2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics in Pennsylvania

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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 Pennsylvania, there were 549 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,900 and $27,000 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 51 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Master’s in Pennsylvania” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics in Pennsylvania

#1

Pennsylvania State University - University Park

University Park, Pennsylvania

#3 in overall quality

$38,728 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Pennsylvania State University - University Park landed the #1 spot on the list.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Penn State University Park, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Penn State University Park are $38,728, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physics at Penn State University Park

#2

Drexel University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#4 in overall quality

$37,074 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Drexel University landed the #2 spot on the list. Drexel University is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 8 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Drexel also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at Drexel University are $37,074, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Physics at Drexel

#3

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#2 in overall quality

$41,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Pennsylvania is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UPenn, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UPenn are $41,760.

Read full report on Physics at University of Pennsylvania

#4

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#1 in overall quality

$47,326 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Carnegie Mellon University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 20 degrees to qualified masters’s physics students in 2019-2020.

Carnegie Mellon also took the #1 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Carnegie Mellon are $47,326.

Read full report on Physics at Carnegie Mellon

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics

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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