2026 Best Colleges for Physics

Academic Highlights: Undergraduates pursue one of 58 majors and 59 minors at this world-class research institution. The student-to-faculty ratio is an astonishing 3-to-1, and even with a substantial focus on graduate programs, the class sizes are intimate. Over two-fifths of all class sections have single-digit enrollments, and 66% of courses contain fewer than twenty students. MIT is known for having one of the best formalized undergraduate research programs in the country. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) operates year-round and helped connect 93%+ of students to a research experience with an MIT faculty member. Studying abroad is strongly encouraged; almost half participate.

Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2023 saw 49% of its members enter the world of employment and 43% continue on their educational paths. The top employers included Amazon, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Google, General Motors, the US Navy, Apple, Bain & Company, and McKinsey. The median starting salary for an MIT bachelor’s degree holder was $110,000. The most frequently attended graduate schools are a who’s who of elite institutions including MIT itself, Stanford, Cornell, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins.

Academic Highlights: Across all six divisions at Caltech, there are 28 distinct majors. Possessing an absurdly favorable 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio, plenty of individualized attention is up for grabs. Class sizes are not quite as tiny as the student-to-faculty ratio might suggest, but 66% of courses enroll fewer than twenty students, and 28% enroll fewer than ten. Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) enjoy wide participation with 90% of undergraduates partaking, and 20% of that group going on to publish their results.

Professional Outcomes: Caltech is a rare school that sees six-figure average starting salaries for its graduates; in 2023, the median base salary range was 110k-119k. Forty-four percent of recent grads went directly into the workforce and found homes at tech giants such as Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta. A healthy 43% of those receiving their diplomas in 2023 continued directly on the higher education path, immediately entering graduate school. Seventy-four percent of these students were admitted to their top-choice school.

Academic Highlights: A 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio means that classrooms remain very intimate, and face time with the renowned faculty is a reality. More than three-quarters of UChicago undergraduate sections have an enrollment of nineteen or fewer students. Undergraduate research opportunities are ubiquitous as 80% of students end up working in a research capacity alongside a faculty member. A solid 60% of undergrads study abroad at one of the 77 programs offered in 31 cities around the world.

Professional Outcomes: On commencement day, 99% of the Class of 2023 were employed or continuing their education. The most popular employers for UChicago grads include Google, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft. University of Chicago grads are highly sought after by elite graduate universities. The top destinations for recent graduates are Yale, Columbia, MIT, Stanford, and Harvard A fairly substantial 50% of graduates remain in the Midwest after finishing their degrees, 29% migrate to the Northeast, and 10% make the journey west.

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Academic Highlights: There are 50 undergraduate fields of study referred to as concentrations; many are interdisciplinary. Even with a graduate population close to 14,000 to cater to, undergraduate class sizes still tend to be breathtakingly intimate, with 43% of sections having single-digit enrollments and 73% being capped at nineteen. Graduates report an almost 90% satisfaction rate with the experience within their academic concentration. Summer research experiences are taken advantage of by over one-third of the student body. Approximately 55-60% of students study abroad at a number of locations in South America, Africa, Europe, or Asia.

Professional Outcomes: Harvard’s most recent graduating class saw 15% of students head directly into graduate/professional school, with nearly everyone else entering the world of work. Over 1,000 Harvard alumni presently work for Google and over 500 for Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, and Goldman Sachs. More than 250 are employed at Amazon, Meta, and Bain & Company. Post-graduation, Harvard students tend to cluster in three main states—New York, California, and Massachusetts. Those three states collectively reel in 60% of newly minted alumni. Remuneration is excellent with over two-thirds of graduates reporting starting salaries over $70k and 30% taking home $110k+ in base pay. By mid-career, grads have the second-highest median salaries in the Ivy League.

Academic Highlights: A virtually unmatched 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio sets students up for a personalized classroom experience and an incredible amount of face time with some of the leaders in their respective fields. Sixty-nine percent of classes have fewer than twenty students, and 32% have a single-digit enrollment. Stanford puts immense resources behind undergraduate research; more than $6.5 million in grant funding is allocated each year to support roughly 1,100 student research projects. Close to 900 students study abroad annually through the Bing Overseas Studies Program in 12 international cities.

Professional Outcomes: Stanford grads entering the working world flock to three major industries: business development, engineering, and education. Among the companies employing the largest number of grads are Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, and OpenAI. A sizable number of newly minted Cardinals dive into the world of entrepreneurship. San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles were the top three US destinations for recent grads. Starting salaries for Stanford grads are among the highest in the country.

Academic Highlights: 90 distinct degrees are available across four schools. The university boasts an exceptional 27% of courses with an enrollment under ten and 58% with an enrollment under twenty—quite an achievement for a school of Penn’s massive size. It also offers multiple ways for undergrads to conduct research, whether through independent studies or working side-by-side with faculty members. The university publishes 12 distinct journals featuring original undergraduate research. Penn ranks first among Ivies in study abroad participation rate; each year, over 1,400 students head off to earn a semester’s credit in one of 50 countries.

Professional Outcomes: 76% of Class of 2023 grads were employed within six months of graduating, and 16% were in graduate school. Employers hiring the greatest number of 2023 grads included McKinsey & Company, Penn Medicine, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Goldman Sachs. The median starting salary for all graduates is $100,000. For those continuing their educational journeys, the most popular move is to remain at Penn, followed by Harvard and Columbia.

Academic Highlights: An absurdly low 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio does, as you might expect, translate to tiny class sizes for undergraduates. Just under three-quarters of class sections have an enrollment of 19 or fewer students, and 32% have fewer than ten students. Princeton is known for its commitment to undergraduate teaching, and students consistently rate professors as accessible and helpful. The Office of Undergraduate Research assists Tigers in locating faculty members with whom they can jointly conduct research in the summer or during a regular term. More than four hundred study abroad programs, internships, and experiences are available in over 140 countries; 61% of students ultimately engage in at least one international experience.

Professional Highlights: Over 93% of a typical Tiger class has found their next destination within six months of graduating. Companies presently employing hundreds of Tiger alumni include Google, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, Morgan Stanley, IBM, and Meta. The average salary reported by 2023 graduates was $89k across all majors. Between 15-20% of graduating Tigers head directly to graduate/professional school. Tigers typically choose equally prestigious graduate schools to attend. Members of one recent class flocked in the largest numbers to Stanford, Penn, Princeton, Harvard, Cambridge, Columbia, and Oxford in that order.

Academic Highlights: Boasting a student-to-faculty ratio of 6:1, Rice offers a spectacularly intimate learning experience. Class sizes are ideally small with 66% containing fewer than 20 students and a median class size of only fifteen. Undergraduate research opportunities abound with approximately 70% of graduates participating in academic research during their four years. Those experiences are open to freshmen through the Century Scholars Program and to all underclassmen through the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program. Study abroad options are available in over fifty countries, including collaborative programs with some of the top schools in the world including The London School of Economics, Oxford, and Cambridge.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduation, 88% of recent Rice grads have found careers or a graduate school home. Companies that employ many recent grads include Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Google, and Accenture. Over four hundred alumni work at Baylor College of Medicine, and over 200 work at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Across all majors, the average starting salary is $89k. Texas is among the most common destinations for recent grads, but many also flock to San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Chicago.

Academic Highlights: Yale offers 80+ majors, most of which require a one- to two-semester senior capstone experience. Undergraduate research is a staple, and over 70% of classes—of which there are over 2,000 to choose from—have an enrollment of fewer than 20 students, making Yale a perfect environment for teaching and learning. Undergraduate research is a staple of the Yale academic experience; university-wide, undergraduate research fellowships are awarded to over 100 freshmen each year. The number of Bulldogs electing to study abroad is typically around 70%.

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduating, 58% of the Yale Class of 2023 had entered the world of employment and 19% matriculated into graduate programs. Hundreds of Yale alums can be found at each of the world’s top companies including Google, McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs, Meta, and Microsoft. The mean starting salary for last year’s grads was $89,622 ($141k for CS majors). The University of Oxford, Yale, and Stanford were the top three graduate school destinations for the Class of 2023.

Academic Highlights: Boasting an enviable 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and with close to 80% of course sections possessing an enrollment under 20, face time with professors is a reality. That presents a phenomenal opportunity to learn directly from a group that includes four Nobel Laureates, four Medal of Science winners, and two recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Fitting for America’s first research university, 70% of JHU undergraduates complete a research experience while working closely with a faculty member. Each year, hundreds of students receive significant funding for independent projects through the Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research.

Professional Outcomes: Ninety-four percent of recent graduates successfully land at their next destination within six months of exiting the university; 69% of graduates entered the world of employment and a robust 20% went directly to graduate/professional school. The median starting salary across all majors was $80,000 with top employers including Amazon, DCPS, Deloitte, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. Blue Jays pursue further education at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Northwestern, Stanford, and JHU.

Academic Highlights: Class sizes are not always as tiny as the school itself. While 60% of courses have an enrollment under 20, another 33% enroll between 20 and 39 students. Regardless, Mudd prides itself on offering graduate-level research opportunities and experiential learning to all undergrads. The college backs up its philosophical stance with cold, hard cash, allocating three million dollars annually to facilitate student-faculty research. Students can participate during the school year or during the Summer Undergraduate Research Program that entails 10 weeks of full-time laboratory work. It is not uncommon for participants to end up with their names on a patent.

Professional Outcomes: Fifty-three percent of the Class of 2023 planned on entering a job right after receiving their bachelor’s degree. The highest number of recent Harvey Mudd graduates are scooped up by the following companies (in order of representation): Microsoft, Amazon, Caltech, Ellison Institute of Technology, Google, Second Order Effects, and SpaceX. Graduates average an impressive $117,500 starting salary, a phenomenal number even when accounting for the preponderance of STEM majors. Many Harvey Mudd grads—28% in 2023—go directly into graduate school programs.

Academic Highlights: The academic experience at Columbia is driven by the famed Core Curriculum that lays out an extensive to-do list that includes highly specified courses rather than categorical requirements. Class sizes at Columbia are reasonably small and the student-to-faculty ratio is favorable; however, in 2022, it was revealed that the university had been submitting faulty data in this area. It is presently believed that 59% of undergraduate courses enroll 19 or fewer students. More than 570 students per year participate in the Columbia Overseas Program. A little over one-quarter of the students leave Manhattan for a foreign country during their four years of study. Undergraduate research is taken seriously by the university, which offers multiple avenues through which students can work side-by-side with faculty on their projects or pursue funding for their own original research ideas.

Professional Outcomes: The companies hiring the largest number of Lions in 2023 were among the most desirable employers in the world including Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Google, Citi, McKinsey, and Microsoft. Those moving on to graduate/professional school were welcomed in large numbers into other universities of Columbia’s ilk. In addition to remaining at Columbia (the most popular choice), the top ten institutions attended were Stanford, Harvard, NYU, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, UChicago, Oxford, Princeton, and MIT.

Academic Highlights: More than 150 undergraduate majors and minors are available across six schools. Undergrads will encounter a mix of large lectures (20% of sections contain more than 50 students) and tiny, single-digit enrollments in seminar-style courses (21% of sections contain nine or fewer students). Plenty of undergraduate research opportunities exist, with many facilitated by the Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarships; 48% of students participate in research during their time at Berkeley. Over 200 study abroad opportunities are available for those who desire them, and approximately 1,800 undergrads take advantage each year.

Professional Outcomes: Upon graduating, 53% of Cal’s Class of 2023 had already secured employment, and 17% were headed to graduate school. The median starting salary was $94,000 across all majors. Thousands of alumni can be found in the offices of Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, and 500+ Golden Bears are currently employed by NVIDIA and LinkedIn. The school is the number one all-time producer of Peace Corps volunteers. For those continuing their education, most chose to stay at UC Berkeley, with Stanford, the University of Southern California, Columbia, and Harvard rounding out the top five grad school destinations.

Academic Highlights: Students must choose one of 80+ “concentration programs,” but there are no required courses. In essence, the guiding philosophy is that students should take control of their learning, pursue knowledge in areas that they are truly passionate about, and learn to integrate and synthesize information across disciplines. Class sizes tend to be small—67% have fewer than twenty students—and 32% are comprised of nine or fewer students. Student surveys reveal an unsurpassed level of satisfaction with the quality of instruction and professor availability. Undergraduates give favorable reviews in those areas at an overwhelming 92-97% clip.

Professional Outcomes: Soon after receiving their Brown diplomas, 63% of graduates enter the world of employment. Companies employing the greatest number of Brown alums include Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Apple, McKinsey & Company, and Meta. 33% of recent graduates go directly into graduate/professional school. Alums tend to settle in major American cities, with most living in New York (44%) and Boston (18%).

Academic Highlights: Students work closely with their professors, and the college is routinely rated atop lists of best undergraduate teaching institutions. Small classes are the norm with the average being only 16 students; in 17% of your classes, you will be surrounded by no more than nine of your peers. Faculty-mentored research is embedded into many courses, independent study opportunities abound, and full-time supervised research is available during summer and winter break. Over three-quarters of the student body elect to study abroad in one of 130 programs offered in sixty countries. Furthermore, 70% of students spend a semester studying in another part of the globe.

Professional Outcomes: Target, Epic Systems, Google, Wells Fargo, and Amazon all employ large numbers of graduates. Carleton is a breeding ground for future scholars as a ridiculously high number of graduates go on to earn PhDs. In fact, by percentage, Carleton is one of the top ten producers in the country of future PhDs. Geographically, the greatest number of students remain in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, but many also head to New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, DC, Boston, and Seattle

Academic Highlights: Classes are a bit larger at Cornell than at many other elite institutions. Still, 54% of sections have fewer than 20 students. Introductory courses sometimes take place in larger lecture halls, so 24% of courses have an enrollment of more than forty students. Undergraduates do give their professors generally high marks: 88% report being satisfied with the instruction they have received, 48% report completing a thesis/research project, and 53% conducted research with a faculty member. Members of Big Red can choose from study abroad opportunities in more than forty countries, and roughly one-third participate.

Professional Outcomes: Breaking down the graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest school at Cornell, 63% entered the workforce, 26% entered graduate school, 2% pursued other endeavors such as travel or volunteer work, and the remaining 4% were still seeking employment six months after receiving their diplomas. Graduates earned a median salary of $85,000. Of the students from A&S going on to graduate school, 13% pursued JDs, 4% MDs, and 25% PhDs. Popular destinations included staying at Cornell, other Ivies, Stanford, MIT, universities in the UC system, or abroad at Oxford, Cambridge, the University of Toronto, or the University of St. Andrews

Academic Highlights: The school’s 26 academic departments offer 37 majors and a number of concentrations rather than minors. An unparalleled 40% of courses have fewer than ten students enrolled. Many formal opportunities to engage in undergraduate research exist in the summer, during a semester, or as part of one’s senior honors thesis; 40% of students participate in faculty-mentored projects. Over 50% of the junior class connects with the International Education and Study Away program to pinpoint the study abroad opportunity that is right for them. Included on that menu is the opportunity to study at Oxford for an entire year.

Professional Outcomes: Among the Class of 2023, 93% were employed or continuing their educational journey within six months of graduating. Top professional destinations include Google, Goldman Sachs, Bain & Co., Harvard Medical School, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft. The median annual income for grads early in their career was $85,800. 14% pursue an advanced degree, with alumni attending graduate programs at Brown, Columbia, and Harvard.

Academic Highlights: With 46 majors and 32 minors, Wes truly has something for everyone. The academic requirements are relatively minimal, giving undergrads a high degree of intellectual freedom. 76% of class sections have fewer than twenty students; students rave about the accessible faculty. Research opportunities with professors are plentiful. The undergraduate program for Research in the Sciences funds over one hundred students per year to conduct research over the summer. The university has increased its study abroad participation in recent years to the point that almost 50% of students now spend a semester overseas.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 66% of recent grads had entered employment. The companies employing the highest numbers of recent Wesleyan grads included JPMorgan Chase, Americorps, Citi, McKinsey, Accenture, AlphaSights, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Graduate school was the next stop for 17% of new alums. Those pursuing advanced degrees have enrolled in a wide range of schools, including elites like MIT, Stanford, Berkeley and most Ivies. New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Hartford are the most popular post-college destinations.

Academic Highlights: The school’s 198 full-time professors are dedicated to the task of undergraduate education. Pomona’s 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio leads to an average class size of only 15 students. 71% of classes contain less than 20 students, and only 13 of 440 courses that ran in 2023-24 contained more than 40 students. Small classes also lead to the forging of student-professor bonds that help over 50% of the undergraduate population conduct research alongside a faculty member, and 25% ultimately publish or formally present their work. Each summer, 200 students remain on campus for such an endeavor. Close to 50% of Pomona students travel abroad to one of 69 programs in 39 countries.

Professional Outcomes: 67% of the Class of 2023 were employed within six months of graduating. Overall, the largest number of alumni can be found at Google, Microsoft, Kaiser Permanente, Amazon, and Apple. Recently, degree-earners have landed jobs at Boston Consulting Group, Alphasights, JP Morgan Chase, and Houlihan Lokey. Majors in the hard sciences frequently landed at top research laboratories and hospitals. Of the 23% of 2023 grads who were accepted directly into graduate school, the most frequently attended institutions included Berkeley, UCLA, Columbia, and NYU.

Academic Highlights: Impressively, particularly for a school with more graduate students than undergrads, CMU boasts a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and small class sizes, with roughly one-third containing single digits and 68% having an enrollment of nineteen or fewer. In a given school year, 800+ undergraduates conduct research through the University Research Office, and many others participated through various outside arrangements. Between 500-600 students study abroad for a semester each year in such countries as Japan, China, and Germany.

Professional Outcomes: By the end of the calendar year in which they received their diplomas, 74% of recent grads were employed, and 17% were continuing to graduate school. The companies that have routinely scooped up CMU grads include Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, TikTok, and NVIDIA. With an average starting salary of $124,107, CMU grads outpace the average starting salary for a college grad nationally.

Academic Highlights: 75 majors are offered across six undergraduate colleges. A solid 61% of courses enroll fewer than 20 students, and 18% have single-digit numbers. Just 9% of courses have an enrollment of more than 50 undergrads. The Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement offers hundreds of opportunities for conducting research, both individually and alongside faculty; more than one-third of graduates ultimately partake. One of the top universities for study abroad participation, 87% of Notre Dame undergrads select one of 50+ programs in 35 countries; the satisfaction rate for study abroad experiences is above 90%.

Professional Outcomes: A spectacular 98% of 2023 Notre Dame graduates were employed, continuing their educations, volunteering, or serving in the military within six months of completing their degrees. Top companies where recent alumni set up shop included Deloitte, EY, PwC, Microsoft, Amazon, Bank of America, KPMG, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and McKinsey & Co. The median starting salary across all majors is $82,000, a mark that is significantly higher than the national average for college grads. The highest concentration of recent alumni can be found in Illinois followed by New York, Indiana, California, and Texas.

Academic Highlights: Amherst offers a “New Curriculum” that requires no specific courses or distribution of credits. Students have the flexibility to pursue their areas of passion and interest from the very start of their collegiate experience. With no burdensome requirements, double majoring is commonplace with over 30-40% of the student body electing to study at least one additional discipline. The college encourages students to “take full responsibility for their intellectual growth, in the same way they will take responsibility for important choices later in life.”

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduation, 78% of the Class of 2023 were employed full-time, working for employers such as Bain & Company, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and The Fulbright Program. The average starting salary for Amherst graduates is among the highest-paid liberal arts grads in the country. The schools where the highest number of Amherst grads can be found pursuing advanced degrees include Columbia University, Yale University, and Tufts University.

Academic Highlights: Dartmouth sports 60+ majors and a stunning breadth of course selections for an institution of its size. The learning environment at Dartmouth is extraordinarily intimate. Not only do 62% of course sections have under twenty students, but 20% have single-digit enrollments. The student-to-faculty ratio is an outstanding 7:1. Undergraduate research opportunities abound with roughly 60% of students participating at some point. Further, close to 90% of those participants report having a satisfying experience working with a faculty member in that capacity. The rate of satisfaction is hardly surprising as Dartmouth’s faculty consistently rates at the top of rankings/surveys regarding quality of instruction. An extensive study abroad program offers 40+ Dartmouth faculty-led academic experiences around the world, and over 50% of all students partake.

Professional Outcomes: A great reputation, along with a passionate alumni network that is 80,000 strong, leads Dartmouth grads to successful transitions into graduate school and the world of work. Recent Dartmouth grads work for Amazon, Apple, Bain & Company, Deloitte, Epic, Google, the NIH, and the Smithsonian Institute. Right off the bat, 56% of graduates earn $90,000 or more in salary. Those pursuing graduate degrees often flock to the likes of Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton, with 32% of Big Green grads choosing to continue their education at Dartmouth.

Academic Highlights: The quarter system allows students to take four courses at a time rather than the typical five. Even so, the academic demands are intense, and Northwestern students work hard for their grades. The university has a phenomenal 6:1 student-faculty ratio, and a spectacular 39% of class sections have nine or fewer students enrolled; 76% have fewer than twenty enrollees. Faculty receive generally favorable reviews from undergraduate students and are rated as being highly accessible outside of the classroom. Fifty-eight percent of recent grads had the chance to conduct research with a faculty member at some point during their undergraduate years.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 70% of the Class of 2023 had found employment and 25% were in graduate school. Employers include Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Deloitte, McKinsey & Co., and Salesforce. Across all majors, the average starting salary was $77k. The vast majority of Northwestern graduates can be found in Illinois, with the next largest concentration of alums living in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

Academic Highlights: 180+ undergraduate majors are offered across twelve colleges/schools. Twenty-six percent of sections contain 50 or more students compared to 29% of sections that contain fewer than 20. Still, there are opportunities for personal connections with professors as evidenced by the fact that 80% of graduates complete research during their four years at UW. The study abroad rate of participation has climbed steadily since the turn of the millennium; 3,000 students each year spend a semester in a foreign locale.

Professional Outcomes: Within months of graduation, 62% of Class of 2023 grads were employed and 24% were continuing their education. The most popular employers of the Class of 2023 included Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Seattle Children’s, and Deloitte. Across all living alumni, 6,000+ work for Microsoft, and 4000+ work for each of Boeing and Amazon. Of those headed to graduate/professional school, most remain at UW itself. Large numbers of 2023 grads also headed to Columbia, UPenn, USC, and Johns Hopkins.

Academic Highlights: Eighteen percent of courses at Bates have a single-digit enrollment, and 60% of classrooms contain nineteen or fewer students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 10:1, and not a single graduate student is present to vacuum up professorial attention. Distinctive features include a mandatory first-year seminar, senior thesis requirement, and a Short Term at the end of the academic year that provides students the opportunity to focus exclusively on one course, field project, internship, or study abroad opportunity.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 91% of the Class of 2023 were either employed, enrolled in graduate school, or otherwise meaningfully engaged in a fellowship or internship. Popular employers included Accenture, Fidelity Investments, Google, Wayfair, and Liberty Mutual Insurance whereas common employment destinations of Bates graduates were concentrated primarily in the Northeast, namely Boston, New York, and Portland, Maine.

Academic Highlights: Class sizes are on the small side—74% are nineteen or fewer, and almost one-quarter are less than ten. A stellar 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio helps keep classes so reasonable even while catering to five figures worth of graduate students. The Undergraduate Research Support Office does great work connecting students with opportunities to conduct research, either over the summer or during the regular school year. All told, more than half of undergraduates conduct research. More Duke students pursue a semester abroad than students at any other top ten research institution—roughly half elect to venture off to one of the school’s 300 partner programs scattered around the world.

Professional Outcomes: At graduation, approximately 76% of Duke diploma-earners enter the world of work, 17% continue into graduate schools, and 7% start their own businesses. Companies employing multiple Duke grads per year include Google, Capital One, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Accenture, and a host of other top-shelf corporations in the areas of technology, finance, and consulting. Eventually, 84% of Duke undergraduates will go on to earn an advanced degree One-third of Duke alumni elect to stay in North Carolina. New York, California, DC, and Massachusetts follow in popularity.

Academic Highlights: UT Austin offers over 170 majors. Sn encouraging 36% of course sections enroll nineteen or fewer students. Opportunities for undergraduate research vary by school, and many student must compete for slots in programs such as Summer Research Scholars or use the Eureka database to find individual professors offering research assistantships. A robust study abroad program boasts 400 offerings in 100+ foreign countries; 4,600+ students participate each year, the third-largest number in the country.

Professional Outcomes:  Over 1000 alumni work in the offices of Dell, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Deloitte; IBM, Meta, Oracle, and AMD employ over 500 each. Graduates early in their careers earn a median salary of $77,400, with median mid-career pay reaching $141,100. Roughly one-quarter of University of Texas at Austin undergraduates go on to pursue advanced degrees after completing their bachelor’s. Many pursue advanced study at UT Austin itself, which offers more than one hundred graduate programs. Many alumni stay in Texas after graduation, settling in Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Academic Highlights: Close to three-quarters of course sections will contain fewer than 20 students, and the student-to-faculty ratio is a stellar 8:1. Undergraduate research can be accessed through research-focused courses, design projects, or the Trident Scholar Research Program, an independent study conducted during senior year. All in all, 117 midshipmen presented posters at last year’s Midshipman Research Poster Session. Many midshipmen have the chance to study abroad, and over 300 do each year through programs like the Semester Study Abroad Program or Language Immersion Program.

Professional Outcomes: USNA midshipmen have a mandatory five-year military commitment upon graduating, so the vast majority immediately become ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps. Very few are cleared to enter graduate school directly after receiving their bachelor’s. However, upon entering civilian employment/life, alumni flock to companies that include Booz Allen Hamilton, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Amazon, Microsoft, and Deloitte. They also enjoy some of the highest average salaries of any alumni group in the country.

Academic Highlights: The student-to-faculty ratio is 9:1, and without any pesky graduate students to get in the way, face time with professors is a regular occurrence. In fact, 27% of all classes have nine or fewer students; 70% have nineteen or fewer. Each summer, approximately 120 students engage in high-level undergraduate research with a faculty member. Approximately half of all Hamilton students study off campus for a semester, with some pursuing domestic programs in NYC, DC, or Boston while others take advantage of international opportunities like the school’s own renowned Chinese language program in Beijing or one of one hundred other approved programs around the globe.

Professional Outcomes: Examining the 498 graduates in Hamilton’s Class of 2023, an enviable 96% wasted no time landing jobs, graduate school acceptances, or fellowships. Among the employers welcoming multiple recent graduates aboard were Wayfair, Goldman Sachs, Teach for America, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Kantar Consulting, and Deutsch Bank. Other Hamilton graduates have been accepted into graduate programs at Stanford, USC, the University of Chicago, Vanderbilt, and several institutions across the Ivy League.  New York City, Boston, and DC were the most popular destinations.

Academic Highlights: The student-to-faculty ratio at UC Santa Barbara is a decent 17:1, and the school does an excellent job of keeping undergraduate class sizes on the small side. In fact, more than half of sections contain fewer than 20 students, and 72% enroll 29 or fewer. Undergraduate research opportunities definitely exist for those willing to forge relationships with faculty outside the classroom. A solid 63% of graduates report engaging in some type of faculty-guided research. It’s not as easy to inspire Gauchos to leave their campus paradise for a semester in a foreign land—only around 20% of students participate in study abroad.

Professional Outcomes:  Over 500 UC Santa Barbara alumni currently work at Google, Apple, and Amazon, while Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, AppFolio, and NVIDIA each employ 100+. Early in their career, UCSB alumni make a median salary of $75k; by mid-career, they earn a median income of $152k. Most graduates settle in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, followed by the San Francisco Bay area, and the San Diego metropolitan area.

Academic Highlights: Fifty-six majors are on tap at Colgate, including all of the expected liberal arts concentrations. With a student-faculty ratio of 9:1 and an average class size of 17, Colgate undergraduates work intimately withtheir instructors. Undoubtedly, the resulting connections help to explain the school’s sterling 94-95% freshman retention rate. It is commonplace for Colgate students to research alongside professors. Each summer, the school funds over 200 undergraduates who assist with research projects, and, year-round, it maintains a useful database of professors who are seeking research across all disciplines. Raiders study abroad in overwhelming numbers with a 60-70% participation rate in one hundred programs that operate in 50 countries.

Professional Outcomes: Nine months after graduation, only a small number of Colgate alumni are still looking for work; in 2023, that group represented less than 3% of the graduating class. A substantial 77% had already landed full-time jobs. Employers hiring the most Colgate grads included Barclays, EY, Goldman Sachs, Massachusetts General Hospital, NIH, and True Search. Alums pursuing further education attended Boston College, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, and NYU.

Academic Highlights: Close to half of classrooms contain fewer than twenty Bruins, but those taking introductory courses will find themselves in a fair number of lecture halls with a hundred or more students. Professors are given impressively high marks for a research university of UCLA’s size. 93% of College of Letters and Science seniors rate their professors as being intellectually challenging. By the time they graduate, 45% of undergraduates have participated in a research experience. Every year, roughly one-quarter of the undergraduate population elects to study abroad, a sharp increase from only a few years ago. UCLA has 115 partner universities in 40+ countries around the globe.

Professional Outcomes: Thousands of alumni can be found working at Google, Amazon, and Apple. Companies that employ over 100 Bruins each include Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, TikTok, NVIDIA, and LinkedIn. Ultimately, one-third of UCLA grads go on to enroll in graduate/professional school, with many choosing to stay at their alma mater. Otherwise, the most attended grad schools are primarily other excellent California-based institutions including Stanford, USC, and Berkeley. For graduates early in their careers, the median salary is $78,600, with mid-career median earnings reaching over $149k. Many alumni remain in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area after graduating; other popular destinations include the San Francisco Bay area and New York City.

Academic Highlights: Small, seminar-style courses are the norm at Swat—an outstanding 33% of sections enroll fewer than ten students, and 73% contain a maximum of nineteen students. Overall, the average class size is 17. Thanks to an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio and zero grad students, professors are extremely available in and outside the classroom. As a result, two-thirds of graduates complete at least one undergraduate research or independent creative project, and the college sets aside $800,000 in funding for that express purpose. Forty percent of students elect to study abroad for a semester in one of 300 programs in 60 countries.

Professional Outcomes: 58% of Class of 2023 grads entered the workforce shortly after graduation. Google is a leading employer of Swarthmore grads followed by Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and a number of top universities.  23% of 2023 grads pursued advanced degrees, with 42% pursuing a PhD and 42% entering master’s programs. Swatties can also be found at Columbia, Stanford, UPenn, Harvard, and UCBerkeley. The cities attracting the highest percentage of Swat alumni were Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, and Chicago. The average starting salary was $81,000, an excellent figure for any liberal arts school.

Academic Highlights: Undergrads can study within one of eight colleges/schools, which all offer many small classes; 14% boast single-digit enrollment and 48% contain 19 or fewer students. Undergraduate research opportunities can be challenging to uncover at any large school where graduate students get the prime spots, yet, UVA does offer a multitude of formal opportunities as well as the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium and three undergraduate research journals. The classroom at UVA extends well beyond Charlottesville as one-fifth enjoy a semester abroad through one of fifty programs around the world.

Professional Outcomes: Upon receiving their degree, 86% of the Class of 2023 immediately joined the workforce–with an average starting salary of $82k–or headed directly to graduate school.  Capital One (58), Amazon (45), Deloitte (41), and Accenture (34) scooped up the greatest number of 2023 grads. UVA itself was the most popular grad school destination followed by Columbia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Duke.

Academic Highlights: U of R’s 160 undergraduate programs offer a rigorous yet flexible educational experience at a small liberal arts college within a renowned research institution. 68% of sections enroll fewer than 20 students. An impressive 77% of students are involved in undergraduate research, a strong indicator that opportunities for intimate learning experiences are plentiful. Approximately one-quarter of students take a semester abroad through one of the 75+ programs the university has an affiliation with.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after receiving their diplomas, 96% of Class of 2023 grads had achieved positive outcomes with 60% employed and a notably high 35% already pursuing an advanced degree. Top employers of 2023 grads included Amazon, L3 Harris Technologies, ASML, and Bank of America. The average starting salary for the most recent cohort of grads was an impressive $72,184. Upstate New York, New York City, Boston, DC, San Francisco, and Philadelphia play home to the greatest number of alumni.

Academic Highlights: Haverford offers 39 majors, 40 minors, 14 concentrations, and eleven consortium programs—areas of study that can be pursued at partner campuses. The school’s 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio and exclusive emphasis on undergraduate education lead to exceptionally intimate classes, 37% of which have fewer than 10 students, and 71% have fewer than 20. Plenty of summer research opportunities exist in which students can work alongside faculty, and some STEM students conduct and present original research through the Undergraduate Science Research Symposium. The study abroad program has a 49% participation rate, and students can choose from 70+ programs in 30+ countries.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after leaving Haverford, 58% of the Class of 2024 had found employment, 29% had enrolled in graduate school, and 6% were still job hunting. Employers hiring multiple recent Haverford grads include JP Morgan, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Cornerstone Research, and NextGen America. Of the 29% of 2024 grads who elected to continue their education, 23 graduates enrolled at UPenn, with other grads attending the University of Chicago, Columbia, and Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Academic Highlights: There are 280+ undergraduate degree programs across fourteen schools and colleges. Michigan sports a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and 18% of classes contain 50 or more students, but a solid 53% of classes offer a more intimate experience with fewer than 20 students. The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program draws in 1,300 participants each year who partner with 800+ research mentors. For students in all academic programs at Michigan, study abroad opportunities are taken advantage of at high rates. In fact, the university is second in the nation in the number of students it sends to study in foreign lands.

Professional Outcomes: Within three months of graduating, 89% of LSA grads are employed full-time or in graduate school. The median salary across all majors is approximately 70k. Top employers include PwC, EY, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Citi, Bank of America, and Capital One.  Within six months, 93% of engineering grads are employed (average salary of $99k) or in grad school. General Motors, Ford, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft employ the greatest number of alumni.

Academic Highlights: Students will encounter various class sizes over the course of their four years of study. A solid 43% of sections contain fewer than 20 students; 21% will have 50 or more students. Being a research institution, RPI attracts $103 million in research funding each year, meaning that the school’s 470+ faculty members are constantly in the middle of projects that require student assistance. Students can participate during the academic year for credit or pay, or during the summer when select individuals receive $5,000 to work full-time in a lab. International study is also encouraged at one of 20+ school-affiliated or exchange programs in multiple countries, including Italy, Finland, and Singapore.

Professional Outcomes: As they receive their diplomas, 56% of RPI grads have already landed a job and 33% have committed to a graduate school. The largest numbers of grads were hired by companies that included Boeing, Amazon, Regeneron, Lockheed Martin, Epic, and Cigna. Information technology alumni had the highest salary range, earning between $80k – $130k. Grad school destinations included Columbia, the University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, and Cornell, with most Engineers choosing to continue their studies at RPI.

Academic Highlights: This midsize university offers a diverse array of majors (80+) and minors (60+), and 30% of Emory students pursue more than one area of study. Over half of Emory’s student body works directly with a faculty member on academic research and 58% of courses have class sizes of under twenty students. Studying abroad is a fairly common feature of an Emory education, with 40% of students traveling to one of 100 international destinations.

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduation, 59% of 2023 grads were already employed, and 99% had arrived at their next destination. The top employers of recent Emory grads include Epic, NIH, Capital One, Fulbright US Student Program, Amazon, and Deloitte. The average starting salary was $61k.  In the last few years, multiple Emory grads/alums received acceptance letters from the following top schools – Columbia, UPenn, Yale, the University of Chicago, and Vanderbilt. While a healthy number of Emory grads found employment in Georgia, the top destinations for the Class of 2023 included non-Southern locales in New York City, DC, LA, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Academic Highlights: With its small size, the impressive part of the college is the exceptional quality of its offerings, not the breadth of them, as only 37 majors are available. The student-to-faculty ratio is 9:1, which allows the college to ensure that 69% have fewer than twenty students and 29% have enrollments you can count on two hands. Overall, the average number of students per class is only 17. Study abroad is encouraged, and approximately 65% elect to study in one of 125 programs around the globe. Undergrads working side-by-side with their professors is commonplace as over 60% of faculty have published with student coauthors at some point.

Professional Outcomes: Looking at the outcomes data for recent grads, 67% landed jobs within six months of graduation, 24% were enrolled in a graduate program, and 6% were still seeking employment. Employers of the largest number of Davidson grads include Carolina Healthcare System, Teach for America, the NIH, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Significant numbers of students pursue advanced degrees at other Southern gems including Vanderbilt, Emory, Duke, Wake Forest, and UNC. There is also a fair showing of Ivy League acceptances in all graduate disciplines among Wildcat alumni.

Academic Highlights: Being a large research university, the student-to-faculty ratio is a less-than-ideal 18:1, leading to some larger undergraduate class sections. In fact, 51% of courses had enrollments of more than thirty students in 2023. On the other end of the spectrum, 9% of sections had single-digit enrollments. While not all of your professors will know you by name, there are plenty of ways that motivated students can strike up meaningful faculty-student relationships, with nearly 50% collaborating on research with professors at some point during their undergraduate career. Fifty-two percent of Tech students have gone abroad by the time they graduate, with a growing number electing to complete internships in a foreign land rather than academic coursework. In a given year, 130+ undergraduate students participate in a global internship.

Professional Outcomes: More than three-quarters of recent grads had already procured employment by the time they were handed their diplomas. You will find graduates at every major technology company in the world. Recent employers include Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Capital One, and Apple. The median salary of the Class of 2023 was $84,000, with recent grads settling mostly in the Atlanta metro area. The next three most popular destinations are San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, DC.

Academic Highlights: Thanks to a 9:1 student/faculty ratio and no competition from graduate students, 65% of classes have fewer than twenty students, and roughly one-fifth of sections have single-digit student enrollments. Participating in research is a normal part of an undergraduate education at Grinnell. Overall, 58% of Grinnell undergrads participate in one on- or off-campus research experience that was not simply built into their coursework. Some entered Mentored Advanced Projects, which see faculty work closely with students on scholarly or creative works while others conducted research at another location such as Duke University, Georgetown University, or Carnegie Mellon University. International study is also a fairly common part of a Grinnell education with over 50% of students studying abroad.

Professional Outcomes: Upon graduation, 58% of Grinnell students head into the workforce, 27% to graduate school, 3% to postgraduate service, and 3% earned fellowships. Multiple grads accepted positions with Amazon, BOA, Deloitte, Epic, Google, and Microsoft. Grinnellians enrolled in graduate programs at prestigious universities like Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Duke, Harvard, and Yale; 83% of all applicants were accepted into their first or second choice program. The mean salary of those employed was $61,683. Massachusetts and Illinois attracted the highest number of graduates, slightly more than Iowa itself. New York and Minnesota were the next most popular locations for Grinnell grads.

Academic Highlights: Among its core beliefs, Bowdoin offers a flexible and broad liberal arts education. Polar Bears can choose from one of thirty-three academic programs or get more creative through an interdisciplinary or student-designed major. One-size-fits-all requirements are minimal. Class sizes are small—63% contain fewer than twenty students—and 19% have fewer than ten students. The student-faculty ratio is 9:1.

Professional Outcomes: An examination of three recent years’ worth of outcomes data reveals that one year after graduation, between 73 and 77% of recent grads have found full-time employment, and 15% have gone directly into graduate school. Only 2-8% are still seeking employment. Prominent corporations across all sectors love Bowdoin grads. Recent alumni have found positions at Apple, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Google, HBO, and Microsoft. The cities attracting the greatest numbers of graduates include Boston; New York City; Portland, Maine; San Francisco; DC; and Los Angeles.

Academic Highlights: There are 50+ departmental and interdisciplinary majors offered. Eighteen percent of course sections have single-digit enrollments while 65% have 19 or fewer students. In addition, opportunities for participation in research with faculty members abound, and Wellesley students publish their work at a rate that outshines their peers at comparable institutions. The Summer Science Research Program is cited by many graduates as the most influential part of their educational experience. The Office of International Studies facilitates the overseas study of hundreds of students each year with 45% of students spending a semester in one of 180 programs worldwide.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 97% of the Class of 2023 had achieved positive outcomes. Of the 72% of grads who were employed, top employers included Microsoft, BlackRock, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase. Of the 23% of 2023 grads who directly entered an advanced degree program, common schools attended included NYU, Boston University, University of Oxford, Yale, and MIT.

Academic Highlights: Grades at the college are, paradoxically, both (a) difficult to earn and (b) completely unknown to the students themselves. The average GPA earned is 3.36, and only 13 students have graduated with a perfect 4.0 in the last four decades. The educational experience is highly personalized, and students work directly with their professors. Class sizes average 15 students, and the student-to-faculty ratio is 9:1. Study abroad opportunities exist at 80+ partner university programs in 30+ countries. The college funds a number of undergraduate research opportunities for students to work alongside faculty, and all students are required to complete their own senior thesis, which is essentially a mini-dissertation under the guidance of a faculty advisor.

Professional Outcomes: An examination of Reed’s alumni database reveals 90% of recent grads experienced positive outcomes, with 71% employed or volunteering and 19% heading to graduate or professional school. Included among the most frequent current employers are Google, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Intel Corporation, the US Department of State, Apple, and Nike. An incredible amount of Reedies continue their education; Reed was the No. 4 producer of future PhD holders across all academic disciplines.

Academic Highlights: There are 140+ undergraduate majors offered at UCSD, and all students join one of eight undergraduate colleges meant to forge flourishing communities within the larger university. While 26% of course sections are held in larger lecture halls and contain 50+ students, 42% of undergraduate courses sport an enrollment under 20. Twenty percent of undergrads assist faculty with at least one research project during their time at the university; Roughly one-third of undergraduate study abroad per year, and over 400 opportunities in 40+ countries are available for those who desire a semester of study outside of the United States.

Professional Outcomes: Employers of recent graduates included Amazon, Boeing, EY, KPMG, Morgan Stanley, Oracle, Qualcomm, and Tesla. More than 1,000 current Google employees are UC San Diego alumni, and Apple, Meta, and Microsoft all employ 500+ each. The median early career salary is $70,000 across all majors, placing the university in the top 10 public universities in the country. UCSD also fares well in measures of its return-on-investment potential.

Academic Highlights: A 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio is put to good instructional use as roughly two-thirds of courses have fewer than 19 students. The school’s “Jan Plan” tacks on a truncated semester during which students can conduct research alongside faculty, pursue internships, or take an accelerated course; 90% of undergraduates participate. An exceptionally high 70% of students study abroad at some point during their four years at Colby. The college runs three of its own off-campus study programs and allows participation in hundreds of programs in 60 total countries.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 95% of the Class of 2023 had either obtained employment or were enrolled full-time in a graduate program. Eighty percent entered the workforce, working for companies such as Amazon, Brown Brothers Harriman, Accenture, Massachusetts General Hospital, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Fifteen percent continued their studies at prestigious institutions – Dartmouth, Columbia, Duke, and Georgetown are a few of the universities where Colby alums can be found.

Academic Highlights: The USAFA boasts an outstanding 8:1 cadet-to-faculty ratio, and classes are accordingly modest in size with 66% of sections containing fewer than 20 students, a number that would make most traditional liberal arts schools jealous. There are plenty of opportunities to participate in research, whether at one of the 24 research centers and institutes or through the Cadet Summer Research Program, which attracts 450 cadets. Undergraduates also have the chance to participate in an international exchange program such as the Cadet Summer Language Immersion Program or Cadet Semester Study Abroad Program.

Professional Outcomes: As with any service academy, the bulk of graduates spend a good portion of their careers within the armed forces. For USAFA grads, a minimum five-year commitment to the Air Force is mandatory. Many alumni spend time later in their careers working in the commercial airline industry at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines. Many also work for Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Lockheed Martin. The USAFA Academic Success Center helped place 27% of the recent graduating class in graduate programs.

Academic Highlights: Getting well-acquainted with your professors is easy with a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, and class sizes are reasonably small. Slightly more than half of courses at Bucknell unfold in a classroom of no more than nineteen students, and approximately 90% of all sections enroll fewer than twenty-nine students. All of Bucknell’s full-time professors spend some of their time teaching undergraduates. More than 500 take advantage of research opportunities on campus

Professional Outcomes: Nine months after graduation, 93% of Bucknell’s most recent graduating class had launched their careers or entered graduate school. Across all disciplines, the average salary for a  grad was $72,735,  which is well above average when compared to other liberal arts colleges. Geographically, most Bucknell grads remain concentrated in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and the DC metro area.