Best Colleges for Physical Sciences

Physical sciences — including physics, chemistry, and earth sciences — explore the fundamental laws of nature. These top colleges offer advanced lab facilities, undergraduate research programs, and strong preparation for STEM graduate programs. Rankings factor academic standing, graduation rates, major enrollment, and career outcomes in scientific fields.

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26 schools ranked in this list.

RankSchoolTuitionAcceptance
#1Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, 02139$64,730 5%
#2New College of Florida Sarasota, FL, 34243-73%
#3United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD, 21403-9%
#4California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA, 91125$68,208 3%
#5Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY, 12604$74,265 19%
#6Wellesley College Wellesley, MA, 02481$70,144 14%
#7Davidson College Davidson, NC, 28035$69,065 13%
#8Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA, 91711$73,100 13%
#9Haverford College Haverford, PA, 19041$73,568 12%
#10Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN, 47803$58,200 77%
#11Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA, 30332-14%
#12Beloit College Beloit, WI, 53511$62,586 63%
#13Xavier University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA, 70125$30,042 69%
#14Dakota Wesleyan University Mitchell, SD, 57301$34,540 73%
#15Hampshire College Amherst, MA, 01002$61,484 75%
#16Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN, 46383$50,390 89%
#17New Mexico Tech Socorro, NM, 87801-44%
#18La Roche University Pittsburgh, PA, 15237$35,684 81%
#19Lawrence University Appleton, WI, 54911$58,794 64%
#20Medgar Evers College--CUNY Brooklyn, NY, 11225-86%
#21Kettering University Flint, MI, 48504$50,650 79%
#22Whitman College Walla Walla, WA, 99362$66,610 38%
#23The College of Wooster Wooster, OH, 44691$64,210 60%
#24Albion College Albion, MI, 49224$58,500 81%
#25Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL, 32901$47,280 58%
#26Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO, 65409-73%