2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 1,820 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $41,980 and $21,326 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 281 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 28 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.
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Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree physics students.
Top 25 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 13 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Physics at University of Wisconsin - Madison
Out of the 28 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the #2 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Macomb, Illinois, and it awarded 7 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree physics students list, WIU has also earned the #23 rank in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996.
Out of the 28 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 9 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #24 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at NIU are $11,086, but some majors have different tuition rates.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region. This large school is located in Athens, Ohio, and it awarded 20 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree physics students list, OHIO Athens has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at OHIO Athens are $17,712, but some majors have different tuition rates.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region. West Lafayette, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree physics students list, Purdue has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Purdue University - Main Campus are $28,794, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Physics at Purdue University - Main Campus
Central Michigan University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Central Michigan is a fairly large school located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan that handed out 4 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Central Michigan, the school also landed the #21 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Central Michigan are $19,359.
DePaul University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 3 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
DePaul also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #16. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 14 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #9. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.
IU Bloomington also took the #7 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at IU Bloomington are $33,338.
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #10. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is located in Cincinnati, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree physics students list, UC has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC are $26,644, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Kent State University at Kent landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Kent, Ohio, this large public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified masters’s physics students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Kent State, the school also landed the #22 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Kent State are $21,952, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Ball State University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Muncie, Indiana, this large public school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified masters’s physics students in 2019-2020.
Ball State also took the #20 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ball State University are $26,204, but some majors have different tuition rates.
University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 4 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
UIC also took the #17 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036.
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UWM is a public institution located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree physics students list, UWM has also earned the #25 rank in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UWM are $25,295, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified masters’s physics students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Tech, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 28 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree physics students list, Ohio State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio State are $37,141.
Miami University - Oxford ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large school located in Oxford, Ohio that handed out 9 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Miami University - Oxford, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Miami University - Oxford are $31,697, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
With a ranking of #18, Western Michigan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Western Michigan University is a public institution located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
WMU also took the #19 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at WMU are $31,355, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Eastern Michigan University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Eastern Michigan is located in Ypsilanti, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern Michigan University are $26,552, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Michigan State University landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 14 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Michigan State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan State are $37,056, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #21. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 4 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.
SIUC also took the #18 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUC are $32,928, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Physics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
With a ranking of #22, Wright State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Wright State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Dayton, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Wright State University - Main Campus are $24,286.
Wayne State University landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Detroit, Michigan, this large public school awarded 7 diplomas to qualified masters’s physics students in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Wayne State University are $37,215, but some majors have different tuition rates.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #24. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 18 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
U-M did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at U-M are $49,548.
Case Western Reserve University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #25. Case Western Reserve University is located in Cleveland, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
Case Western also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #9. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Case Western are $47,958.
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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
- Credit for the banner image above goes to A. T. Service.
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