undergradly.
Major · Physical Sciences

The science of matter, energy, and everything that connects them

Physics, General covers the fundamental laws governing how the physical world behaves — from classical mechanics and thermodynamics to quantum theory and relativity. About 7,501 degrees are awarded annually across 944 colleges. The bachelor's is usually a gateway to graduate school or adjacent technical fields, not a direct credential for high-earning physics roles.

Schools offering
944
Annual completions
7,501
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$80k

About this major

Physics as a formal major is built around first principles — the attempt to describe nature's behavior in mathematical language precise enough to make predictions. The curriculum moves from classical mechanics and electromagnetism through thermodynamics, wave phenomena, optics, and modern physics before arriving at quantum mechanics and, in many programs, relativity and nuclear physics. Mathematics is not a support course in physics; it's the primary language. Differential equations, linear algebra, and mathematical methods in physics run throughout the sequence. Laboratory work is present but plays a secondary role compared to the analytical and computational demands. The CIP definition frames the major as focusing on the formulation and testing of laws governing the matter-energy continuum — a description that captures the curriculum accurately.

The major tends to attract students who are drawn to understanding fundamental rules over applied outcomes — people who want to know why the equations work, not just how to use them. That orientation matters because the curriculum is uncompromising in its mathematical demands; students who came expecting to focus mainly on conceptual understanding without the mathematical apparatus typically struggle in the second and third years. The programs at UCSB (138 completions), UT Austin (93), and UC Berkeley (84) represent the research-university end of the spectrum; Irvine Valley College (83 completions) and Los Angeles Pierce College (57) show that the associate's path exists at community colleges, often as a transfer pathway toward those same research universities.

On the career side, physics is one of the more graduate-school-dependent majors in the sciences. The five-year median earnings for this major run about $80,243 — higher than chemistry and solid by undergraduate standards — but the figure reflects not the physicist occupation (which requires a doctorate) but the range of technical and quantitative adjacent careers that physics graduates enter. About 7,501 degrees are awarded annually across 944 colleges, making it a smaller major with strong concentration at research-intensive institutions.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education $65k -1.6% Bachelor's degree
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Physicists $166k +4.0% Doctoral or professional degree
Physics teachers, postsecondary $97k +2.5% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$80k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$74k

Bachelor's

$80k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you have a genuine drive to understand the physical world at a fundamental level — not just the equations as tools but what they're actually saying about nature. Physics rewards students who find mathematical reasoning inherently satisfying, who can hold abstract formalism and physical intuition simultaneously, and who don't need an immediate application to stay motivated through a demanding course sequence. The major also makes good sense if graduate school is your plan: physics bachelor's graduates are well-positioned to apply to PhD programs in physics, engineering, applied mathematics, and adjacent fields, and the five-year earnings picture improves substantially for those who complete that additional training.

Think twice if your primary goal is high earnings directly from the bachelor's without a graduate degree. The data is honest here: the physicist occupation ($166,290 median) requires a doctoral degree, and the most common bachelor's-level destination in the career data — secondary school teaching — posts a $64,580 median wage with a -1.6% projected growth rate. If direct-to-career earnings are the main constraint, Engineering Physics or a core engineering discipline will produce better outcomes from the bachelor's alone. Think twice also if what actually interests you is designing and building things rather than analyzing why they work — that instinct points toward engineering more than physics. And if the idea of spending most of your study time working through proofs and analytical derivations sounds more like an obligation than an activity you'd choose, the day-to-day experience of this major will likely confirm that feeling.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Physics, General

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 0 138 138
The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 0 93 93
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 0 84 84
Irvine Valley College Irvine, CA 83 0 83
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 83 83
University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD 0 63 63
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA 0 62 62
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 62 62
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA 0 58 58
Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA 57 0 57
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biology/Biological Sciences, General

83,027 completions/yr

Biological and Physical Sciences

25,374 completions/yr

Mathematics, General

18,758 completions/yr

Chemistry, General

12,173 completions/yr

Physical Sciences, General

2,589 completions/yr

Engineering Physics/Applied Physics

664 completions/yr

Astrophysics

340 completions/yr

Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education

294 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Physics, General field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Physics, General worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Physics majors actually study day-to-day?
The curriculum starts with classical mechanics, electricity, and magnetism, then advances through thermodynamics, optics, modern physics, quantum mechanics, and often relativity and nuclear physics. Mathematics is woven throughout — calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and mathematical methods courses run alongside the physics sequence. Laboratory work is required but lighter than in chemistry; the real load is analytical and computational. Upper-division coursework typically branches into elective concentrations like condensed matter, astrophysics, or computational physics depending on the program.
What do Physics graduates actually do for work after a bachelor's?
The honest answer: most bachelor's-level physics graduates do not work as physicists. The physicist occupation requires a doctoral degree and posts a $166,290 median wage — but that title is not accessible from a bachelor's alone. The most common bachelor's-accessible destination in the data is secondary school teaching ($64,580 median, -1.6% projected growth). Natural sciences managers ($161,180 median, +3.7% growth) are reachable, but typically after a graduate degree and years of research experience. The bachelor's in physics most commonly leads to graduate school (physics, engineering, finance quant roles, or data science) rather than a direct physics career.
Do I need a graduate degree to make the physics investment pay off?
For the careers explicitly linked to this major in the data, graduate school is required for the highest earners. Physicists ($166,290 median) and postsecondary physics teachers ($97,360 median) both list a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry credential. The bachelor's-accessible paths — secondary teaching and natural sciences management — average lower than the five-year median earnings figure of $80,243 would suggest for the broader population. That $80K figure likely reflects graduates who continued into engineering, finance, computing, or other technical fields where physics reasoning is an asset rather than a job requirement.
Is a Physics bachelor's enough, or is an associate's sufficient?
The earnings gap between degree levels is narrower than the credential signal suggests. Associate's completers in this major report a median of about $73,770 at five years, while bachelor's completers report about $80,303 — a difference of roughly $6,500. That modest gap reflects the structure of the field: neither degree opens the door to physicist or physics faculty roles. The bachelor's is more valuable here not for the gap itself but as the prerequisite for the graduate programs that lead to the highest-ceiling careers.
Is Physics the right major, or should I consider a related field?
Physics makes sense if you want a deep foundational understanding of physical laws and are committed to graduate school or are comfortable using the analytical training in an adjacent career. Engineering Physics/Applied Physics (the CIP cross-reference for this major) is the better choice if you want more applied problem-solving and higher direct-to-career earnings without requiring a doctorate. Chemistry, General (12,173 completions) sits alongside physics in the Physical Sciences group and has a similar graduate-school-dependent profile but a different lab-heavy learning style. Mathematics, General (18,758 completions) overlaps on the quantitative reasoning side for students whose interest is more abstract theory. If data science or finance is your actual goal, consider whether those programs offer a more direct path.
What's a realistic earnings picture after a Physics degree?
Five-year median earnings for this major run about $80,243 across all degree levels — noticeably higher than chemistry ($66K) and above the national median for bachelor's graduates overall. Bachelor's completers specifically land around $80,303. That figure is not driven by physicist salaries — it reflects the mix of paths graduates actually take, which skews toward technical and quantitative adjacent careers. The career ceiling is genuinely high: physicists post a $166,290 median wage and natural sciences managers reach $161,180, but both require substantial additional training beyond the bachelor's. Secondary school teaching ($64,580) is the most accessible bachelor's-level destination and pulls the realistic floor lower.