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Best Physics Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Physics Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

7 Colleges
$89,430 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physics Master's Degree 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 Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in Illinois to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for physics majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Physics

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in Illinois for physics students working on their master’s degree. 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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Physics at Illinois Institute of Technology

#3

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

Out of the 7 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the # 3 spot on the list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Read full report on Physics at University of Chicago

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Physics at Western Illinois University Report

University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. UIC is a very large public school located in the large city of Chicago.

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

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Best Physics Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Physics Schools 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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