2025 Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

When it comes to popularity, a bachelor's degree in astronomy & astrophysics sits in the middle of the road, ranking #168 out of 363 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

College Factual looked at 6 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 219 bachelor's degrees in astronomy & astrophysics to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Astronomy & Astrophysics School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Your choice of astronomy & astrophysics for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality astronomy program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on astronomy & astrophysics students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of astronomy & astrophysics students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt astronomy & astrophysics students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized astronomy & astrophysics related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for astronomy & astrophysics students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Great Lakes Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for astronomy & astrophysics students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Astronomy

1

Ohio State University - Main Campus
Columbus, OH

36 Annual Graduates

Ohio State University - Main Campus is a good decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in astronomy & astrophysics. Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Columbus.More information about a bachelor’s in astronomy & astrophysics from Ohio State University - Main Campus

2

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

28 Annual Graduates

$45,783 Median Starting Salary

University of Wisconsin - Madison is a good choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in astronomy & astrophysics. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those astronomy & astrophysics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison make $6,205 more than the average astronomy graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in astronomy & astrophysics from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL

23 Annual Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in astronomy & astrophysics. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in astronomy & astrophysics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI

19 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in astronomy & astrophysics has to check out University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.More information about a bachelor’s in astronomy & astrophysics from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

5

Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, IN

13 Annual Graduates

IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the city of Bloomington.More information about a bachelor’s in astronomy & astrophysics from Indiana University - Bloomington

6

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

24 Annual Graduates

$33,373 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the astronomy program report average early career wages of $33,373.

More information about a bachelor’s in astronomy & astrophysics from Michigan State University

Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Colleges by State

Explore the best astronomy & astrophysics schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	261	44
Ohio	252	52
Illinois	241	47
Indiana	235	17
Wisconsin	213	26

View All Rankings >

Astronomy & Astrophysics Related Rankings by Major

One of 8 majors within the Physical Sciences area of study, Astronomy & Astrophysics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Astronomy Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Astronomy	133
Astrophysics	78
Other Astronomy & Astrophysics	7
Planetary Astronomy & Science	1

Majors Similar to Astronomy

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Chemistry	1,919
Physics	1,099
Geological & Earth Sciences	649
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	141
General Physical Sciences	16
Other Physical Science	9
Materials Sciences	7

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.