Physics & astronomy at Stony Brook
Stony Brook graduates about 66 physics & astronomy majors a year, 1% of its graduating class. That puts it 78th of 525 schools we score for physics & astronomy, a strong program at 77 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $65,000 four years out, below the national figure for the same major (0.85×). Research spending in the field runs about $30 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.
Where physics & astronomy happens
Buildings on campus that fit the field: Earth & Space Sciences, Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, Physics, New Computer Science, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Institute for Advanced Computational Science, Basic Sciences Tower, Health Sciences Tower, Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 58 · Dorm 29 · Student housing 27 · Dining 8 · Athletics 4 · Library 1.
Nearby in the physics & astronomy ranking
Other strong majors at Stony Brook
- Health & pre-med fields 87 · #14
- Nursing 83 · #19
- Sociology & anthropology 83 · #73
- Chemistry & biochem 81 · #67
- Public policy & social work 81 · #34
- Computer science 80 · #81
How the score works
The score is out of 100 and compares Stony Brook 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.