Ranked #60 in popularity, general physics is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 9 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Physics Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 456 degrees in general physics during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Your choice of general physics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall General Physics School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best General Physics Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the general physics degree levels they offer.
University of Chicago is a great option for students pursuing a degree in general physics. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were about 124 general physics students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available.
Any student pursuing a degree in general physics has to look into Northwestern University. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 24 general physics students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in general physics. UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 93 general physics students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year.
It's hard to beat Illinois Institute of Technology if you want to pursue a degree in general physics. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. This school ranks 9th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 18 general physics students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Tech in the most recent data year.
Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 28 general physics students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year.
Illinois State is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal. This university ranks 8th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 17 general physics students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.
Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.
There were approximately 10 general physics students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent data year.
Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 24th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 20 general physics students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 39th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 7 general physics students who graduated with this degree at WIU in the most recent year we have data available.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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.