Your Future in Physics

The analytical and professional skills developed at Illinois Physics lay an excellent foundation for a broad array of careers.

Graduates of our program are pursuing careers in academia, industry, education, and government with competitive salaries. They are financial analysts, software engineers, researchers in government and industrial laboratories, data science engineers, and high school teachers. Many of our graduates continue their education in elite PhD programs, medical school, and law school—physics majors have a strong record of scoring among the highest on the LSAT, MCAT, and GRE. Whatever your aspirations, a degree from Illinois Physics will help get you there.

Recent graduates of Illinois Physics are pursuing their aspirations, with confidence...

Selection of First-Entry Employers

  • Argonne National Laboratory
  • C2 Educational Centers
  • Capgemini
  • CapitalOne
  • Epic Systems
  • Facebook
  • Wheaton North High School
  • Lockheed Martin
  • Microsoft Research
  • Nvidia
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Percolata
  • Roblox
  • Sivananthan Laboratories
  • Smartsheet
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Selection of PhD Programs Entered

  • California Institute of Technology
  • Cornell University
  • Harvard University
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Michigan State University
  • Northwestern University
  • Oxford University
  • Princeton University
  • Stanford University
  • The Ohio State University
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Colorado
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • University of Indiana
  • University of Maryland
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of Notre Dame
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Texas at Austin
  • University of Washington, Seattle
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Yale University

Data from the UIUC Engineering Career Services and Department of Physics.

Illinois Physics Bachelor's Degree Three-Year Trends

Class Overview

2017-2018

2018-2019

2019-2020

Total Number of Graduates 159 156 145
Employed  34%  39%  35%
Continuing Education   56% 55% 49%
Volunteer / Service  0% 1% 0%
Seeking 8% 5% 16%
Other 2% 0% 0%

Full-Time Employed Annual Salary

2017-2018

2018-2019

2019-2020

Average $59,000 $68,568 $80,167
25th Percentile $52,000 $58,040 $55,000
75th Percentile $68,000 $75,750 $100,000

 

 

 

Infographics representing graduated student data from The Grainger Engineering Illini Success Survey.

Undergraduate Admissions Contact

Merissa A Milton

Merissa A Milton
Senior Academic Advisor
290W Loomis Laboratory
(217) 244-9524
majones2@illinois.edu

Have questions about the admission process?
Read through the Admissions pages or contact us.

 

Apply Now