Best Physics Schools, Ranked in 2019, part of Best Science Schools.
Graduate schools for physics typically offer a range of specialty programs, from quantum physics to relativity, as well as plentiful research opportunities to bolster a science education. These are the best physics schools. Each school’s score reflects its average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), based on a survey of academics at peer institutions.
NAME / RANK PEER ASSESSMENT SCORE
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA #1 in Physics
Stanford University, Stanford, CA #1 in Physics
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA #3 in Physics
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA #3 in Physics
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ #3 in Physics
University of California–Berkeley, Berkeley, CA #3 in Physics
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY #7 in Physics
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL #7 in Physics
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL #9 in Physics
Columbia University, New York, NY #10 in Physics
University of California–Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA #10 in Physics
Yale University, New Haven, CT #12 in Physics
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI #13 in Physics
University of Colorado–Boulder, Boulder, CO #14 in Physics
University of Maryland–College Park, College Park, MD #14 in Physics
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA #14 in Physics
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD #17 in Physics
University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA #17 in Physics
University of California–San Diego, La Jolla, CA #17 in Physics
University of Texas–Austin, Austin, TX #17 in Physics
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI #17 in Physics
University of Washington, Seattle, WA #22 in Physics
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH #23 in Physics
Stony Brook University–SUNY, Stony Brook, NY #23 in Physics
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL #25 in Physics
Pennsylvania State University–University Park, University Park, PA #25 in Physics
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, Minneapolis , MN #25 in Physics
