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2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois

6 Ranked Colleges
80 Degrees Awarded
$35,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 Illinois, there were 492 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,100 and $21,278 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 80 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,900 and $148,219 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois” ranking looked at 6 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in physics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great physics programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the physics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Doctorate in Illinois” list to help you make the college decision.

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.

Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois doctor’s degree physics students.

Top 7 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physics in Illinois

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 39 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois. NIU is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 4 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois doctor’s degree physics students list, NIU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at NIU are $11,086, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physics at Northern Illinois University

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s physics degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

UIC also made our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physics at University of Illinois at Chicago

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #4 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at SIUC are $32,928.

Read more about Physics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #4 spot on the list. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 4 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois doctor’s degree physics students list, Illinois Tech has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695.

Read more about Physics at Illinois Institute of Technology

#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #5 spot on the list. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 5 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois doctor’s degree physics students list, Northwestern has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567.

Read full report on Physics at Northwestern

#6

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois list. University of Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 23 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. 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 Physics at University of Chicago

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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