by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 13,674 people earned their degree in physics, making the major the 68th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $42,960 and had an average of $22,756 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 483 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $48,413 and $21,886 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 77 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,317 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in physics. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in physics.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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 “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois”.
Out of the 10 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the #1 spot on the list. WIU is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 7 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 10 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois list. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 23 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lewis University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois. Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Romeoville, Illinois. It awarded 3 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%.
Out of the 10 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 5 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #6 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois list. Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois ranking. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois ranking. SIUC is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
Read more about Physics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois ranking. UIC is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Physics at University of Illinois at Chicago
With a ranking of #10, DePaul University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Physics Major in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 1 degrees to qualified masters’s physics students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
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