Best degree programs for Physicists, ranked by enrollment
13 college programs and 843 schools train Physicists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $172,250 median wage, 20,430 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
13 college programs at 843 schools train physicists, graduating 15,142 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Physics, General. The job pays a median of $172,250 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About physicists
Conduct research into physical phenomena, develop theories on the basis of observation and experiments, and devise methods to apply physical laws and theories.
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate causes of phenomena, and usually frame their understanding in mathematical terms. They work across a wide range of research fields, spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic and particle physics, through biological physics, to cosmological length scales encompassing the universe as a whole. The field generally includes two types of physicists: experimental physicists who specialize in the observation of natural phenomena and the development and analysis of experiments, and theoretical physicists who specialize in mathematical modeling of physical systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena.
Read more on Wikipedia →Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
13 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physics, Generalmain feeder CIP 40.0801 | 12,137 | 80.2% | 800 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 2 | Engineering Physics/Applied Physicsmain feeder CIP 14.1201 | 1,121 | 7.4% | 107 | $57,457 | $24,706 |
| 3 | CIP 40.0202 | 502 | 3.3% | 48 | $39,728 | $24,678 |
| 4 | Physics, Othermain feeder CIP 40.0899 | 470 | 3.1% | 52 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 5 | CIP 51.2205 | 332 | 2.2% | 37 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 6 | Optics/Optical Sciencesmain feeder CIP 40.0807 | 266 | 1.8% | 15 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 7 | Acousticsmain feeder CIP 40.0809 | 189 | 1.2% | 7 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 8 | Physics and Astronomymain feeder CIP 40.1101 | 58 | 0.4% | 5 | — | — |
| 9 | Theoretical and Mathematical Physicsmain feeder CIP 40.0810 | 34 | 0.2% | 9 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 10 | Atomic/Molecular Physicsmain feeder CIP 40.0802 | 12 | 0.1% | 4 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 11 | Elementary Particle Physicsmain feeder CIP 40.0804 | 12 | 0.1% | 3 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 12 | Condensed Matter and Materials Physicsmain feeder CIP 40.0808 | 5 | 0.0% | 1 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 13 | Nuclear Physicsmain feeder CIP 40.0806 | 4 | 0.0% | 1 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 240 | Physics, General | 93% | — | 11% |
| 2 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 224 | Physics, General | 85% | — | 42% |
| 3 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO Public · 3 feeder programs | 191 | Physics, General | 74% | — | 78% |
| 4 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 180 | Physics, General | 83% | — | 33% |
| 5 | Yale University New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 163 | Physics, General | 96% | $27,025 | 4% |
| 6 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 158 | Physics, General | 98% | $15,013 | 4% |
| 7 | New York University New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 157 | Acoustics | 88% | $29,023 | 9% |
| 8 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs | 155 | Optics/Optical Sciences | 68% | — | 86% |
| 9 | University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI Public · 4 feeder programs | 155 | Physics, General | 90% | — | 45% |
| 10 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 154 | Physics, General | 95% | $17,613 | 9% |
| 11 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 148 | Physics, General | 93% | — | 9% |
| 12 | University of Rochester Rochester, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 147 | Optics/Optical Sciences | 85% | $25,874 | 40% |
| 13 | Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 145 | Physics, General | 76% | — | 49% |
| 14 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 145 | Physics, General | 96% | $13,333 | 4% |
| 15 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 144 | Physics, General | 81% | — | 85% |
| 16 | Air Force Institute of Technology - Graduate School of Engineering & Management Wright-Patterson AFB, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 142 | Engineering Physics/Applied Physics | — | — | — |
| 17 | Princeton University Princeton, NJ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 134 | Physics, General | 98% | $13,729 | 5% |
| 18 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 134 | Physics, General | 85% | — | 39% |
| 19 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 130 | Physics, Other | 94% | $11,888 | 6% |
| 20 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 130 | Physics, General | 86% | — | 27% |
| 21 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 4 feeder programs | 128 | Physics, General | 88% | — | 61% |
| 22 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 123 | Physics, General | 96% | $15,315 | 4% |
| 23 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 122 | Physics, General | 89% | — | 27% |
| 24 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 119 | Physics, General | 87% | — | 29% |
| 25 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 116 | Physics, General | 93% | — | 16% |
| 26 | University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD Public · 1 feeder programs | 115 | Physics, General | 89% | — | 45% |
| 27 | Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA Public · 2 feeder programs | 113 | Physics, General | 94% | — | 14% |
| 28 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 111 | Physics, General | 94% | $17,608 | 3% |
| 29 | Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · 2 feeder programs | 110 | Physics, General | 83% | — | 50% |
| 30 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 109 | Physics, General | 96% | $11,666 | 5% |
| 31 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 105 | Physics, General | 86% | — | 42% |
| 32 | Brown University Providence, RI Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 103 | Physics, General | 96% | $14,644 | 5% |
| 33 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN Public · 4 feeder programs | 98 | Physics, General | 85% | — | 80% |
| 34 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 95 | Physics, General | 92% | $12,032 | 4% |
| 35 | University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 93 | Physics, General | 75% | — | 66% |
| 36 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 89 | Physics, General | 86% | — | 61% |
| 37 | University of Oregon Eugene, OR Public · 2 feeder programs | 89 | Physics, General | 72% | — | 88% |
| 38 | Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ Public · 4 feeder programs | 88 | Physics, General | 84% | — | 58% |
| 39 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT Public · 1 feeder programs | 87 | Physics, General | 65% | — | 86% |
| 40 | Rice University Houston, TX Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 86 | Physics, General | 95% | $13,264 | 8% |
| 41 | Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 84 | Physics, General | 70% | $28,133 | 67% |
| 42 | Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 79 | Engineering Physics/Applied Physics | 82% | — | 61% |
| 43 | Irvine Valley College Irvine, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 78 | Physics, General | 57% | — | — |
| 44 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 77 | Physics, General | 91% | — | 24% |
| 45 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT Public · 3 feeder programs | 76 | Physics, General | 83% | — | 52% |
| 46 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 75 | Physics, General | 97% | $22,055 | 5% |
| 47 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR Public · 2 feeder programs | 74 | Health/Medical Physics | 70% | — | 77% |
| 48 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 3 feeder programs | 74 | Physics, General | 85% | — | 58% |
| 49 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs | 73 | Physics, General | 68% | — | 90% |
| 50 | University of New Mexico - Main Campus Albuquerque, NM Public · 4 feeder programs | 73 | Physics, General | 55% | — | 95% |
What physicists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $207,490 | 5,930 | 2.48× | 145 | 3,507 |
| New York | $181,970 | 1,140 | 0.90× | 61 | 1,301 |
| Texas | $184,040 | 580 | 0.31× | 46 | 762 |
| Massachusetts | $106,410 | 1,150 | 2.41× | 29 | 712 |
| Illinois | $137,140 | 1,590 | 1.99× | 28 | 666 |
| Pennsylvania | $210,990 | 230 | 0.28× | 45 | 574 |
| Ohio | $162,900 | 630 | 0.87× | 29 | 552 |
| Michigan | $94,520 | 510 | 0.89× | 23 | 406 |
| Florida | $225,390 | 340 | 0.26× | 20 | 386 |
| Colorado | $104,580 | 1,050 | 2.77× | 16 | 381 |
| Virginia | $145,040 | 940 | 1.74× | 24 | 371 |
| North Carolina | $174,180 | 150 | 0.23× | 18 | 369 |
| New Jersey | $163,270 | 470 | 0.83× | 14 | 359 |
| Maryland | $174,390 | 1,200 | 3.30× | 15 | 356 |
| Arizona | $130,500 | 120 | 0.29× | 15 | 340 |
| Georgia | $144,870 | 160 | 0.25× | 18 | 296 |
| Wisconsin | $173,120 | 180 | 0.47× | 18 | 292 |
| Indiana | $105,940 | 230 | 0.54× | 23 | 289 |
| Connecticut | $180,300 | 60 | 0.28× | 9 | 272 |
| Minnesota | $171,220 | 110 | 0.29× | 18 | 269 |
| Washington | $134,790 | 450 | 0.96× | 13 | 223 |
| Oregon | $200,320 | 90 | 0.33× | 12 | 219 |
| Utah | $156,760 | 30 | 0.14× | 8 | 197 |
| Tennessee | $165,010 | 240 | 0.55× | 18 | 156 |
| Missouri | $140,460 | 90 | 0.22× | 14 | 148 |
| Alabama | $139,330 | 280 | 1.00× | 10 | 132 |
| Rhode Island | $155,150 | — | — | 5 | 129 |
| Kentucky | $180,910 | 50 | 0.18× | 12 | 126 |
| Iowa | $178,110 | 110 | 0.55× | 15 | 117 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $165,340 | 580 | 5.07× | 4 | 117 |
| Louisiana | $166,240 | 40 | 0.15× | 9 | 112 |
| Oklahoma | $200,050 | 40 | 0.19× | 12 | 95 |
| District of Columbia | $157,040 | 480 | 5.24× | 5 | 84 |
| South Carolina | $138,400 | 420 | 1.38× | 12 | 84 |
| Arkansas | $135,820 | 60 | 0.36× | 10 | 67 |
| Idaho | $135,150 | — | — | 6 | 65 |
| Maine | — | 60 | 0.70× | 5 | 62 |
| Delawarelimited | $82,590 | 50 | 0.72× | 2 | 55 |
| New Hampshire | $214,030 | 30 | 0.38× | 5 | 53 |
| Mississippi | $129,970 | 80 | 0.55× | 7 | 40 |
| Nevadalimited | $154,030 | 50 | 0.27× | 2 | 38 |
| Montanalimited | $103,800 | 30 | 0.51× | 2 | 32 |
| South Dakota | $83,050 | 30 | 0.58× | 5 | 27 |
| Hawaiilimited | $117,190 | 40 | 0.46× | 2 | 26 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Perform complex calculations as part of the analysis and evaluation of data, using computers.
- Analyze data from research conducted to detect and measure physical phenomena.
- Describe and express observations and conclusions in mathematical terms.
- Design computer simulations to model physical data so that it can be better understood.
- Write research proposals to receive funding.
- Teach physics to students.
- Report experimental results by writing papers for scientific journals or by presenting information at scientific conferences.
- Observe the structure and properties of matter, and the transformation and propagation of energy, using equipment such as masers, lasers, and telescopes, to explore and identify the basic principles governing these phenomena.
Skills
- Science4.6
- Reading Comprehension4.3
- Mathematics4.3
- Critical Thinking4.1
- Speaking4.1
- Active Learning4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Writing4.0
Knowledge areas
- Physics4.9
- Mathematics4.8
- Engineering and Technology4.5
- Computers and Electronics4.4
- English Language3.7
- Education and Training3.4
Abilities
- Mathematical Reasoning4.8
- Written Comprehension4.3
- Number Facility4.3
- Fluency of Ideas4.1
- Deductive Reasoning4.1
- Inductive Reasoning4.1
Core activities
- Analyzing Data or Information4.6
- Working with Computers4.6
- Getting Information4.5
- Processing Information4.4
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.3
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
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.
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
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
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 12,137 degrees in 2024-25, 80.2% 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 13 programs to this occupation. The largest are Physics, Engineering Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Public Health, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 15,142 people a year.
How much do physicists earn?+
The median is $172,250 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $82,110 at the 10th percentile to $274,110 at the 90th. 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?+
843 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 13 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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