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Best Physics Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Physics Schools in Illinois

7 Colleges
$48,413 Avg Salary
$21,886 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Physics School for You

In 2020-2021, 158 degrees and certificates were awarded to physics students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #61 most popular major in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Physics Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 7 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Physics Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Physics Colleges.

Top Illinois Schools in Physics

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in Illinois for physics students. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Physics at Northwestern University

Out of the 7 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Physics at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

#3

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Physics Schools in Illinois list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Read full report on Physics at University of Chicago

The excellent programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in Illinois. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The excellent programs at University of Illinois at Chicago helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in Illinois. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.

Read full report on Physics at University of Illinois at Chicago

Western Illinois University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best physics programs. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Physics at Western Illinois University

Northern Illinois University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best physics programs. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

Full Physics at Northern Illinois University Report

Best Physics Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Physics Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 126
Ohio 136
Indiana 87
Wisconsin 76

One of 8 majors within the area of study, physics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 5,005
Geological & Earth Sciences 2,491
Materials Sciences 448
Astronomy & Astrophysics 371
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 342

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 7 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to A. T. Service.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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