2024 Best Astronomy Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

Astronomy is about average in terms of popularity for master's degrees programs. That is, it ranks #518 out of the 1172 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 3 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Astronomy Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 29 master's degrees in astronomy during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Astronomy School for Your Master's Degree

The astronomical sciences master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to astronomy students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of astronomy students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized astronomy related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for astronomy students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The astronomical sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Astronomy Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Astronomy in the Middle Atlantic Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in astronomy.

Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for a Master's in Astronomical Sciences

1

Cornell University
Ithaca, NY

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

3 Annual Graduates

Cornell University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in astronomy. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in astronomy from Cornell University

2

University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

8 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in astronomy needs to take a look at University of Maryland - College Park. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in astronomy from University of Maryland - College Park

3

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

1 Annual Graduates

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in astronomy. Located in the small city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in astronomy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Best Astronomy Colleges by State

Explore the best astronomy schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
New York	695	8
Pennsylvania	607	13
Maryland	363	8

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Astronomical Sciences

One of 3 majors within the Astronomy & Astrophysics area of study, Astronomy has other similar majors worth exploring.

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Astrophysics	26

Notes and References

• 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.