Rankings by major · 360 schools scored

Best colleges for physics & astronomy

Every school we cover is scored 0–100 for physics & astronomy. The score blends how graduates in the major do four years out against the national norm for the same major, the strength of the student body, how many undergraduate courses the department lists, and the size of the program. Small programs (under five graduates a year) are capped. 80 and up is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Many physics & astronomy students go on to graduate or medical school, which early-career pay undercounts, so read this one alongside the school's overall strength.

The top physics & astronomy schools: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, University of Chicago.

Top 100 colleges for physics & astronomy
Rank	School	Score (0–100)	Tier	Graduates per year in the major	Share of the class	Pay vs. national, same major	Acceptance rate
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	99	Standout	79	7.2%	1.71×	5%
1	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	99	Standout	30	13.8%	–	3%
3	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	98	Standout	70	4%	–	4%
3	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	98	Standout	69	4.1%	–	4%
3	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	98	Standout	47	3.7%	–	4%
6	Yale University New Haven, CT	96	Standout	38	2.7%	–	5%
6	Stanford University Stanford, CA	96	Standout	33	2.1%	–	4%
8	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	94	Standout	55	1.9%	–	5%
8	Columbia University New York, NY	94	Standout	41	1.9%	–	5%
8	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	94	Standout	32	1.5%	1.43×	11%
11	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	93	Standout	58	1.5%	1.55×	9%
11	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	93	Standout	24	2.3%	–	6%
11	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	93	Standout	23	1.6%	–	8%
14	Brown University Providence, RI	92	Standout	26	1.6%	–	5%
15	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	91	Standout	40	2.1%	–	42%
15	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	91	Standout	32	2%	–	11%
15	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	91	Standout	25	1.2%	–	7%
18	Haverford College Haverford, PA	89	Standout	28	9.2%	–	12%
18	Williams College Williamstown, MA	89	Standout	22	4.3%	–	9%
18	Amherst College Amherst, MA	89	Standout	20	4%	–	9%
21	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	88	Standout	89	1.1%	1.20×	16%
21	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	88	Standout	39	3%	–	35%
21	Wesleyan University Middletown, CT	88	Standout	35	4.4%	–	16%
21	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	88	Standout	22	3.9%	–	14%
21	Pomona College Claremont, CA	88	Standout	21	5.8%	–	7%
26	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	87	Standout	57	1.3%	–	17%
26	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	87	Standout	19	4.3%	–	7%
26	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	87	Standout	16	0.9%	–	6%
26	Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO	87	Standout	16	0.9%	–	12%
26	Duke University Durham, NC	87	Standout	15	0.8%	–	5%
31	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	86	Standout	156	1.8%	1.27×	11%
31	University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	86	Standout	47	1%	1.35×	17%
31	United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD	86	Standout	31	2.8%	–	9%
31	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	86	Standout	15	3.6%	–	7%
35	Boston University Boston, MA	85	Standout	56	1.2%	–	13%
35	Tufts University Medford, MA	85	Standout	22	1.5%	–	11%
35	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	85	Standout	19	2.9%	–	11%
35	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	85	Standout	18	7.9%	–	13%
35	Carleton College Northfield, MN	85	Standout	16	3.3%	–	20%
40	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	84	Standout	20	3.1%	–	19%
41	University of Washington Seattle, WA	83	Standout	163	1.9%	0.99×	39%
41	University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	83	Standout	104	1.1%	1.12×	9%
41	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	83	Standout	40	2.5%	1.01×	34%
41	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	83	Standout	28	3.8%	–	14%
41	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	83	Standout	21	4.3%	–	14%
41	Bates College Lewiston, ME	83	Standout	16	3.4%	–	13%
41	Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA	83	Standout	16	5.4%	–	29%
41	Colby College Waterville, ME	83	Standout	16	3%	–	7%
49	University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD	82	Standout	88	1%	1.18×	45%
49	Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA	82	Standout	52	1.3%	1.07×	13%
49	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA	82	Standout	17	4.2%	–	15%
49	Smith College Northampton, MA	82	Standout	16	2.7%	–	21%
49	Emory University Atlanta, GA	82	Standout	15	0.7%	–	10%
49	Georgetown University Washington, DC	82	Standout	15	0.8%	–	13%
55	University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI	81	Standout	79	1.1%	1.01×	45%
55	New York University New York, NY	81	Standout	57	0.8%	0.90×	9%
55	Northeastern University Boston, MA	81	Standout	27	0.6%	–	5%
55	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	81	Standout	21	0.4%	–	10%
59	The University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX	80	Standout	109	1.1%	0.97×	27%
59	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY	80	Standout	42	2.7%	1.07×	63%
59	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	80	Standout	20	3.1%	–	34%
62	The Ohio State University Columbus, OH	78	Strong	104	0.9%	1.23×	51%
62	Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, PA	78	Strong	18	3.3%	–	28%
64	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	77	Strong	84	1%	1.06×	42%
64	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	77	Strong	58	0.8%	1.04×	80%
64	Macalester College Saint Paul, MN	77	Strong	21	3.9%	–	29%
67	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	76	Strong	81	0.9%	–	85%
67	St. Olaf College Northfield, MN	76	Strong	27	3.9%	–	43%
67	Kenyon College Gambier, OH	76	Strong	16	3.5%	–	31%
70	The Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA	75	Strong	83	0.8%	1.04×	61%
70	University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	75	Strong	60	0.7%	1.24×	29%
72	University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	74	Strong	183	2.9%	1.11×	38%
72	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	74	Strong	23	0.5%	–	80%
74	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	73	Strong	158	2.3%	1.02×	78%
74	University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA	73	Strong	86	1%	1.25×	29%
76	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	72	Strong	42	0.6%	1.21×	55%
77	Stony Brook University–SUNY Stony Brook, NY	71	Strong	66	1.4%	0.85×	49%
77	University of California, Davis Davis, CA	71	Strong	62	0.7%	1.02×	44%
77	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	71	Strong	55	0.6%	0.89×	20%
77	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	71	Strong	46	0.3%	1.21×	52%
81	Rutgers University–New Brunswick Piscataway, NJ	70	Strong	52	0.6%	0.88×	58%
81	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	70	Strong	23	0.4%	0.96×	54%
81	Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL	70	Strong	20	3.2%	–	55%
84	University of Massachusetts–Amherst Amherst, MA	69	Strong	72	1.1%	0.95×	60%
84	Purdue University–Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	69	Strong	47	0.6%	0.88×	50%
84	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	69	Strong	17	1.4%	–	62%
87	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	68	Strong	97	1.3%	1.15×	86%
87	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	68	Strong	35	0.6%	1.00×	87%
87	North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC	68	Strong	20	0.3%	0.67×	42%
90	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	67	Strong	23	0.5%	–	93%
91	University of Tennessee–Knoxville Knoxville, TN	66	Strong	28	0.5%	–	42%
91	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	66	Strong	15	1%	–	54%
93	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	65	Strong	40	1.7%	0.98×	71%
93	Indiana University–Bloomington Bloomington, IN	65	Strong	33	0.5%	–	78%
93	Clemson University Clemson, SC	65	Strong	21	0.4%	–	38%
93	University at Buffalo–SUNY Buffalo, NY	65	Strong	20	0.4%	–	81%
97	University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	64	Solid	76	1.7%	–	66%
97	University of Maryland Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	64	Solid	18	0.7%	–	72%
99	The University of Oklahoma Norman, OK	62	Solid	18	0.4%	–	77%
100	The University of Texas–Dallas Richardson, TX	60	Solid	30	0.6%	–	65%

260 more schools are on the full physics & astronomy ranking.

See your odds of getting in · All rankings by major · Overall ranking

Best colleges for physics & astronomy

Rankings for other majors