If you plan on majoring in physics, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #68 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 9 schools in Massachusetts to determine which ones were the best for physics students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 701 degrees in physics during the 2021-2022 academic year.
The physics program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Physics rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for physics schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
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 picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Physics Schools in Massachusetts ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the physics degrees they offer, see the list below.
University of Massachusetts Amherst is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in physics. UMass Amherst is a very large public university located in the suburb of Amherst. A Best Colleges rank of #81 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UMass Amherst is a great university overall.
There were approximately 70 physics students who graduated with this degree at UMass Amherst in the most recent data year. After graduating, physics degree recipients typically earn around $55,521 in their early careers.
Northeastern University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in physics. Located in the city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #59 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northeastern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 46 physics students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern in the most recent data year.
University of Massachusetts - Lowell is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in physics. UMass Lowell is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Lowell. This university ranks 21st out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were about 30 physics students who graduated with this degree at UMass Lowell in the most recent year we have data available.
Boston University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in physics. Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.
There were roughly 42 physics students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year.
Williams is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Williamstown. A Best Colleges rank of #68 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Williams is a great college overall.
There were about 16 physics students who graduated with this degree at Williams in the most recent data year.
Brandeis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Waltham. This university ranks 14th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 25 physics students who graduated with this degree at Brandeis in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the large suburb of Northampton, Smith is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 19th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 12 physics students who graduated with this degree at Smith in the most recent data year.
Located in the medium-sized city of Worcester, Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 15th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 17 physics students who graduated with this degree at Holy Cross in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the suburb of Bridgewater, Bridgewater State is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 26th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were roughly 12 physics students who graduated with this degree at Bridgewater State in the most recent data year.
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.
The physics program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Physics rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for physics schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
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