Optics/Optical Sciences
CIP Code: 40.0807A optics/optical sciences degree prepares graduates for careers in Physicists, Natural sciences managers, Physics teachers, postsecondary. 16 colleges and universities offer this program.
Annual Degrees Awarded
249
Colleges Offering
16
Avg. Career Salary
$141,610
Top Career Salary
$166,290
Optics/Optical Sciences Salary by College
Nationally, bachelor’s graduates in this field earn a median $76,786 four years after graduating (middle half: $51,777–$102,948). Where you study it matters: across 107 colleges with reported results, pay ranges from $42,790 to $131,025.
Sort by:
| # | College | 4 yrs after | Wage-adjusted | 1 yr after | Median debt | Outcome Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA | $131,025 | $115,381 | $54,773 | $18,500 | A+ |
| 2 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY | $118,649 | $112,929 | $50,933 | $15,961 | A+ |
| 3 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | $110,029 | $118,041 | — | $21,500 | A+ |
| 4 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC | $103,477 | $111,046 | $62,647 | $17,150 | A+ |
| 6 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR | $103,167 | $103,775 | $48,169 | $24,250 | B |
| 5 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR | $103,167 | $103,775 | $48,169 | $24,250 | B+ |
| 7 | Whitworth University Spokane, WA | $99,842 | $91,833 | $65,316 | $19,500 | C+ |
| 8 | College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA | $99,165 | $87,325 | — | — | A+ |
| 9 | Le Moyne College Syracuse, NY | $99,009 | $94,236 | — | — | B |
| 10 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | $96,805 | $88,086 | — | $23,886 | A+ |
| 11 | University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA | $96,215 | $87,549 | $43,144 | $13,590 | A |
| 12 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA | $96,138 | $87,542 | — | — | B+ |
| 13 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | $96,043 | $87,393 | $50,219 | $15,000 | A+ |
| 14 | University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA | $95,018 | $86,460 | $48,951 | $18,000 | A+ |
| 15 | Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH | $94,543 | $100,892 | $53,504 | $21,500 | A |
| 16 | Utah State University Logan, UT | $93,461 | $88,579 | — | — | C |
| 17 | Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX | $92,826 | $94,377 | $53,329 | $19,500 | A |
| 18 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA | $92,746 | $84,454 | $58,061 | $26,224 | A |
| 19 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | $92,293 | $97,312 | $53,019 | $21,148 | A+ |
| 20 | Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA | $91,610 | $93,168 | — | — | C+ |
| 21 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA | $91,438 | $80,521 | $48,324 | $21,677 | C+ |
| 22 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD | $90,900 | $79,775 | $39,825 | $19,500 | A+ |
| 23 | Towson University Towson, MD | $90,457 | $79,387 | — | $24,250 | C+ |
| 24 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC | $89,944 | $96,523 | $70,150 | $28,000 | B |
| 25 | Southern Arkansas University Main Campus Magnolia, AR | $89,685 | $105,686 | $58,870 | $22,250 | D |
| 26 | Willamette University Salem, OR | $89,506 | $90,033 | — | $19,500 | B |
| 27 | West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon, WV | $89,430 | $105,801 | — | — | C+ |
| 28 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ | $88,207 | $90,634 | — | $20,500 | B |
| 29 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA | $87,856 | $79,943 | $64,045 | $23,000 | B+ |
| 30 | Portland State University Portland, OR | $87,488 | $88,003 | $62,749 | $22,358 | C+ |
| 31 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI | $87,033 | $90,562 | — | — | B |
| 32 | Stockton University Galloway, NJ | $86,849 | $76,226 | — | — | C |
| 33 | California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA | $86,504 | $78,713 | — | — | C+ |
| 34 | University of Houston Houston, TX | $86,078 | $87,516 | — | $25,454 | B+ |
| 35 | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA | $85,708 | $77,989 | $60,495 | $21,000 | A+ |
| 36 | Bethel University Saint Paul, MN | $85,657 | $81,821 | — | — | B |
| 37 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, WI | $85,638 | $89,110 | $62,196 | $19,500 | C+ |
| 38 | University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA | $85,219 | $77,544 | $53,597 | $15,965 | A |
| 39 | Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA | $85,089 | $88,084 | $62,478 | — | B |
| 40 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA | $82,431 | $85,333 | — | $21,500 | A+ |
| 41 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC | $82,399 | $88,426 | — | $22,096 | C+ |
| 42 | Illinois State University Normal, IL | $81,949 | $80,514 | — | — | B |
| 43 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY | $81,840 | $77,895 | $60,348 | $20,270 | A+ |
| 46 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington Abington, PA | $81,763 | $83,154 | $43,461 | $23,299 | C+ |
| 45 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA | $81,763 | $83,154 | $43,461 | $23,299 | A |
| 44 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College Erie, PA | $81,763 | $83,154 | $43,461 | $23,299 | B |
| 48 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ | $81,696 | $83,944 | $30,503 | $21,500 | B+ |
| 47 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ | $81,696 | $83,944 | $30,503 | $21,500 | B+ |
| 49 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | $81,077 | $79,658 | $51,019 | $19,500 | A+ |
| 50 | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse La Crosse, WI | $80,594 | $83,862 | $54,428 | $19,500 | B+ |
| 51 | SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY | $80,041 | $76,182 | — | — | C+ |
| 52 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN | $80,025 | $76,441 | $54,350 | $23,930 | A |
| 53 | Salisbury University Salisbury, MD | $79,158 | $69,470 | $54,548 | $20,325 | C+ |
| 54 | University of California-Davis Davis, CA | $78,569 | $71,493 | — | $14,354 | A |
| 55 | William & Mary Williamsburg, VA | $77,863 | $70,901 | — | $21,000 | A |
| 56 | Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ | $77,851 | $68,329 | — | $22,250 | B |
| 57 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA | $77,737 | $70,787 | $39,804 | $22,078 | C |
| 58 | SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY | $77,575 | $73,835 | — | $17,420 | B+ |
| 59 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI | $77,380 | $80,518 | $36,878 | $20,500 | A+ |
| 60 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT | $77,158 | $73,128 | $38,748 | — | B+ |
| 61 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL | $76,122 | $74,789 | — | — | B+ |
| 63 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA | $75,867 | $69,781 | $41,474 | $15,415 | A |
| 62 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | $75,867 | $69,781 | $41,474 | $15,415 | A |
| 64 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | $75,764 | $70,854 | $41,874 | $19,306 | B+ |
| 65 | Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY | $75,281 | $71,652 | $48,374 | $27,000 | A |
| 66 | University of Oregon Eugene, OR | $75,160 | $75,603 | — | — | B |
| 67 | Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA | $74,813 | $76,085 | — | — | C |
| 68 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | $74,738 | $75,987 | $36,832 | $19,500 | A+ |
| 69 | University of Delaware Newark, DE | $74,475 | $74,029 | $52,741 | $26,572 | A |
| 70 | University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA | $74,410 | $67,708 | $19,977 | $19,000 | B+ |
| 75 | University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT | $73,879 | $66,515 | $32,341 | $25,460 | B+ |
| 74 | University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT | $73,879 | $66,515 | $32,341 | $25,460 | B+ |
| 73 | University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT | $73,879 | $66,515 | $32,341 | $25,460 | B+ |
| 72 | University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT | $73,879 | $66,515 | $32,341 | $25,460 | B+ |
| 71 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT | $73,879 | $66,515 | $32,341 | $25,460 | A |
| 76 | Brigham Young University Provo, UT | $73,747 | $69,895 | $68,664 | — | A |
| 77 | Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA | $73,703 | $74,957 | — | — | C |
| 78 | Gustavus Adolphus College Saint Peter, MN | $73,540 | $70,246 | — | $26,000 | B+ |
| 79 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO | $73,186 | $68,443 | $34,373 | $23,810 | D |
| 80 | Rowan University Glassboro, NJ | $72,734 | $63,838 | $36,435 | $27,000 | C |
| 81 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA | $72,596 | $63,928 | — | $26,202 | B+ |
| 82 | The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX | $71,830 | $73,030 | $34,611 | $22,964 | B |
| 83 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE | $71,752 | $74,159 | $47,670 | $25,209 | B |
| 84 | California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA | $70,462 | $64,116 | $42,057 | $18,654 | B |
| 85 | New York University New York, NY | $69,334 | $65,992 | $24,802 | $22,750 | A+ |
| 86 | Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN | $69,192 | $75,585 | — | — | C |
| 87 | University of South Florida Tampa, FL | $68,967 | $73,407 | $46,094 | $17,599 | B+ |
| 88 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | $68,682 | $73,103 | — | $13,750 | A+ |
| 91 | Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ | $67,544 | $59,282 | $35,689 | $23,971 | B+ |
| 90 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ | $67,544 | $59,282 | $35,689 | $23,971 | A |
| 89 | Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ | $67,544 | $59,282 | $35,689 | $23,971 | B+ |
| 92 | St. John's University-New York Queens, NY | $67,536 | $64,280 | — | — | B+ |
| 93 | Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN | $67,505 | $72,420 | $30,203 | $21,224 | A+ |
| 94 | Siena College Loudonville, NY | $66,865 | $63,642 | — | $23,500 | A |
| 95 | Texas State University San Marcos, TX | $65,217 | $66,307 | $41,737 | $19,500 | C+ |
| 96 | Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY | $65,013 | $61,879 | $44,562 | $21,341 | A |
| 97 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA | $64,837 | $65,940 | — | $26,000 | C |
| 98 | Boise State University Boise, ID | $64,459 | $68,543 | $45,813 | $24,469 | C+ |
| 99 | University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL | $64,413 | $68,559 | — | — | B |
| 100 | California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA | $64,133 | $58,357 | — | — | C+ |
| 101 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA | $63,833 | $58,713 | — | — | C+ |
| 102 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY | $62,865 | $71,182 | — | $26,868 | D |
| 103 | California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA | $62,004 | $56,420 | $57,114 | — | C |
| 104 | Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA | $61,162 | $64,335 | — | $27,000 | B |
| 105 | Georgia State University Atlanta, GA | $60,393 | $62,519 | $31,001 | $21,859 | D |
| 106 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC | $51,590 | $55,363 | $43,740 | $22,710 | A |
| 107 | The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX | $42,790 | $43,505 | $36,328 | $25,000 | C+ |
Bachelor’s degrees. Wage-adjusted = pay ÷ √(state wage index). Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data.
What Can You Do With a Optics/Optical Sciences Degree?
Graduates with this degree pursue careers in the following fields:
$141,610
Average Salary Across Careers
$166,290
Highest Paying Career
3
Career Paths Available
Best Colleges for Optics/Optical Sciences
Ranked by Repit grade, then by degrees awarded. These are the top-rated colleges that produce the most graduates in optics/optical sciences.
| # | College | Location | Degrees Awarded | Repit Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | 46 | B+ |
| 2 | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | 128 | B |
| 3 | Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester, NY | 26 | C+ |
Largest Optics/Optical Sciences Programs
Schools ranked by number of graduates. These institutions produce the most optics/optical sciences graduates annually, including online and distance learning programs.
| # | College | Location | Degrees Awarded | Repit Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | 128 | B |
| 2 | University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | 46 | B+ |
| 3 | Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester, NY | 26 | C+ |
249
Degrees Awarded Annually
16
Colleges Offering Program
3
Related Careers
About Optics/Optical Sciences
Optics/Optical Sciences is a degree program offered at 16 colleges and universities across the United States. Each year, approximately 249 students graduate with this degree.
Graduates with this degree can pursue careers such as physicists, natural sciences managers, physics teachers, postsecondary.
Program Classification
CIP Code
40.0807
Field (2-digit CIP)
40
Category (4-digit CIP)
40.08
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I do with a Optics/Optical Sciences degree?
A Optics/Optical Sciences degree can lead to careers as a
physicists, natural sciences managers, physics teachers, postsecondary,
and more.
Top earners in related careers can make up to $166,290 annually.
How many colleges offer Optics/Optical Sciences?
16 colleges and universities in the United States offer
Optics/Optical Sciences as a degree program. Each year, approximately 249
students graduate with this degree.
What are the best colleges for Optics/Optical Sciences?
The best colleges for Optics/Optical Sciences based on Repit's ratings include
University of Rochester, University of Arizona, Rochester Institute of Technology.
Rankings are based on the college's overall Repit grade and the number of degrees awarded in this program.
What is the salary potential with a Optics/Optical Sciences degree?
Graduates with a Optics/Optical Sciences degree can expect average salaries around $141,610
in related careers, with top earners making up to $166,290.
Actual salaries depend on the specific career path, experience level, and location.