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St. Louis, MO · Physics & astronomy

Physics & astronomy at WashU

WashU graduates about 16 physics & astronomy majors a year. That puts it 29th of 525 schools we score for physics & astronomy, a standout program at 89 out of 100. Research spending in the field runs about $28 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

89/100Standout#29 of 525 for physics & astronomy →
Graduates a year16under 1% of the class
Research in the field$28Ma year, NSF
Admit rate12%whole school
SAT middle 50%1500–1570whole school

Around WashU

Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis (Schools at Washington U
Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis,I Gusti Nyoman Haris PraPhoto: MKRI22 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Wine-cap Stropharia (Stropharia rugosoannulata)
Stropharia rugosoannulata 193908529Photo: Cazody · CC0 · source
Thurtene Carnival,Washington University in St. Louis, April 2018
Thurtene CarnivalPhoto: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
The West end of Danforth Campus in the snow. Picture taken from Seigle hall.
West end of Danforth CampusPhoto: Shubinator · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Where physics & astronomy happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Physical Plant, Life Sciences Building.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 84 · Dorm 37 · Student housing 28 · Athletics 5 · Library 5 · Chapel 2.

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Nearby in the physics & astronomy ranking

  1. Boston University 89
  2. United States Naval Academy 89
  3. Tufts University 89
  4. Bowdoin College 89
  5. Vanderbilt University 89
  6. Duke University 89
  7. University of California, Los Angeles 88
  8. Swarthmore College 88

Other strong majors at WashU

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares WashU 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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