Astrophysics

Stem Major

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2017

331

growing 27.8%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$10,560

growing 8.11%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$50,320

growing 5.67%

Average Wage

$109,220

growing 2.37%

People in Workforce

1.11M

growing 2.35%

Average Employee Age

declining 0.792%

About

Institutions

Employment

Diversity

Skills

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Astrophysics degree recipients are Berkeley, CA, Princeton, NJ, and Santa Cruz, CA. The locations with a relatively high number of Astrophysics degree recipients are Haverford College, PA, Princeton, NJ, and Swarthmore, PA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Astrophysics is a bachelors degree.

Photo by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Astrophysics and the types of students that study this field. University of California-Berkeley awards the most degrees in Astrophysics in the US, but California Institute of Technology and Haverford College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Astrophysics.

Tuition costs for Astrophysics majors are, on average, $10,560 for in-state public colleges, and $50,320 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Astrophysics programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (25 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (202 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Astrophysics

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Astrophysics, is Public, 4-year or above (202 completions).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Astrophysics programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$10,560

Median In-State Public

$50,320

Median Out of State Private

University of California-Berkeley has the most Astrophysics degree recipients, with 42 degrees awarded in 2017.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Astrophysics.

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Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

California Institute of Technology
2.69%
Haverford College
1.93%
Princeton University
1.5%

Out of all institutions that offer Astrophysics programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, California Institute of Technology and Haverford College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Astrophysics, with 2.69% and 1.93%, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Astrophysics

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Astrophysics by year.

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Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Astrophysics.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Physical Sciences graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $109,220 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other managers.

The industry that employs the most Physical Sciences majors is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Water transportation.

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Astrophysics is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

$109,220

Average Wage in Workforce

± $2,588

2.37%

1 Year Growth

± 3.26%

The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $109,220 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other managers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Physical Sciences majors.

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± 25,760

2.35%

1 Year Growth

± 3.23%

The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.35%, from 1.08M in 2017 to 1.11M in 2018.

The industry which employs the most Physical Sciences graduates by share is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Physical Sciences.

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Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Astrophysics is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Physical Sciences majors

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Physical Sciences majors.

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Diversity

Demographic information on those who earn a degree in Physical Sciences in the US. The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Physical Sciences is 45, and the most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Physical Sciences degrees, and White students earn the majority (202) of the degrees.

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Astrophysics is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

Average Age in 2018

± 0.326 Years

0.792%

1 Year Change

± 1.04%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Physical Sciences. The most common ages of employees with this major are 35 and 27 years old, which represent 2.59% and 2.57% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Astrophysics are Bachelors Degree, Research Doctorate, and Masters Degree.

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Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Astrophysics is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Physical Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.

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Gender Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (70.1%)

Most Common Gender with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by gender at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Astrophysics.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
202 degrees awarded
Non-resident Alien
42 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
33 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Astrophysics for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Gender

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Gender Combination

White Male
102 degrees awarded
White Female
39 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Male
24 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by gender for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Astrophysics. White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and gender.

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Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Astrophysics is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

Most Common Countries of Origin

India
54,125 degree recipients
China
51,324 degree recipients
Korea
11,608 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Sri Lanka
5.36 times more than expected
USSR
4.49 times more than expected
China
3.73 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Sri Lanka that hold Physical Sciences degrees (5.36 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (54,125 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Astrophysics field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Astrophysics majors need many skills, but most especially Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Astrophysics majors need more than the average amount of Science, Mathematics, and Management of Material Resources.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Astrophysics majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Science is very distinctive for majors, but the Speaking, Reading Comprehension, and Writing are the three most important skills for people in the field.