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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k)

10 Ranked Colleges
74 Degrees Awarded
$40,400 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Engineering & Applied Physics is the 440th most popular major in the country with 941 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 74 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,680 and $116,043 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in engineering and applied physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality engineering and applied physics programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the engineering and applied physics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Engineering & Applied Physics Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 10 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k)

#1

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 15 doctorate’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech also made our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at Caltech are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Caltech

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #5 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Northwestern University

#3

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.

Harvard also made our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at Harvard University are $50,654, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Harvard University

#4

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cornell University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Ithaca, New York, and it awarded 12 doctorate’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cornell, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Cornell are $30,042, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Cornell

#5

Rice University

Houston, Texas
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Rice University landed the #5 spot on the list. Rice University is a medium-sized school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 4 doctorate’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Rice not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Rice University are $47,913.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Rice

#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k list. Columbia is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, Columbia has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia are $51,194, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Columbia University in the City of New York

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCSD has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of California - San Diego

#10 in overall quality

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. Norman, Oklahoma is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s applied physics degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

University of Oklahoma did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Oklahoma are $23,236, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Oklahoma

#9

Stevens Institute of Technology

Hoboken, New Jersey
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Stevens Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Hoboken, New Jersey, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, Stevens has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stevens are $38,876.

Full Stevens Institute of Technology Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#9 in overall quality

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach is located in Daytona Beach, Florida and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s applied physics degrees to qualified students.

Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach also made our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #9. Average graduate tuition and fees at Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach are $19,736, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NASA.

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