2023 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools
Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences School for You
In 2020-2021, 7,821 people earned a degree or certificate in geological and earth sciences, making the major the #96 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 206 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for geology majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in Geological & Earth Sciences
Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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The excellent programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in the United States. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.
While working on their degree, geology majors at UT Austin accumulate an average of around $16,479 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $171.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Middlesex County College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Edison, Middlesex County College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #6, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on this year’s best schools for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the midsize city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that geology majors at Texas A&M College Station take out is $19,250. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $340, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of Florida-Online landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the city of Gainesville, UF Online is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that geology majors at UF Online take out is $15,337.
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University of Wisconsin - River Falls landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geological and earth sciences programs. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public school located in the town of River Falls.
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University of California - Berkeley came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools ranking. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
On average, geology graduates from UC Berkeley take out $11,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Williams College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Located in the town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #11, Northeastern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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University of Delaware did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #12 on the list. UD is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Newark.
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University of Wyoming landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the town of Laramie, UW is a public school with a large student population.
While working on their degree, geology majors at UW accumulate an average of around $24,000 in student debt.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geological and earth sciences programs. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.
On average, geology graduates from UW - Madison take out $26,911 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #15, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on this year’s best schools for geological and earth sciences students. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
On average, geology graduates from UIUC take out $23,250 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of Maryland - College Park did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Union College New York ranked #17 on this year’s Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Union College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Schenectady.
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Iowa State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #18 on the list. Iowa State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Ames.
Geology majors at Iowa State take out an average of $25,400 in student loans while working on their egree.
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With a ranking of #19, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for geological and earth sciences students. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
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With a ranking of #20, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well on this year’s best schools for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, geology graduates from Cal Poly Pomona carry an average student debtload of $18,579.
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Lock Haven University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Located in the town of Lock Haven, LHU is a public college with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #22, Texas A&M University - Kingsville did quite well on this year’s best schools for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the town of Kingsville, Texas A&M Kingsville is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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University of Houston landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the city of Houston, UH is a public school with a very large student population.
On average, geology graduates from UH take out $21,550 in student loans while working on their degree.
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California State University - Long Beach ranked #24 on this year’s Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.
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University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #25 on the list. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
On average, geology graduates from UCSB take out $25,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 32 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 33 | Smith College | Northampton, MA |
| 34 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD |
| 35 | Millersville University of Pennsylvania | Millersville, PA |
| 36 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN |
| 37 | East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania | East Stroudsburg, PA |
| 38 | Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania | Bloomsburg, PA |
| 39 | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 40 | University of Nevada - Reno | Reno, NV |
| 41 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
Geological & Earth Sciences by Region
View the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Geological & Earth Sciences Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Geology
Geological & Earth Sciences is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Geology
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | 21,239 |
| Physics | 13,674 |
| General Physical Sciences | 3,823 |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics | 1,375 |
| Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology | 1,140 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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