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Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

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2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

119 Colleges
$23,865 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 119 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for physical sciences students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Brigham Young University - Provo to be the best value school for physical sciences students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the medium-sized city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

BYU graduate students pay an average of $7,700 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Brigham Young University - Provo

#2

University of Wyoming

Laramie, WY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wyoming. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UW is a large public school located in the town of Laramie.

UW graduate students pay an average of $17,569 in tuition and fees each year.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Delaware is a great value for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Newark, UD is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UD graduate students pay an average of $18,128 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UD is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Delaware

#4

University of Houston

Houston, TX

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Houston is a great value for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UH is a very large public school located in the city of Houston.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UH are $18,871 per year.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Houston 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 #4 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.

UT Austin graduate students pay an average of $22,944 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UT Austin is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.

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Northern Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NIU are $11,390 per year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Northern Illinois University

#7

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, TX

Texas Tech University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Texas Tech graduate students pay an average of $17,698 in tuition and fees each year.

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University of North Texas ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UNT is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Denton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNT are $15,600 per year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of North Texas

Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Illinois Tech graduate students pay an average of $30,822 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Physical Sciences at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

#10

Northeastern University

Boston, MA

Northeastern University 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 #10 on the list. Northeastern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.

Northeastern graduate students pay an average of $26,095 in tuition and fees each year.

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University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $28,683 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSB also is in the top 15% of our Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

#12

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

SDSU graduate students pay an average of $19,074 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at San Diego State University

Ohio University - Athens Campus 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 #13 on the list. Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public school with a fairly large student population.

OHIO Athens graduate students pay an average of $17,712 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Ohio University - Athens Campus

Iowa State University 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 #14 on the list. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Iowa State are $26,948 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Iowa State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Iowa State University

University of Nevada - Reno 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 #15 on the list. UNR is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Reno.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNR are $22,380 per year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Nevada - Reno

University of Akron Main Campus ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,936 a year.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Akron Main Campus Report

Oklahoma State University - Main Campus ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Stillwater, OSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at OSU are $24,175 per year.

Read More…

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 Value Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
18 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
19 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
20 University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA
21 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
22 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
23 Cornell University Ithaca, NY

Physical Sciences by Region

View the Best Value 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.

  • 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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