Physics, General

STEM • Physical Sciences

What is it about?

A general program that focuses on the scientific study of matter and energy, and the formulation and testing of the laws governing the behavior of the matter-energy continuum. Includes instruction in classical and modern physics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, mechanics, wave properties, nuclear processes, relativity and quantum theory, quantitative methods, and laboratory methods.

Numbers at a glance

54th
Popular nationwide
11
Search Rank on O's List
680
Colleges offer it
7,400
Graduates (2018-19)
Men
5,829
Women
1,571

Trends

Graduates
Popularity Rank

Colleges

Number of Colleges by Type
Median Graduating Class by College Type
Number of Colleges by Size
Top 10 Public by Number of Graduates
University of Washington-Seattle Campus140
University of California-Santa Barbara138
University of California-Berkeley115
The University of Texas at Austin92
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign74
University of Maryland-College Park73
Rutgers University-New Brunswick59
University of California-Los Angeles57
Michigan State University55
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus55
Average public university graduating class: 14 students.
Top 10 Private by Number of Graduates
Massachusetts Institute of Technology67
University of Chicago47
Cornell University47
University of Pennsylvania36
Yale University30
Harvard University28
Columbia University in the City of New York28
Washington University in St Louis27
Bethel University26
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute25
Average private university graduating class: 7 students.

O's Insights on Physics, General

  • Major has been increasing in popularity over the last 15 years.
  • 66% of graduates come from public universities.

Related Majors

Major Graduates Colleges
Engineering Physics/Applied Physics 671 86
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