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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics in the Rocky Mountains Region

9 Ranked Colleges
99 Degrees Awarded
$25,400 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Physics Schools for a Master's in the Rocky Mountains Region

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 the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Physics is the 67th most popular major in the country with 14,123 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Rocky Mountains region, there were 589 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $21,066 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 99 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,560 and $37,817 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking, we looked at 9 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Physics Schools

The physics school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region”.

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 the Rocky Mountains Region

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

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physics in the Rocky Mountains Region

#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Provo. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. BYU is located in Provo, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.

BYU also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #7. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Brigham Young University - Provo are $7,510.

Full BYU Physics Report

#2

University of Wyoming

Laramie, Wyoming
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wyoming. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. UW is located in Laramie, Wyoming and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.

UW not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wyoming are $16,615, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physics at University of Wyoming

#3

Montana State University

Bozeman, Montana
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Montana State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in Bozeman, Montana, this fairly large public school awarded 13 degrees to qualified masters’s physics students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at MSU Bozeman, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Montana State University are $21,446, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physics at MSU Bozeman

#4

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Utah landed the #4 spot on the list. Salt Lake City, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

U of U also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at U of U are $24,695, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physics at U of U

#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Colorado State University - Fort Collins. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region. Colorado State is a large public school situated in Fort Collins, Colorado. It awarded 13 masters’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Colorado State also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at Colorado State University - Fort Collins are $28,055, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physics at Colorado State

#6

University of Idaho

Moscow, Idaho
#8 in overall quality

University of Idaho ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. University of Idaho is located in Moscow, Idaho and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.

U of I did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at U of I are $29,112, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Idaho Physics Report

#1 in overall quality

University of Colorado Boulder came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. CU - Boulder is located in Boulder, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 28 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.

CU - Boulder did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Colorado Boulder are $32,980.

Read full report on Physics at University of Colorado Boulder

#8

Idaho State University

Pocatello, Idaho
#9 in overall quality

Idaho State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #8. Pocatello, Idaho is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

ISU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at ISU are $26,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physics at Idaho State University

#9

Colorado School of Mines

Golden, Colorado
#2 in overall quality

Colorado School of Mines ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in Golden, Colorado, this medium-sized public school handed out 7 diplomas to qualified masters’s physics students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mines, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Mines are $39,800, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Colorado School of Mines Physics Report

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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.

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