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2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region

6 Ranked Colleges
25 Degrees Awarded
$34,600 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 1,268 people earned their degree in astronomy and astrophysics, making the major the 222nd most popular in the United States. 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 Far Western US region, there were 238 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $14,817 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 25 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,342 and $136,270 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region” ranking, we looked at 6 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy and astrophysics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality astronomy and astrophysics programs that also have a lower cost than 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region.

Top 6 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Far Western US Region

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s astronomy degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Los Angeles

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region list. Seattle, Washington is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s astronomy degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW Seattle, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UW Seattle are $30,294, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at UW Seattle

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 2 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Berkeley Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#4

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Cruz. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region list. University of California - Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our far western us region doctor’s degree astronomy students list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Santa Cruz are $28,952.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Santa Cruz

#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Hawaii at Manoa. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region. This fairly large school is located in Honolulu, Hawaii, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

UH Manoa also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Hawaii at Manoa are $34,550, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at UH Manoa

#6

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#1 in overall quality

California Institute of Technology came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Far Western US Region ranking. California Institute of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 7 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Caltech are $56,649.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at California Institute of Technology

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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.

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