2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Southwest Region
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Astronomy & Astrophysics is the 222nd most popular major in the country with 1,268 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, astronomy and astrophysics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $27,700 and had an average of $21,346 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southwest region, there were 141 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $25,179 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 86 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy and astrophysics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great astronomy and astrophysics programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the astronomy and astrophysics program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region.
Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Southwest Region
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Arizona University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Flagstaff, Arizona, this large public school awarded 5 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.
NAU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $12,915 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students per year to attend Northern Arizona University.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region list. Located in Norman, Oklahoma, this large public school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.
University of Oklahoma also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $21,145 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students per year to attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Oklahoma
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Arizona. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region. Located in Tucson, Arizona, this large public school handed out 26 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree astronomy students list, University of Arizona has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $15,016 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students per year to attend University of Arizona.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Arizona
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region list. UNM is a large school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico that handed out 5 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree astronomy students list, UNM has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UNM is $14,446 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students.
Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of New Mexico - Main Campus
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in Prescott, Arizona, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Embry-Riddle Prescott, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $35,396 for southwest region bachelor’s degree astronomy students per year to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott
The University of Texas at Austin landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Austin is located in Austin, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 33 bachelors’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree astronomy students list, UT Austin has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Texas at Austin is $18,023 for southwest region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.
Baylor University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #7. Baylor University is a fairly large school located in Waco, Texas that handed out 3 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Baylor, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Baylor University is $36,039 for southwest region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
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Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
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Astronomy & Astrophysics students with family income $48-$75k in the Southwest Region
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Astronomy & Astrophysics students with family income $75-$110k in the Southwest Region
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Southwest Region
Astronomy & Astrophysics students in the Southwest Region
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.
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