Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Physics in North Carolina

8 Ranked Colleges
244 Degrees Awarded
$17,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor's in North Carolina

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 North Carolina, there were 382 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $23,428 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 244 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,192 and $24,368 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina” 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.

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

More Ways to Rank Physics Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina” list to help you make the college 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina

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

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

#1

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #1 spot on the list. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that handed out 49 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UNC Chapel Hill not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $12,352 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Physics students per year to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.9% 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%.

Full UNC Chapel Hill Physics Report

#2

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend North Carolina State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina list. NC State is a large school located in Raleigh, North Carolina that handed out 41 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

NC State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $16,458 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Physics students per year to attend NC State.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 NC State

#3

Appalachian State University

Boone, North Carolina

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Appalachian State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Appalachian State is a large school located in Boone, North Carolina that handed out 27 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Appalachian State, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Appalachian State is $13,920 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Physics students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read more about Physics at Appalachian State

#4

East Carolina University

Greenville, North Carolina
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Carolina University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina list. Located in Greenville, North Carolina, this large public school awarded 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s physics students in 2019-2020.

ECU also took the #5 spot in our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for East Carolina University is $15,844 for north carolina bachelor’s degree physics students.

Full East Carolina University Physics Report

#5

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Wilmington, North Carolina

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Wilmington landed the #5 spot on the list. Wilmington, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s physics degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

UNCW also made our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Wilmington is $19,055 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Physics students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Physics at University of North Carolina at Wilmington

#6

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina

University of North Carolina at Charlotte came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina ranking. UNC Charlotte is a large public school situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. It awarded 24 bachelors’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UNC Charlotte not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list. The estimated yearly cost for UNC Charlotte is $16,529 for north carolina bachelor’s degree physics students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full University of North Carolina at Charlotte Physics Report

#7

University of North Carolina at Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina
#8 in overall quality

University of North Carolina at Asheville came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina ranking. UNCA is located in Asheville, North Carolina and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s physics degrees to qualified students.

UNCA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list. The yearly cost to attend University of North Carolina at Asheville is $12,061 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Physics students.

Read more about Physics at UNCA

#8

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, North Carolina
#2 in overall quality

Wake Forest University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina list. Wake Forest University is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 bachelors’s physics degrees to qualified students.

Wake Forest University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list. The yearly cost to attend Wake Forest University is $29,990 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Physics students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Physics at Wake Forest University

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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.

Credits

Featured Physical Sciences Schools

Find Schools Near You