Physics, General

CIP Code: 40.0801

A physics, general degree prepares graduates for careers in Physicists, Natural sciences managers, Physics teachers, postsecondary and more. 796 colleges and universities offer this program.

Annual Degrees Awarded

11,944

                Colleges Offering
                796
            

                Avg. Career Salary
                $122,353
            

                Top Career Salary
                $166,290
            

Physics, General 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 Physics, General Degree?

Graduates with this degree pursue careers in the following fields:

Physicists

$166,290 +4.0% growth

View Career →

Natural sciences managers

$161,180 +3.7% growth

View Career →

Physics teachers, postsecondary

$97,360 +2.5% growth

View Career →

Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

$64,580 -1.6% growth

View Career →

$122,353

Average Salary Across Careers

$166,290

Highest Paying Career

Career Paths Available

Best Colleges for Physics, General

Ranked by Repit grade, then by degrees awarded. These are the top-rated colleges that produce the most graduates in physics, general.

#	College	Location	Degrees Awarded	Repit Grade
1	University of California-Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	150	A+
2	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Ann Arbor, MI	93	A+
3	University of California-Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, CA	213	A
4	University of California-Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	174	A
5	The University of Texas at Austin	Austin, TX	133	A
6	University of Chicago	Chicago, IL	120	A
7	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA	113	A
8	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, MA	102	A
9	Yale University	New Haven, CT	96	A
10	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA	96	A
11	Brown University	Providence, RI	94	A
12	University of Florida	Gainesville, FL	87	A
13	Cornell University	Ithaca, NY	84	A
14	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	Atlanta, GA	81	A
15	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	77	A
16	Columbia University in the City of New York	New York, NY	74	A
17	University of California-San Diego	La Jolla, CA	74	A
18	University of California-Irvine	Irvine, CA	73	A
19	Princeton University	Princeton, NJ	64	A
20	Stanford University	Stanford, CA	64	A
21	New York University	New York, NY	60	A
22	University of Virginia-Main Campus	Charlottesville, VA	58	A
23	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, CA	58	A
24	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, NC	53	A
25	Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	49	A
26	William & Mary	Williamsburg, VA	48	A
27	University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, IN	48	A
28	Rice University	Houston, TX	43	A
29	Washington University in St Louis	Saint Louis, MO	40	A
30	Duke University	Durham, NC	36	A

Largest Physics, General Programs

Schools ranked by number of graduates. These institutions produce the most physics, general graduates annually, including online and distance learning programs.

#	College	Location	Degrees Awarded	Repit Grade
1	University of California-Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, CA	213	A
2	University of California-Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	174	A
3	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	Seattle, WA	166	B+
4	University of Colorado Boulder	Boulder, CO	152	B
5	University of California-Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	150	A+
6	The University of Texas at Austin	Austin, TX	133	A
7	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Madison, WI	128	B+
8	University of Chicago	Chicago, IL	120	A
9	Ohio State University-Main Campus	Columbus, OH	119	B+
10	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA	113	A
11	University of Maryland-College Park	College Park, MD	110	B+
12	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, MA	102	A
13	Yale University	New Haven, CT	96	A
14	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA	96	A
15	Brown University	Providence, RI	94	A
16	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Ann Arbor, MI	93	A+
17	Purdue University-Main Campus	West Lafayette, IN	93	B+
18	Stony Brook University	Stony Brook, NY	91	B+
19	Michigan State University	East Lansing, MI	91	B
20	University of Florida	Gainesville, FL	87	A
21	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	University Park, PA	85	B+
22	Cornell University	Ithaca, NY	84	A
23	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Champaign, IL	84	B+
24	Irvine Valley College	Irvine, CA	83	C
25	University of California-Riverside	Riverside, CA	82	B
26	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	Atlanta, GA	81	A
27	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	77	A
28	Columbia University in the City of New York	New York, NY	74	A
29	University of California-San Diego	La Jolla, CA	74	A
30	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minneapolis, MN	74	B+

11,944

Degrees Awarded Annually

796

Colleges Offering Program

Related Careers

About Physics, General

Physics, General is a degree program offered at 796 colleges and universities across the United States. Each year, approximately 11,944 students graduate with this degree.

Graduates with this degree can pursue careers such as physicists, natural sciences managers, physics teachers, postsecondary, secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education.

Program Classification

CIP Code 40.0801

Field (2-digit CIP) 40

Category (4-digit CIP) 40.08

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do with a Physics, General degree?

A Physics, General degree can lead to careers as a physicists, natural sciences managers, physics teachers, postsecondary, secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education, and more. Top earners in related careers can make up to $166,290 annually.

How many colleges offer Physics, General?

796 colleges and universities in the United States offer Physics, General as a degree program. Each year, approximately 11,944 students graduate with this degree.

What are the best colleges for Physics, General?

The best colleges for Physics, General based on Repit's ratings include University of California-Los Angeles, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of California-Santa Barbara, University of California-Berkeley, The University of Texas at Austin. 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 Physics, General degree?

Graduates with a Physics, General degree can expect average salaries around $122,353 in related careers, with top earners making up to $166,290. Actual salaries depend on the specific career path, experience level, and location.

Physics, General

Physics, General Salary by College

What Can You Do With a Physics, General Degree?

Physicists

Natural sciences managers

Physics teachers, postsecondary

Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

Best Colleges for Physics, General

Largest Physics, General Programs

About Physics, General

Program Classification

Frequently Asked Questions

Get the ZIP-level rental data BiggerPockets doesn’t show

What best describes you?

When are you looking to take action?

What interests you most?

You're in.