by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 2,214 people earned their degree in natural sciences, making the major the 208th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, natural sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $25,745 and had an average of $18,648 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southwest region, there were 941 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region” ranking analyzed 16 colleges that offered a degree in natural sciences. That schools that top this list have a program in natural sciences in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region” list to help you make the college decision.
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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region natural sciences students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Oklahoma Baptist University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region. OBU is a small school located in Shawnee, Oklahoma that handed out 10 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 16 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Lee College landed the #2 spot on the list. Lee College is a medium-sized public school situated in Baytown, Texas. It awarded 88 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 16 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, College of the Mainland landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Texas City, Texas, and it awarded 27 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Redlands Community College. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region. Redlands Community College is located in El Reno, Oklahoma and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s natural sciences degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Natural Sciences at Redlands Community College
Texas Christian University ranked #6 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. Fort Worth, Texas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s natural sciences degrees to 22 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma is located in Chickasha, Oklahoma and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 ’s natural sciences degrees to qualified students.
Northeastern State University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and it awarded 4 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #9, The University of Texas at El Paso did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. UTEP is located in El Paso, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 ’s natural sciences degrees to qualified students.
Dallas Baptist University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking. DBU is a small school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 1 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Natural Sciences at Dallas Baptist University
With a ranking of #11, University of Arizona did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. University of Arizona is located in Tucson, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 ’s natural sciences degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
With a ranking of #12, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. Located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, this large public school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified ’s natural sciences students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Full Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Natural Sciences Report
Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Arizona State University - Tempe is a large school located in Tempe, Arizona that handed out 6 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Our Lady of the Lake University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Our Lady of the Lake University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in San Antonio, Texas. It awarded 0 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
New Mexico State University - Carlsbad ranked #14 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region list. Located in Carlsbad, New Mexico, this small public school handed out 0 degrees to qualified ’s natural sciences students in 2020-2021.
Blinn College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Sciences Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Brenham, Texas, this fairly large public school awarded 0 diplomas to qualified ’s natural sciences students in 2020-2021.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
