Best universities for physics, chemistry and maths degrees 2024

By seeta.bhardwa@…, 26 October, 2023

Top 10 universities for physics, chemistry and maths degrees 2024

Scroll down for the full list of the best universities in the world for physics, chemistry and maths degrees.

Physical sciences rank 2024 Physical sciences rank 2023 UniversityCountry/region
1 4 California Institute of TechnologyUnited States
2 6 Harvard UniversityUnited States
3 5 Stanford UniversityUnited States
4 =2 Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States
5 7 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom
=6 =2 University of California, BerkeleyUnited States
=6 1 Princeton UniversityUnited States
8 8 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom
9 9 ETH ZurichSwitzerland
10 12 Yale UniversityUnited States

The study of physical science covers a number of science degrees, including mathematics, chemistry and earth science, in addition to the obvious – physics and astronomy.

The best universities for studying physics, maths, chemistry and related subjects feature in a Times Higher Education ranking of 1,370 universities.

US universities are the most represented in the ranking, taking 163 places, and American institutions dominate the top 10.

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Only three institutions in the top 10 are not in the US: the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the UK and ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

Switzerland, home to the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern), the largest particle physics laboratory in the world, is well represented in the ranking, with nine institutions overall. Other countries that make a strong showing include China (80 universities), the UK (59), Japan (57), Germany (45), Canada (30) and Australia (28).

The ranking uses the same methodology as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, but with adjusted weightings. The full methodology can be found here.

Scroll down for a full list of degrees covered by the ranking and what you can do with them.

Best universities in the US for physical science degrees
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Best universities for physical science degrees in Canada

Top 5 universities for physics, chemistry and maths

5. University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge has a long and distinguished history of training and research in physical sciences. Famous names including Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Ernest Rutherford and, more recently, Stephen Hawking, have all been associated with the university.

The natural sciences course covers most biological and physical science subjects, allowing specialisation from the second year in physics, chemistry, biology, earth sciences and other specific disciplines.

Maths is a separate degree course, often considered one of the most demanding programmes. Maths students are nicknamed “mathmos” and undertake the course in three parts, progressing from set theory to quantum mechanics.

For most physical sciences graduate students, the famous Cavendish Laboratory is a centre for physics research and takes in about 75 students each year. Postgraduate programmes include physics doctorates and master’s degrees in scientific computing, nanoscience and computational methods.

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics department is fairly large, with about 75 faculty members, almost 300 undergraduate students and 300 postgraduate students.

Since 1998, four alumni of MIT physics programmes have won Nobel prizes for their work.

Freshman physics courses are taught using an educational initiative known as “technology-enabled active learning”.

All undergraduates take maths classes as part of their degrees, and many choose to major or minor in the subject.

Doctoral studies at MIT lead to doctor of philosophy or doctor of science degrees, although these are equivalent in terms of degree status.

Mathematics graduates are admitted to applied or pure maths degrees, and applied maths students are encouraged to take classes in other departments, such as engineering.

3. Stanford University

About half of all undergraduates at Stanford University take at least one physics course as part of their studies. These courses serve as essential training for science and engineering majors.

The department offers introductory courses aimed at non-technical majors, in addition to highly specialised classes.

Studying chemistry at Stanford is also popular, with a specific chemical physics track for those students with strong physics and maths backgrounds.

Students can major or minor in maths, and they have the opportunity to participate in an annual maths contest with cash prizes for excellent scores and for outstanding performances by women.

There are many streams for graduates studying physical sciences, from applied physics to biophysical chemistry. PhD programmes take about six years to complete.

2. Harvard University

Undergraduates at Harvard University can take advantage of a flexible course structure. Compared with other science majors, the physics course has few compulsory classes. Many students, therefore, choose to combine a physics major with maths, astronomy, history of science or chemistry.

Even at undergraduate level, students can carry out research projects independently and work as teaching assistants in some classes.

There is an active social and support community that organises buddies for new students, recreational events and extracurricular lectures in which students have the chance to interact informally with faculty.

For graduate students, the primary areas of research at Harvard are high-energy particle physics, atomic and molecular physics, physics of solids and fluids, astrophysics, nuclear physics, statistical mechanics, quantum optics, mathematical physics, quantum field theory, string theory and relativity.

1. California Institute of Technology

The California Institute of Technology places strong emphasis on science teaching and research.

The faculty members at the university share 74 Nobel prizes and 71 United States National Medals of Science or Technology between them, and include four chief scientists of the US air force.

Numerous staff members are also associated with Nasa. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which was founded in the 1930s and is owned by Nasa, is operated as a division of Caltech. To date, it has spent billions on research and development.

Physics is one of the most popular undergraduate and postgraduate degrees on offer at the university.

What can you do with a chemistry degree?
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What can you do with a physics degree?

Best universities for physics, chemistry and maths degrees 2024

Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2024 profile

Physical sciences rank 2024 Physical sciences rank 2023 UniversityCountry/region
1 4 California Institute of TechnologyUnited States
2 6 Harvard UniversityUnited States
3 5 Stanford UniversityUnited States
4 =2 Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States
5 7 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom
=6 =2 University of California, BerkeleyUnited States
=6 1 Princeton UniversityUnited States
8 8 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom
9 9 ETH ZurichSwitzerland
10 12 Yale UniversityUnited States
11 13 Imperial College LondonUnited Kingdom
=12 10 Columbia UniversityUnited States
=12 14 National University of SingaporeSingapore
14 18 Tsinghua UniversityChina
15 16 Peking UniversityChina
16 11 The University of ChicagoUnited States
17 15 University of California, Los AngelesUnited States
18 17 Cornell UniversityUnited States
19 21 École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneSwitzerland
20 20 Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University ParisFrance
21 19 University of WashingtonUnited States
22 23 Technical University of MunichGermany
23 24 University of Michigan-Ann ArborUnited States
24 30 The University of TokyoJapan
25 22 University of TorontoCanada
26 27 Nanyang Technological University, SingaporeSingapore
27 28 LMU MunichGermany
28 29 University of PennsylvaniaUnited States
29 25 Fudan UniversityChina
30 26 Institut Polytechnique de ParisFrance
31 31 Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States
32 =41 Université Paris-SaclayFrance
33 37 University of Science and Technology of ChinaChina
34 =34 Northwestern UniversityUnited States
35 45 Nanjing UniversityChina
36 46 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina
37 32 University of California, Santa BarbaraUnited States
38 =39 University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUnited States
39 33 University of California, San DiegoUnited States
40 =39 University of BonnGermany
41 =41 UCLUnited Kingdom
42 =34 Universität HeidelbergGermany
43 38 University of Texas at AustinUnited States
44 =34 University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom
45 48 Georgia Institute of TechnologyUnited States
46 43 New York UniversityUnited States
47 44 University of Hong KongHong Kong
48 54 Duke UniversityUnited States
49 =49 Sorbonne UniversityFrance
50 =62 University of Wisconsin-MadisonUnited States
51 =49 University of ManchesterUnited Kingdom
52 53 University of British ColumbiaCanada
53 51 University of Colorado BoulderUnited States
54 79 Kyoto UniversityJapan
55 56 Australian National UniversityAustralia
=56 52 Brown UniversityUnited States
=56 60 Carnegie Mellon UniversityUnited States
58 58 The Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyHong Kong
59 75 Zhejiang UniversityChina
60 78 Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong
61 67 Delft University of TechnologyNetherlands
=62 57 University of BristolUnited Kingdom
64 85 Penn State (Main campus)United States
=65 84 University of ArizonaUnited States
=65 74 City University of Hong KongHong Kong
=65 55 University of Maryland, College ParkUnited States
68 =91 RWTH Aachen UniversityGermany
69 101–125 Seoul National UniversitySouth Korea
70 66 Rice UniversityUnited States
71 =62 University of California, IrvineUnited States
=72 77 McGill UniversityCanada
=72 =68 University of MelbourneAustralia
=74 71 Humboldt University of BerlinGermany
=74 80 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)South Korea
76 =91 KU LeuvenBelgium
=77 72 University of GöttingenGermany
79 101–125 University of MinnesotaUnited States
80 70 The University of QueenslandAustralia
81 =89 University of SouthamptonUnited Kingdom
=82 73 University of GroningenNetherlands
=82 101–125 University of SydneyAustralia
=82 101–125 Texas A&M UniversityUnited States
85 88 University of California, DavisUnited States
=86 100 Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyGermany
=86 65 Leiden UniversityNetherlands
88 =98 UNSW SydneyAustralia
89 101–125 Technical University of BerlinGermany
=90 86 University of AmsterdamNetherlands
=90 =82 Monash UniversityAustralia
=90 61 Université Paris CitéFrance
93 =91 King’s College LondonUnited Kingdom
94 64 Scuola Normale Superiore di PisaItaly
95 126–150 University of MassachusettsUnited States
96 =68 Wageningen University & ResearchNetherlands
97 101–125 Sapienza University of RomeItaly
98 97 University of LeedsUnited Kingdom
=99 126–150 Michigan State UniversityUnited States
=99 101–125 Ohio State University (Main campus)United States
101–125 94 University of AdelaideAustralia
101–125 126–150 Beijing Normal UniversityChina
101–125 95 University of BernSwitzerland
101–125 101–125 Boston UniversityUnited States
101–125 =98 University of California, Santa CruzUnited States
101–125 101–125 University of CopenhagenDenmark
101–125 =89 Free University of BerlinGermany
101–125 101–125 University of GenevaSwitzerland
101–125 126–150 Ghent UniversityBelgium
101–125 101–125 Université Grenoble AlpesFrance
101–125 101–125 University of HamburgGermany
101–125 101–125 University of HelsinkiFinland
101–125 101–125 Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong Kong
101–125 126–150 KTH Royal Institute of TechnologySweden
101–125 96 Lund UniversitySweden
101–125 151–175 Nankai UniversityChina
101–125 126–150 Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)South Korea
101–125 176–200 Purdue University West LafayetteUnited States
101–125 81 University of ReadingUnited Kingdom
101–125 76 Stockholm UniversitySweden
101–125 101–125 Stony Brook UniversityUnited States
101–125 201–250 Tohoku UniversityJapan
101–125 101–125 University of ViennaAustria
101–125 101–125 University of WarwickUnited Kingdom
101–125 126–150 University of WaterlooCanada
101–125 151–175 Wuhan UniversityChina
101–125 151–175 Yonsei University (Seoul campus)South Korea
101–125 87 University of ZurichSwitzerland
126–150 151–175 University of AlbertaCanada
126–150 126–150 Arizona State University (Tempe)United States
126–150 101–125 University of BirminghamUnited Kingdom
126–150 126–150 Université Catholique de LouvainBelgium
126–150 126–150 Curtin UniversityAustralia
126–150 101–125 Durham UniversityUnited Kingdom
126–150 101–125 University of ExeterUnited Kingdom
126–150 126–150 University of GlasgowUnited Kingdom
126–150 151–175 University of Hawai’i at MānoaUnited States
126–150 47 King Abdulaziz UniversitySaudi Arabia
126–150 151–175 University of LiverpoolUnited Kingdom
126–150 101–125 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States
126–150 126–150 University of OsloNorway
126–150 126–150 Radboud University NijmegenNetherlands
126–150 151–175 University of SheffieldUnited Kingdom
126–150 126–150 Sichuan UniversityChina
126–150 176–200 University of Southern CaliforniaUnited States
126–150 101–125 University of St AndrewsUnited Kingdom
126–150 126–150 Technical University of DenmarkDenmark
126–150 151–175 TU DresdenGermany
126–150 126–150 Uppsala UniversitySweden
126–150 151–175 Xiamen UniversityChina
151–175 126–150 Aarhus UniversityDenmark
151–175 151–175 University of AntwerpBelgium
151–175 151–175 University of California, RiversideUnited States
151–175 176–200 École Normale Supérieure de LyonFrance
151–175 201–250 University of Erlangen-NurembergGermany
151–175 176–200 University of FloridaUnited States
151–175 176–200 University of FreiburgGermany
151–175 151–175 Johannes Gutenberg University of MainzGermany
151–175 151–175 King Fahd University of Petroleum and MineralsSaudi Arabia
151–175 151–175 Université Libre de BruxellesBelgium
151–175 151–175 Macquarie UniversityAustralia
151–175 151–175 University of MünsterGermany
151–175 201–250 Nagoya UniversityJapan
151–175 176–200 University of NottinghamUnited Kingdom
151–175 151–175 University of RochesterUnited States
151–175 201–250 Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)South Korea
151–175 176–200 Swinburne University of TechnologyAustralia
151–175 126–150 University of Technology SydneyAustralia
151–175 251–300 Tokyo Institute of TechnologyJapan
151–175 126–150 Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)South Korea
151–175 126–150 Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamNetherlands
151–175 176–200 Washington University in St LouisUnited States
151–175 151–175 The University of Western AustraliaAustralia
151–175 126–150 University of WollongongAustralia
176–200 201–250 University of BarcelonaSpain
176–200 126–150 University of BaselSwitzerland
176–200 151–175 Cardiff UniversityUnited Kingdom
176–200 201–250 Chalmers University of TechnologySweden
176–200 151–175 Colorado State University, Fort CollinsUnited States
176–200 201–250 Eindhoven University of TechnologyNetherlands
176–200 176–200 Friedrich Schiller University JenaGermany
176–200 201–250 Goethe University FrankfurtGermany
176–200 401–500 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina
176–200 201–250 Korea UniversitySouth Korea
176–200 201–250 Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUTFinland
176–200 201–250 North Carolina State UniversityUnited States
176–200 201–250 University of Notre DameUnited States
176–200 301–400 Osaka UniversityJapan
176–200 151–175 University of PotsdamGermany
176–200 151–175 Queen Mary University of LondonUnited Kingdom
176–200 126–150 Queen’s University BelfastUnited Kingdom
176–200 126–150 Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)China
176–200 151–175 Sun Yat-sen UniversityChina
176–200 176–200 Tel Aviv UniversityIsrael
176–200 176–200 The University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleUnited States
176–200 151–175 Trinity College DublinIreland
176–200 101–125 University of VictoriaCanada
176–200 201–250 University of WürzburgGermany

Editor’s note: As part of our THE statement on Ukraine published on 2 March 2022, Russian universities have been given less prominence in our rankings. Russian universities that met the criteria for this ranking are not displayed in the table above.

 

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Find the best universities for physics, chemistry and maths using Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2024 data

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