Best Physicist programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment
Conduct research into physical phenomena, develop theories on the basis of observation and experiments, and devise methods to apply physical laws and.
14 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 148 people a year. The job pays a median of $140,460 in Missouri across about 90 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Missouri that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in Missouri that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Missouri (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 Missouri page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physics, Generalmain feeder CIP 40.0801In Missouri → | 135 | 91.2% | 14 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 2 | Engineering Physics/Applied Physicsmain feeder CIP 14.1201In Missouri → | 7 | 4.7% | 2 | $57,457 | $24,706 |
| 3 | CIP 51.2205In Missouri → | 4 | 2.7% | 1 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 4 | CIP 40.0202In Missouri → | 2 | 1.4% | 1 | $39,728 | $24,678 |
Top 14 schools in Missouri
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 14 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 56 | Physics, General | — | 94% | $14,126 | 12% |
| 2 | University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Physics, General | — | 75% | — | 78% |
| 3 | University of Missouri - Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Physics, General | — | 55% | — | 72% |
| 4 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Physics, General | — | 64% | — | 73% |
| 5 | Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Physics, General | — | 58% | — | 91% |
| 6 | Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Engineering Physics/Applied Physics | — | 58% | — | 74% |
| 7 | University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Physics, General | — | 57% | — | 63% |
| 8 | Missouri Southern State University Joplin, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Physics, General | — | 42% | — | 97% |
| 9 | Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Physics, General | — | 54% | — | 86% |
| 10 | Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Physics, General | — | 80% | $24,886 | 75% |
| 11 | Truman State University Kirksville, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Physics, General | — | 69% | — | 84% |
| 12 | Drury University Springfield, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Physics, General | — | 62% | $20,482 | 58% |
| 13 | William Jewell College Liberty, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Physics, General | — | 68% | $14,072 | 38% |
| 14 | Westminster College Fulton, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Physics, General | — | 55% | $25,185 | 79% |
All 14 schools in Missouri
Every school in Missouri 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington University in St Louis | St. Louis | Private not-for-profit | 56 | 4 |
| University of Missouri - Columbia | Columbia | Public | 26 | 1 |
| University of Missouri - Kansas City | Kansas City | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | Rolla | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Southeast Missouri State University | Cape Girardeau | Public | 6 | 2 |
| University of Missouri - St Louis | Saint Louis | Public | 5 | 1 |
| Missouri Southern State University | Joplin | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Northwest Missouri State University | Maryville | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Saint Louis University | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Truman State University | Kirksville | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Drury University | Springfield | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| William Jewell College | Liberty | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Westminster College | Fulton | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What physicists earn in Missouri
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $172,250. Missouri pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Missouri
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Physicists page.
How to become a Physicist
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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Missouri
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 14 majors mapped to Physicists13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.1201Engineering Physics/Applied Physics
- 40.0202Astrophysics
- 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 physicists programs in Missouri.
What degree do you need to become a Physicist?+
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 135 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 91.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Physicist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Physics, Engineering Physics, Public Health, Astronomy and Astrophysics. Together they graduate about 148 people a year in Missouri.
How much do physicists earn in Missouri?+
The median is $140,460 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 18.5% below the U.S. median of $172,250. 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 physicists growing?+
BLS projects a +4.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Missouri?+
14 institutions in Missouri reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 physicists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Physicist, Scientist, Health Physicist, Research Scientist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-2012.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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