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2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington

8 Ranked Colleges
329 Degrees Awarded
$16,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor's in Washington

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 14,123 people earned their degree in physics, making the major the 67th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $42,475 and had an average of $22,421 in loans still to pay off.

Across Washington, there were 374 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $43,100 and $18,501 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 329 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,202 and $21,977 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in physics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent physics 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 physics program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Physics Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington” 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 Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington

The colleges and universities below are the best for washington bachelor’s degree physics students.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Physics in Washington

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington list. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 207 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list. The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $13,297 for washington bachelor’s degree physics students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Physics at UW Seattle

#2

Western Washington University

Bellingham, Washington
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Washington University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington list. Western Washington University is a fairly large public school situated in Bellingham, Washington. It awarded 11 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

WWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list. The yearly cost to attend Western Washington University is $16,529 for washington bachelor’s degree physics students.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Physics at Western Washington University

#3

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Central Washington University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington. Central Washington University is a fairly large public school situated in Ellensburg, Washington. It awarded 16 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

CWU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” ranking. It costs about $15,397 for Washington Bachelor’s Degree Physics students per year to attend CWU.

Read full report on Physics at CWU

#4

Eastern Washington University

Cheney, Washington
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Eastern Washington University landed the #4 spot on the list. Eastern Washington University is a fairly large public school situated in Cheney, Washington. It awarded 2 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

EWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list. The estimated yearly cost for EWU is $12,607 for Washington Bachelor’s Degree Physics students.

Read more about Physics at Eastern Washington University

#5

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Washington State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington. Washington State University is a large public school situated in Pullman, Washington. It awarded 14 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wazzu, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wazzu is $16,358 for Washington Bachelor’s Degree Physics students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Washington State University Physics Report

#6

Pacific Lutheran University

Tacoma, Washington
#2 in overall quality

Pacific Lutheran University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington ranking. PLU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Tacoma, Washington. It awarded 11 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at PLU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” ranking. It costs about $23,058 for washington bachelor’s degree physics students per year to attend PLU.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Physics at Pacific Lutheran University

University of Washington - Bothell Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington list. Bothell, Washington is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s physics degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

UW Bothell also made our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $11,060 for washington bachelor’s degree physics students per year to attend UW Bothell.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Washington - Bothell Campus Physics Report

#8

Whitworth University

Spokane, Washington
#7 in overall quality

Whitworth University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Washington ranking. Located in Spokane, Washington, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s physics students in 2019-2020.

Whitworth also took the #7 spot in our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Whitworth University is $25,557 for washington bachelor’s degree physics students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Physics at Whitworth University

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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