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2024 Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in Illinois

3 Colleges in Illinois
74 Astronomy Degrees Awarded
Astronomy & Astrophysics isn't the most popular major in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #219 in popularity out of 395 majors in the country. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for astronomy & astrophysics students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 74 degrees in astronomy & astrophysics during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Astronomy & Astrophysics School

Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in Illinois Your choice of astronomy & astrophysics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for astronomy & astrophysics schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Astronomy & Astrophysics Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Astronomy
Master's Degrees in Astronomy
Doctor's Degrees in Astronomy

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Astronomy & Astrophysics in Illinois

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the astronomy degree levels they offer.

Top Illinois Schools in Astronomy

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL
14.3% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a degree in astronomy & astrophysics. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. This university ranks 2nd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 14 astronomy & astrophysics students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in astronomy & astrophysics from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
71.4% Growth in Graduates

University of Chicago is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in astronomy & astrophysics. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were approximately 28 astronomy & astrophysics students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in astronomy & astrophysics from University of Chicago

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in astronomy & astrophysics. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 27 astronomy & astrophysics students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree 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 Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 57
Ohio 314 64
Indiana 294 23
Wisconsin 273 30

View All Rankings >

One of 8 majors within the Physical Sciences area of study, Astronomy & Astrophysics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Astronomy Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Astronomy 63
Other Astronomy & Astrophysics 6
Astrophysics 5

View All Astronomy Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 922
Physics 483
Geological & Earth Sciences 140
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 42
General Physical Sciences 24
Materials Sciences 2
Other Physical Science 1

View All Astronomy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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