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Pittsburgh, PA · Physics & astronomy

Physics & astronomy at Carnegie Mellon

Carnegie Mellon graduates about 32 physics & astronomy majors a year, 2% of its graduating class. That puts it 14th of 525 schools we score for physics & astronomy, a standout program at 94 out of 100. Research spending in the field runs about $15 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

Graduates a year322% of the class
Research in the field$15Ma year, NSF
Admit rate11%whole school
SAT middle 50%1490–1570whole school

Around Carnegie Mellon

A lawn on the Carnegie Mellon University campus known at The Cut.
The Cut, Carnegie Mellon UniversityPhoto: Sdkb · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
20070520 31 Carnegie-Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
20070520 31 Carnegie-Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (22682736257)Photo: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0 · source
Pamela's Group shot
Pamelas Group shot (472332861)Photo: Kevin Galens · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Cathedral of Learning
CathedralatSunsetPhoto: Jiuguang Wang from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Where physics & astronomy happens

Named buildings on the campus map: Dorm 27 · Academic 23 · Athletics 2 · Dining 1 · Library 1 · Arts 1.

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Nearby in the physics & astronomy ranking

  1. Cornell University 95
  2. University of Notre Dame 95
  3. Dartmouth College 95
  4. Johns Hopkins University 95
  5. Brown University 94
  6. Northwestern University 94
  7. University of Rochester 93
  8. Case Western Reserve University 92

Other strong majors at Carnegie Mellon

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Carnegie Mellon with every school we score in physics & astronomy. It weighs the school's overall strength; how many students graduate in the major and what share of the class they are; research spending in the field (NSF); early pay against the same major nationally; how many courses the catalog lists; and test scores. 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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