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Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

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2023 Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

119 Colleges
$70,619 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 12,705 people earned a degree or certificate in physical sciences, making the major the #16 most popular in the United States.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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.

The Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 119 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for physical sciences majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Top 15% Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Stanford University

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at Northwestern University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Physical Sciences at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rochester Institute of Technology. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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Out of the 119 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

#6

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #6 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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The University of Texas at Austin landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

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Northeastern University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.

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#10

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

With a ranking of #10, Wake Forest University did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Wake Forest University

Iowa State University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Berkeley Report

#13

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

With a ranking of #13, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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University of Maryland - College Park ranked #14 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UMCP is a very large public school located in the suburb of College Park.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Maryland - College Park Report

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report

#16

University of Wyoming

Laramie, WY

With a ranking of #16, University of Wyoming did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UW is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Laramie.

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#17

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Drexel University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
18 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
19 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
20 University of Delaware Newark, DE
21 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
22 University of Houston Houston, TX
23 Temple University Philadelphia, PA

Physical Sciences by Region

View the Best Physical Sciences Doctor'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

Physical Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 5,005
Physics 3,727
Geological & Earth Sciences 2,491
Materials Sciences 448
Astronomy & Astrophysics 371
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 342
Other Physical Science 191
General Physical Sciences 107
Physics and Astronomy 23

Majors Similar to Physical Sciences

Related Major Annual Graduates
Engineering 61,791
Computer & Information Sciences 60,971
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 28,851
Mathematics & Statistics 15,127
Engineering Technologies 7,672

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 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 NASA.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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