Minnesota·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-1054

Best Physics Teacher, Postsecondary programs in Minnesota, ranked by enrollment

Teach courses pertaining to the laws of matter and energy.

21 schools in Minnesota run programs that feed this job, graduating 271 people a year. The job pays a median of $107,240 in Minnesota across about 250 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProfessorInstructorPhysics ProfessorPhysics InstructorTeacherLecturerPhysics LecturerAcoustics Teacher
Graduates / yr
271
in Minnesota
Median pay · Minnesota
$107,240
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
250
people employed
Schools
21
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
67%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,441
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Minnesota that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

6 programs in Minnesota that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Minnesota (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Minnesota page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 40.0801In Minnesota
223
82.3%
17$47,156$23,490
2
CIP 13.1316In Minnesota
35
12.9%
6$43,033$26,044
3
CIP 40.0802In Minnesota
7
2.6%
1$47,156$23,490
4
CIP 13.1329In Minnesota
2
0.7%
2$43,033$26,044
5
CIP 40.0899In Minnesota
2
0.7%
2$47,156$23,490
6
CIP 51.2205In Minnesota
2
0.7%
1$36,762$25,076

Top 21 schools in Minnesota

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 21 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN Public · 3 feeder programs
69Physics, General$54,35085%80%
2Bethel University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
24Physics, General71%$25,22588%
3Carleton College
Northfield, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
22Physics, General90%$18,66920%
4Hamline University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
21Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education60%$20,98188%
5St Olaf College
Northfield, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Physics, General84%$18,12448%
6University of Minnesota - Duluth
Duluth, MN Public · 2 feeder programs
21Physics, General65%89%
7Gustavus Adolphus College
Saint Peter, MN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
17Physics, General77%$21,60761%
8Macalester College
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
12Physics, General87%$21,44129%
9University of St Thomas
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
12Physics, General76%$28,88885%
10Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, MN Public · 2 feeder programs
10Physics, General54%88%
11Concordia College at Moorhead
Moorhead, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Physics, General61%$23,42563%
12Saint Johns University
Collegeville, MN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
7Physics, General75%$19,90091%
13Augsburg University
Minneapolis, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Physics, General52%$23,58582%
14St Catherine University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education61%$21,04292%
15Bemidji State University
Bemidji, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
3Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education$45,66848%56%
16Martin Luther College
New Ulm, MN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
3Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education72%$17,94687%
17Minnesota State University Moorhead
Moorhead, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
3Physics, General57%59%
18University of Minnesota - Morris
Morris, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
2Physics, General63%75%
19Winona State University
Winona, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
2Physics, General57%75%
20College of Saint Benedict
Saint Joseph, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Physics, Other77%$22,58392%
21Saint Cloud State University
Saint Cloud, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
1Physics, General40%95%

All 21 schools in Minnesota

Every school in Minnesota with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Minnesota that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Minnesota - Twin CitiesMinneapolisPublic693
Bethel UniversitySaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit241
Carleton CollegeNorthfieldPrivate not-for-profit221
Hamline UniversitySaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit212
St Olaf CollegeNorthfieldPrivate not-for-profit211
University of Minnesota - DuluthDuluthPublic212
Gustavus Adolphus CollegeSaint PeterPrivate not-for-profit172
Macalester CollegeSaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit121
University of St ThomasSaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit121
Minnesota State University - MankatoMankatoPublic102
Concordia College at MoorheadMoorheadPrivate not-for-profit81
Saint Johns UniversityCollegevillePrivate not-for-profit72
Augsburg UniversityMinneapolisPrivate not-for-profit61
St Catherine UniversitySaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit61
Bemidji State UniversityBemidjiPublic31

What physics teachers, postsecondary earn in Minnesota

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Minnesota
$107,240
Mean annual
$118,530
Jobs in state
250
What the range looks like
10th pct$65,150Median$107,24090th pct$164,950
Versus the national median
+6.9%

U.S. median $100,310. Minnesota pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.00×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Minnesota

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
$130,310median
160 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.5%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
1,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
400
17,100 → 17,500
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Physics Teachers, Postsecondary page.

How to become a Physics Teacher, Postsecondary

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Top skills

SpeakingScienceReading ComprehensionLearning StrategiesActive LearningActive Listening

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Minnesota

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 16 majors mapped to Physics Teachers, Postsecondary15 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 13.1316Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
  • 13.1329Physics Teacher Education
  • 40.0299Astronomy and Astrophysics, Other
  • 40.0508Chemical Physics
  • 40.0801Physics, General
  • 40.0802Atomic/Molecular Physics
  • 40.0804Elementary Particle Physics
  • 40.0805Plasma and High-Temperature Physics(no graduates reported)
  • 40.0806Nuclear Physics
  • 40.0807Optics/Optical Sciences
  • 40.0808Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
  • 40.0809Acoustics
  • 40.0810Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
  • 40.0899Physics, Other
  • 40.1101Physics and Astronomy
  • 51.2205Health/Medical Physics

Common questions

Answers for people weighing physics teachers, postsecondary programs in Minnesota.

What degree do you need to become a Physics Teacher, Postsecondary?+

Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Physics, General, which awarded 223 degrees in Minnesota in 2024-25, 82.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Physics Teacher, Postsecondary?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Physics, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Public Health. Together they graduate about 271 people a year in Minnesota.

How much do physics teachers, postsecondary earn in Minnesota?+

The median is $107,240 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.9% above the U.S. median of $100,310. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for physics teachers, postsecondary growing?+

BLS projects a +2.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Minnesota?+

21 institutions in Minnesota reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do physics teachers, postsecondary work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Instructor, Physics Professor, Physics Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1054.

Physics Teachers, Postsecondary in other statesCaliforniaNew YorkTexasMassachusettsPennsylvaniaIllinoisUtahFlorida

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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