Geological & Earth Sciences at Western Michigan University

Every geological and earth sciences school has its own distinct culture and strengths. We've pulled together some statistics and other details to help you see how the geology program at Western Michigan University stacks up to those at other schools.

WMU is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and has a total student population of 19,887. In the 2020-2021 academic year, 20 students received a bachelor's degree in geology from WMU.

Want to know more about the career opportunities in this field? Check out the Careers in Geological & Earth Sciences section at the bottom of this page.

WMU Geological & Earth Sciences Degrees Available

• Basic Certificate in Geology (Less Than 1 Year)
• Bachelor’s Degree in Geology
• Master’s Degree in Geology
• Doctorate Degree in Geology

Online Classes Are Available at WMU

Don't have the time or the flexibility in your schedule to take traditional classes? Online courses may be the perfect solution for you. They allow independent learners to study when and where they want to while offering the rigor of in-person classes.

For those who are interested in distance learning, WMU does offer online courses in geology for the following degree levels:

WMU Geological & Earth Sciences Rankings

The following rankings from College Factual show how the geology progam at WMU compares to programs at other colleges and universities.

Note: Although rankings can help you see some information about a school, it's not a good idea to depend on them alone. Be sure to check out other things about the school before making your decision to attend.

Bachelor’s Degree Overall Quality & Other Notable Rankings

The geology major at WMU is not ranked on College Factual’s Best Colleges and Universities for Geological & Earth Sciences. This could be for a number of reasons, such as not having enough data on the major or school to make an accurate assessment of its quality.

Ranking Type	Rank
Most Popular Online Geological & Earth Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools	1
Most Popular Online Geological & Earth Sciences Schools	4
Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	24
Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools	56
Most Focused Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	161

In 2021, 6 students received their master’s degree in geology from WMU. This makes it the #91 most popular school for geology master’s degree candidates in the country.

There were 5 students who received their doctoral degrees in geology, making the school the #51 most popular school in the United States for this category of students.

How Much Do Geology Graduates from WMU Make?

The median salary of geology students who receive their bachelor's degree at WMU is $36,192. This is less than $36,478, which is the national average of all geology majors in the nation who earn bachelor's degrees.

Geology Student Demographics at WMU

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the geology majors at Western Michigan University.

WMU Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 20 geology majors earned their bachelor's degree from WMU. Of these graduates, 65% were men and 35% were women.

About 60% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in geology at WMU are white. This is below average for this degree on the nationwide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Western Michigan University with a bachelor's in geology.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	12
International Students	8
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

WMU Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 6 students graduated with a master's degree in geology from WMU. About 67% were men and 33% were women.

Of the students who received a geology master's degree from WMU, 100% were white. This is above average for this degree on the natiowide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Western Michigan University with a master's in geology.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	6
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

WMU also has a doctoral program available in geology. In 2021, 5 students graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Related Majors

• Physics
• Chemistry

Careers That Geology Grads May Go Into

A degree in geology can lead to the following careers. Since job numbers and average salaries can vary by geographic location, we have only included the numbers for MI, the home state for Western Michigan University.

Occupation	Jobs in MI	Average Salary in MI
Natural Sciences Managers	1,570	$113,840
Chemistry Professors	500	$92,640
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Professors	180	$97,110
Hydrologists	80	$77,050

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By TheKuLeR under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.