Best Physical Chemistry Major Programs Comparison

Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of laws and concepts of physics. It applies the principles, practices and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics and dynamics, equilibrium.[read more at wiki] Here we introduce best colleges in the field of physical chemistry where University of California-Berkeley is ranked top and California Institute of Technology is positioned on second place.

We briefly compare those top colleges with various factors such as tuition, admission, graduation, enrolment, and more. The full comparison for each factors with tables and charts is described at physical chemistry colleges comparison page.

General Comparison

First, we compare the best physical chemistry schools with general characteristics.

Table. Best Physical Chemistry College Overview

Rank	Name	Location	Type	Population
1	University of California-Berkeley	Berkeley, California	Public, Four or more years	35,893
2	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, California	Private not-for-profit, Four or more years	2,243
3	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Private not-for-profit, Four or more years	11,189
4	Stanford University	Stanford, California	Private not-for-profit, Four or more years	18,519
5	Northwestern University	Evanston, Illinois	Private not-for-profit, Four or more years	21,215
6	University of Chicago	Chicago, Illinois	Private not-for-profit, Four or more years	15,245
7	Harvard University	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Private not-for-profit, Four or more years	28,147
8	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Madison, Wisconsin	Public, Four or more years	42,269
9	University of Colorado Boulder	Boulder, Colorado	Public, Four or more years	31,945
10	Columbia University in the City of New York	New York, New York	Private not-for-profit, Four or more years	26,471
10	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Champaign, Illinois	Public, Four or more years	44,520

Admission and Acceptance Ratio Comparison

In this paragraph, we compare admission considerations between the best schools including applications fees, acceptance ratio, and application requirements.

Table. Best Physical Chemistry College Admission Comparison

	Open Admission	Application Fee	Acceptance Ratio
University of California-Berkeley	No	$ 70	21.6% (20.6%/22.5%)
California Institute of Technology	No	$ 65	12.8% (10.3%/20.5%)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	No	$ 75	8.9% (6.6%/14.6%)
Stanford University	No	$ 90	6.6% (6.8%/6.4%)
Northwestern University	No	$ 65	18.0% (18.6%/17.5%)
University of Chicago	No	$ 75	13.2% (13.7%/12.7%)
Harvard University	No	$ 75	5.8% (5.9%/5.7%)
University of Wisconsin-Madison	No	$ 44	68.6% (66.0%/71.1%)
University of Colorado Boulder	No	$ 50	83.6% (80.9%/86.6%)
Columbia University in the City of New York	No	$ 80	6.9% (7.8%/6.2%)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	No	$ 50	63.3% (63.0%/63.8%)

Tuition Costs Comparison

Next, we compare the tuition and other costs at best Physical Chemistry colleges. Tuition is an amount of money charged to students for instructional services. Tuition may be charged per term, per course, or per credit. In-state tuition rate applies to students who meet the state's or institution's residency requirements and out-of-tuition rate is for students who do not meet the ins-state residency requirements.

Table. Best Physical Chemistry Schools Tuition Comparison

	Undergraduate				Graduate
	In-State		Out-Of-State		In-State		Out-Of-State
	Tuition	Fees	Tuition	Fees	Tuition	Fees	Tuition	Fees
University of California-Berkeley	$ 11,220	$ 1,654	$ 34,098	$ 1,654	$ 11,220	$ 1,654	$ 26,322	$ 1,654
California Institute of Technology	$ 38,085	$ 1,503	$ 38,085	$ 1,503	$ 38,085	$ 1,395	$ 38,085	$ 1,395
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$ 41,770	$ 280	$ 41,770	$ 280	$ 41,770	$ 2,260	$ 41,770	$ 2,260
Stanford University	$ 41,250	$ 975	$ 41,250	$ 975	$ 41,250	$ 537	$ 41,250	$ 537
Northwestern University	$ 43,380	$ 399	$ 43,380	$ 399	$ 43,380	$ 312	$ 43,380	$ 312
University of Chicago	$ 43,581	$ 993	$ 43,581	$ 993	$ 45,900	$ 930	$ 45,900	$ 930
Harvard University	$ 37,576	$ 3,290	$ 37,576	$ 3,290	$ 37,576	$ 930	$ 37,576	$ 930
University of Wisconsin-Madison	$ 9,273	$ 1,105	$ 25,523	$ 1,105	$ 10,728	$ 1,105	$ 24,054	$ 1,105
University of Colorado Boulder	$ 8,056	$ 1,426	$ 29,952	$ 1,426	$ 9,738	$ 1,435	$ 26,208	$ 1,435
Columbia University in the City of New York	$ 45,028	$ 2,218	$ 45,028	$ 2,218	$ 36,688	$ 1,692	$ 36,688	$ 1,692
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	$ 12,603	$ 2,886	$ 28,230	$ 2,886	$ 13,726	$ 2,886	$ 26,274	$ 2,886

Grants, Scholarships, and Loans Comparison

This page contains comparison data on the number of full-time, first-time undergraduate students and all undergraduate students who receive different types of student financial aid, including grants and loans, from different sources at each best Physical Chemistry school.

Full-time student is a student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits , or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. First-time student is a student attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. For full-time and first-time students, the financial aid reports include federal grants, Pell grants, other federal grants, state/local grants, grants from the institution, federal and non-federal student loans.

Table. Best Physical Chemistry Schools - Full-Time, First-Time Undergraduate Student Financial Aids Comparison Table

	Grants or Scholarship			Student Loan
	Number Receiving	Percent Receiving	Average Amount	Number Receiving	Percent Receiving	Average Amount
University of California-Berkeley	2,360	53%	$ 16,141	1,294	29%	$ 5,787
California Institute of Technology	140	57%	$ 31,445	71	29%	$ 5,525
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	659	58%	$ 34,641	225	20%	$ 7,216
Stanford University	939	55%	$ 38,522	188	11%	$ 6,589
Northwestern University	1,154	55%	$ 29,961	752	36%	$ 6,084
University of Chicago	837	59%	$ 28,033	393	28%	$ 6,116
Harvard University	1,022	62%	$ 41,555	177	11%	$ 5,118
University of Wisconsin-Madison	3,427	59%	$ 5,446	2,368	41%	$ 6,843
University of Colorado Boulder	2,303	41%	$ 8,442	2,159	38%	$ 7,872
Columbia University in the City of New York	712	51%	$ 37,934	219	16%	$ 7,537
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	3,326	46%	$ 11,411	3,262	45%	$ 6,622

Enrollment Comparison

This paragraph compares the number of students enrolled in best Physical Chemistryschools. Next table counts total students headcount by school level and attendance status. Undergraduate full-time student is a student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits , or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. For graduate students, it includes students enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full time by the institution.

Undergraduate part-time student is a student enrolled for either less than 12 semester or quarter credits, or less than 24 contact hours a week each term. For graduate schools, students enrolled for less than 9 semester or quarter credits are included in this table.

Table. Best Physical Chemistry Schools Enrollment Comparison by School Level/Attendance Status

		Undergraduate		Graduate
	Total	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time
University of California-Berkeley	35,893	25,018	756	9,381	738
California Institute of Technology	2,243	997	0	1,246	0
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	11,189	4,480	23	6,537	149
Stanford University	18,519	7,003	60	8,474	2,982
Northwestern University	21,215	8,542	834	8,646	3,193
University of Chicago	15,245	5,559	59	7,161	2,466
Harvard University	28,147	7,233	3,331	13,163	4,420
University of Wisconsin-Madison	42,269	28,167	2,134	9,867	2,101
University of Colorado Boulder	31,945	23,662	2,279	2,436	3,568
Columbia University in the City of New York	26,471	7,236	578	14,861	3,796
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	44,520	31,118	1,163	9,586	2,653

Graduation Rates Comparison

Next, we compare the graduation rate between best Physical Chemistry schools. The graduation Rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised cohort minus any allowable exclusions. For example, 6 years rate is applied for 4 year schools. For detail information of your desired school, follow links on the school name.

Next table shows the graduation rate by gender. the numbers in parenthesis means completers over total cohort.

Table. Best Physical Chemistry Schools Graduation Rates By Gender

	Average	Men	Women
University of California-Berkeley	90.68% (3,777 / 4,165)	89.50% (1,696 / 1,895)	91.67% (2,081 / 2,270)
California Institute of Technology	91.90% (193 / 210)	89.33% (134 / 150)	98.33% (59 / 60)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	92.81% (929 / 1,001)	92.42% (512 / 554)	93.29% (417 / 447)
Stanford University	95.20% (1,567 / 1,646)	94.20% (764 / 811)	96.17% (803 / 835)
Northwestern University	92.96% (1,915 / 2,060)	91.76% (891 / 971)	94.03% (1,024 / 1,089)
University of Chicago	91.97% (1,157 / 1,258)	91.45% (567 / 620)	92.48% (590 / 638)
Harvard University	96.96% (1,628 / 1,679)	96.00% (769 / 801)	97.84% (859 / 878)
University of Wisconsin-Madison	81.80% (4,608 / 5,633)	79.81% (2,075 / 2,600)	83.51% (2,533 / 3,033)
University of Colorado Boulder	68.00% (3,812 / 5,606)	65.25% (1,904 / 2,918)	70.98% (1,908 / 2,688)
Columbia University in the City of New York	95.05% (1,286 / 1,353)	94.77% (670 / 707)	95.36% (616 / 646)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	83.96% (6,005 / 7,152)	81.70% (2,969 / 3,634)	86.30% (3,036 / 3,518)

Student To Fauclty Ratio Comparison

Student-to-faculty ratio is defined as total students not in graduate or professional programs divided by total instructional staff not teaching in graduate or professional programs. The student-to-faculty ratio is applicable only to institutions with undergraduate students. Next two tables compare the student-to-faculty ratio between best schools. For detail information of each school, follow the link on the school name. The ratio is calculated by dividing total number of students by total numbers of faculty. (for example, the ratio is 11.9 % for 131 students and 11 faculty members)

Table. Student to Faculty Ratio

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
University of California-Berkeley	5.0%	6.3%	6.3%	5.9%	5.9%
California Institute of Technology	16.7%	33.3%	33.3%	33.3%	33.3%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	12.5%	12.5%	12.5%	12.5%	12.5%
Stanford University	20.0%	10.0%	10.0%	8.3%	8.3%
Northwestern University	14.3%	14.3%	14.3%	14.3%	14.3%
University of Chicago	9.1%	16.7%	16.7%	16.7%	16.7%
Harvard University	14.3%	14.3%	14.3%	14.3%	14.3%
University of Wisconsin-Madison	4.5%	4.5%	4.5%	4.5%	5.6%
University of Colorado Boulder	5.6%	5.6%	5.6%	5.3%	5.3%
Columbia University in the City of New York	16.7%	16.7%	16.7%	16.7%	16.7%
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	5.3%	5.3%	5.3%	5.0%	5.0%

Once again, we note that the full comparison for each factors with tables and charts is described at physical chemistry colleges comparison page.