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2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics

10 Ranked Colleges
65 Degrees Awarded
$33,500 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Master's Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Astrophysics is the 598th most popular major in the country with 460 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 65 astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,425 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in astrophysics. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their astrophysics program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major”.

Top 10 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major. California Institute of Technology is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 11 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California Institute of Technology Astrophysics Report

2
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Princeton University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Princeton University is a medium-sized school located in Princeton, New Jersey that handed out 21 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astrophysics at Princeton University

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rochester Institute of Technology. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Located in Rochester, New York, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 5 degrees to qualified masters’s astrophysical sciences students in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Rochester Institute of Technology Astrophysics Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Colorado Boulder. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major. Boulder, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full CU - Boulder Astrophysics Report

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 11 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read full report on Astrophysics at UC Berkeley

6
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 3 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Michigan State University Astrophysics Report

7

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. This large school is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it awarded 2 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Astrophysics at UMN Twin Cities

8

With a ranking of #8, Iowa State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 1 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Astrophysics at Iowa State University

9

Arizona State University - Tempe came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major ranking. This large school is located in Tempe, Arizona, and it awarded 1 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astrophysics at Arizona State University - Tempe

10
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

With a ranking of #10, Harvard University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Astrophysical Sciences Major list. Harvard University is a large school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that handed out 9 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Astrophysics at Harvard University

Notes and References

References

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