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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Southwest Region

7 Ranked Colleges
24 Degrees Awarded
$25,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest 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 Southwest 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 Southwest region, there were 141 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $25,179 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 24 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,970 and $95,025 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the astronomy and astrophysics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

The astronomy 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 “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region

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

Top 7 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Southwest Region

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region. The University of Texas at Austin is located in Austin, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

UT Austin also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Austin are $22,886, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at UT Austin

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M University - College Station. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region list. Texas A&M College Station is a large school located in College Station, Texas that handed out 1 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M College Station also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #5. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Texas A&M University - College Station are $22,743.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Texas A&M University - College Station

#3

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, Arizona
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Arizona University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Flagstaff, Arizona, this large public school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region doctor’s degree astronomy students list, NAU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at NAU are $19,489, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full NAU Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#7 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, New Mexico State University - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. New Mexico State University - Main Campus is a fairly large public school situated in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It awarded 1 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

NMSU Main Campus also took the #7 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at New Mexico State University - Main Campus are $18,275, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full New Mexico State University - Main Campus Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#5

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Arizona. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region. University of Arizona is a large school located in Tucson, Arizona that handed out 13 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Arizona did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arizona are $33,399, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Arizona

#3 in overall quality

Arizona State University - Tempe ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region list. Arizona State University - Tempe is a large public school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 5 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

ASU - Tempe also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at Arizona State University - Tempe are $27,048, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Arizona State University - Tempe

#7

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, Texas
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Texas Christian University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Doctorate in the Southwest Region list. Texas Christian University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Worth, Texas. It awarded 1 doctorate’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

TCU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at TCU are $32,268.

Full TCU Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

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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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