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2023 Most Popular Physics Master's Degree Schools

247 Colleges
$89,430 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physics Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 3,727 people earned a degree or certificate in physics, making the major the #62 most popular in the United States.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Physics Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 247 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Physics program at each school on the list.

Check out the physics master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.

#1

New York University

New York, NY

Our analysis found New York University to be the most popular school for physics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

About 18% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 82% are male.

Read full report on Physics at New York University

#2

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

Out of the 247 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 54 students majoring in physics at University of Arizona, 70% are male and 30% are female.

Read full report on Physics at University of Arizona

#3

University of Rochester

Rochester, NY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Rochester. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Rochester, University of Rochester is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 52 students majoring in physics at University of Rochester, 73% are male and 27% are female.

Full Physics at University of Rochester Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great place for physics students working on their master’s degree. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.

Of the 42 students majoring in physics at UW - Madison, 76% are male and 24% are female.

Full Physics at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a great place for physics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 29% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 71% are male.

Read More…

University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree physics programs. UCSB is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

Of the 37 students majoring in physics at UCSB, 81% are male and 19% are female.

Read More…

#6

University of Oregon

Eugene, OR

University of Oregon did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Eugene, UO is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 24% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 76% are male.

Read full report on Physics at University of Oregon

With a ranking of #8, University of Colorado Boulder did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for physics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Boulder, CU - Boulder is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 33 students majoring in physics at CU - Boulder, 91% are male and 9% are female.

Full Physics at University of Colorado Boulder Report

#9

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Of the 32 students majoring in physics at UPenn, 75% are male and 25% are female.

Read full report on Physics at University of Pennsylvania

#9

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Yale University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.

Of the 32 students majoring in physics at Yale, 72% are male and 28% are female.

Read full report on Physics at Yale University

#11

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Women make up 17% of the physics majors at the school.

Read More…

University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

Women make up 24% of the physics majors at the school.

Read full report on Physics at University of California - Berkeley

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

Women make up 37% of the physics majors at the school.

Read full report on Physics at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#13

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.

Women make up 30% of the physics majors at the school.

Full Physics at Harvard University Report

#15

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, NY

Stony Brook University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree physics programs. SUNY Stony Brook is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Stony Brook.

Of the 26 students majoring in physics at SUNY Stony Brook, 77% are male and 23% are female.

Full Physics at Stony Brook University Report

#15

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree physics programs. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

About 27% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 73% are male.

Read More…

#17

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Women make up 36% of the physics majors at the school.

Read More…

#18

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.

About 9% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 91% are male.

Read full report on Physics at Cornell University

#18

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree physics programs. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

Of the 23 students majoring in physics at Northwestern, 65% are male and 35% are female.

Read full report on Physics at Northwestern University

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree physics programs. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Physics at University of California - Los Angeles

#20

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

Women make up 33% of the physics majors at the school.

Read More…

Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Columbus.

Women make up 24% of the physics majors at the school.

Full Physics at Ohio State University - Main Campus Report

North Carolina State University ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Raleigh.

About 20% of the students majoring in physics at the school are women while 80% are male.

Read full report on Physics at North Carolina State University

Texas A&M University - Commerce landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree physics programs. Located in the distant town of Commerce, Texas A&M Commerce is a public school with a large student population.

Women make up 25% of the physics majors at the school.

Read full report on Physics at Texas A&M University - Commerce

#23

The Graduate Center, CUNY

New York, NY

The Graduate Center, CUNY did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. The Graduate Center is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of New York.

Of the 20 students majoring in physics at The Graduate Center, 85% are male and 15% are female.

Read More…

#26

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ
#26

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL
#29

Georgia State University

Atlanta, GA
#29

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL
#33

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, TX
#33

Stanford University

Stanford, CA
#36

Baylor University

Waco, TX

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Physics students that almost earned our Most Popular Physics Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
40 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
40 California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA
40 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
40 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
44 Towson University Towson, MD
44 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
44 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN
44 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
44 University of North Texas Denton, TX
49 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
49 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
49 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
49 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL

Physics by Region

View the Most Popular Physics Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Physics is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Physics

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 25 schools only.

  • 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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