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2023 Best Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools

150 Colleges
$63,256 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physical Sciences Master'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 Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 150 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

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

Top 15% Best Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for physical sciences students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Full Physical Sciences at Stanford University Report

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Northwestern University

The excellent master’s degree programs at Illinois Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Illinois Institute of Technology

Out of the 150 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Rochester Institute of Technology landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#6

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

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

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With a ranking of #7, Northeastern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.

Full Physical Sciences at Northeastern University Report

#8

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

With a ranking of #8, University of Arizona did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. University of Arizona is a very large public school located in the city of Tucson.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Arizona Report

#9

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#10

University of Houston

Houston, TX

University of Houston did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. UH is a very large public school located in the city of Houston.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Houston

With a ranking of #11, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. 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

#12

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Johns Hopkins University

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

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#14

University of Delaware

Newark, DE

University of Delaware ranked #14 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Newark, UD is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Delaware

With a ranking of #15, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

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University of Maryland - College Park did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the 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

#17

University of Wyoming

Laramie, WY

University of Wyoming came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UW is a large public school located in the remote town of Laramie.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #18 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

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Texas A&M University - Kingsville came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Texas A&M Kingsville is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Kingsville.

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Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree physical sciences programs. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the city of College Station.

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University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

#22

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

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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 Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
23 Iowa State University Ames, IA
24 Illinois State University Normal, IL
25 Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Stillwater, OK
26 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
27 Baylor University Waco, TX
28 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
29 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
30 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA

Physical Sciences by Region

View the Best Physical Sciences 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

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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