2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Master’s

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Master’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 4,159 people earned their degree in general physical sciences, making the major the 135th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $25,050 and had an average of $13,137 in loans still to pay off.

At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 41 general physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,398 and $43,194 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in general physical sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general physical sciences programs, but they also 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 general physical sciences program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Physical Science Schools for a Master’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Master’s

The colleges and universities below are the best for master’s degree physical science students.

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Physical Sciences

#1

Georgia Southern University

Statesboro, Georgia

#3 in overall quality

$22,004 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$43,798 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Georgia Southern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Master’s list. Located in Statesboro, Georgia, this large public school awarded 9 degrees to qualified masters’s physical science students in 2019-2020.

GaSou also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at GaSou are $22,004, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full GaSou General Physical Sciences Report

#2

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, New York

#1 in overall quality

$50,442 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rochester Institute of Technology. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Master’s. RIT is located in Rochester, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 masters’s physical science degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at RIT, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best General Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at RIT are $50,442.

Full RIT General Physical Sciences Report

#3

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Master’s. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 6 masters’s physical science degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Physical Sciences at UChicago

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.

Featured Physical Sciences Schools

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