2024 Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

Astronomy & Astrophysics isn't the most popular bachelor's program in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #168 in popularity out of 363 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 47 bachelor's degrees in astronomy & astrophysics during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

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 & astrophysics students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other astronomy & astrophysics students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• 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.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for astronomy & astrophysics to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized astronomy & astrophysics related body.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Astronomy & Astrophysics in Illinois

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

Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Astronomy

1

University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

21 Annual Graduates

University of Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in astronomy & astrophysics. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in astronomy & astrophysics from University of Chicago

2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL

21 Annual Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a wonderful choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in astronomy & astrophysics. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a bachelor’s in astronomy & astrophysics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	261	44
Ohio	252	52
Indiana	235	17
Wisconsin	213	26

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Astronomy

Astronomy & Astrophysics is one of 8 different types of Physical Sciences programs to choose from.

Astronomy Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Astronomy	42
Astrophysics	5

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Chemistry	606
Physics	325
Geological & Earth Sciences	88
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	29
Materials Sciences	2
Other Physical Science	1

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.