89,506	77%	64.8

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0-100 within the Physics field (CIP 40.08) 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 Physics 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 Physics program?+

By our outcome score, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts) ranks #1 for Physics, with median graduate earnings of $131,025.

How are these Physics 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 Physics 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).

Keep exploring

Physics rankings (filterable)All major rankings Browse colleges Tuition-free colleges All Best-Of guides

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. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.