Department Ranking

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics ranks No. 4 among public universities by US News

Kirsten Apodaca — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:07:33 +0000

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics ranks No. 4 among public universities by US News Kirsten Apodaca Wed, 04/08/2026 - 15:07

In the latest U.S. News & World Report graduate program rankings, �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics earned top marks, ranking No. 4 among public institutions and No. 13 overall among both public and private institutions. The department’s overall ranking rose four spots from No. 17 in the 2023 report, highlighting increasing national recognition of the physics graduate program.

“We’re proud to be recognized as one of the top physics graduate programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report,” says Tobin Munsat, professor and chair of physics. “This ranking reflects the exceptional work of our students, faculty and staff, and speaks to the excellence and breadth of research and education in our department.”

U.S. News and World Report calculates its graduate program rankings using multiple measures, including peer assessments. Several other �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder graduate programs also ranked highly in this year’s report and are featured in �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Today.

Physics by the numbers

4 Nobel Prizes in Physics since 2001

312 PhD students

No. 1 best public university in atomic, molecular and optical physics (2023 US News and World Report)

59 full-time faculty

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�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder physics ranks highly in QS World University subject rankings

Kirsten Apodaca — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:48:45 +0000

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder physics ranks highly in QS World University subject rankings Kirsten Apodaca Wed, 03/25/2026 - 08:48

In the latest edition of the World University Rankings by Subject from Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder physics and astronomy ranked No. 21 in the nation – and No. 10 among public institutions in the U.S. The rankings are based on surveys of reputation in the subject area among academics and recruiters of graduates, and on citations to research articles.

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�鶹��Ѱ��Physics Ranked 13th Internationally, According to ARWU 2019

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 22:06:54 +0000

�鶹��Ѱ��Physics Ranked 13th Internationally, According to ARWU 2019 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/27/2019 - 16:06

View the Physics Rankings

A new Academic Ranking of World Universities report issued from Shanghai Ranking has listed the Physics program at the University of Colorado, Boulder as the 13th best university globally for physics. The ranking was issued in August 2019. According to the list, �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder's Physics program ranks as the 3rd amongst state university in the U.S.

According to their website, the ARWU report ranks institutions on 54 subjects, across Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences.

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�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics Tops U.S. News & World Report 2016

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 16:22:29 +0000

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics Tops U.S. News & World Report 2016 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/16/2015 - 10:22

Once again, the University of Colorado Department of Physics earned top rankings from the U.S. News & World Report. The rankings were announced in early March 2015.

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder's Department of Physics was declared the top school in the nation for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics for a second year in a row. This ranking rates our program above M.I.T., Harvard and Stanford Universities. Quantum Physics at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder was ranked number 8 in the nation and overall, we were ranked in the top 20 schools for our exemplary physics program.

The report gathered statistical information on more than 1,900 programs nationwide to compile rankings in five of the largest professional graduate school disciplines -- business, law, education, engineering and medicine -- as well as some part-time programs. The rankings are based on expert opinions and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students.

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�鶹��Ѱ�� Department of Physics Ranked Number 1 by U.S. News

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 23:35:12 +0000

�鶹��Ѱ�� Department of Physics Ranked Number 1 by U.S. News Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/14/2013 - 17:35

The University of Colorado Department of Physics has been ranked as the number one school in the nation for atomic, molecular and optical physics, according to U.S. News and World Report's graduate school report. This ties �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder's AMO program with that of MIT for the best graduate school program in the nation. Quantum physics was ranked as fifth, according to the report.

Overall, the Department of Physics is 19^th out of 145 ranked schools.

According to their Web site, U.S. News ranks graduate programs in the sciences according to the results of surveys sent to academics in various scientific fields. Those surveyed were ask to rate the quality of graduate programs of their peers.

View the Daily Camera Article

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Atomic physics ties with MIT for No. 1 in rankings

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:03:00 +0000

Atomic physics ties with MIT for No. 1 in rankings Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/22/2011 - 22:03

Graduate programs across the University of Colorado system continue to earn national prominence based on the latest annual rankings from U.S. News & World Report. <Read more from the Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine>

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NRC Report Ranks �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics Department Among Top 20 in Nation

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:28:00 +0000

NRC Report Ranks �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics Department Among Top 20 in Nation Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 12/21/2010 - 19:28

�鶹��Ѱ��Physics Ranked in Top 10 of Public Universities

The University of Colorado at Boulder Department of Physics is delighted to have been recognized with a high ranking in the 2010 National Research Council report on U.S. doctoral programs, which was released Tuesday, September 28th. According to the NRC's affiliate site—Phds.org—the department is ranked at about 14th among universities in the nation, and 6th in the public university category.

The NRC methodology involves a complicated statistical analysis based on numerical data through 2006, which include publications per faculty, citations, funding, awards, graduation rates and many other measures. The rating

system is designed to provide a broad range of dimensional rankings, in order to help prospective students and others effectively gauge each academic program.

The University of Colorado at Boulder's Department of Physics ranking of approximately 14th among all universities

and 6th among public universities reflects our many accomplishments since the 1996 NRC report in which we were ranked 38th out of 147 programs. Our dramatic rise in ranking is a testament to our outstanding

faculty, staff and students and their many research and educational accomplishments. Since 1996, research funding to our faculty has quadrupled and our graduate and undergraduate programs have grown dramatically. During that same period, fourteen different faculty members have been awarded one or more of the leading international

research awards in their fields, six have been recognized with national teaching awards, fifteen of our junior faculty members have won leading national awards for young researchers, six faculty members have been elected to the one or more of the national academies and three members of the physics faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Many of these have occurred since 2006.

We are proud to be recognized along with the many other highly ranked programs at CU. Our high rankings across a wide range of academic disciplines demonstrates

CU's commitment to excellence.

For more information about the NRC Report, please view the official report. More information about the overall performance of departments across the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder system is available at http://www.colorado.edu/pba/nrc/.

Left: This graphic represents the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Department of Physics
(in red) compared to other physics programs nation-wide based on two ranking scales defined by the NRC. (graphic provided courtesy of the University of Colorado Office of Planning Budget and Analysis)

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Department Ranking

�鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Physics ranks No. 4 among public universities by US News

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�鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder physics ranks highly in QS World University subject rankings

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�鶹��Ѱ�����Physics Ranked 13th Internationally, According to ARWU 2019

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�鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Physics Tops U.S. News & World Report 2016

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�鶹��Ѱ����� Department of Physics Ranked Number 1 by U.S. News

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Atomic physics ties with MIT for No. 1 in rankings

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NRC Report Ranks �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Physics Department Among Top 20 in Nation

�鶹��Ѱ�����Physics Ranked in Top 10 of Public Universities

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�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics ranks No. 4 among public universities by US News

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder physics ranks highly in QS World University subject rankings

�鶹��Ѱ��Physics Ranked 13th Internationally, According to ARWU 2019

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics Tops U.S. News & World Report 2016

�鶹��Ѱ�� Department of Physics Ranked Number 1 by U.S. News

NRC Report Ranks �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Physics Department Among Top 20 in Nation

�鶹��Ѱ��Physics Ranked in Top 10 of Public Universities