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Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

34 Colleges
$35,990 Avg Salary
$23,096 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences School for You

Geological & Earth Sciences is the #96 most popular major in the country with 7,821 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 34 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges.

Top 10 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in the Great Lakes Region for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern University Report

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

Out of the 34 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the # 2 spot on the list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Chicago Report

The excellent programs at University of Wisconsin - River Falls helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Wisconsin - River Falls Report

The excellent programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Geology majors at UW - Madison take out an average of $26,911 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Geology majors at UIUC take out an average of $23,250 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#6

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #6 on the list. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.

While working on their degree, geology majors at Michigan State accumulate an average of around $25,000 in student debt.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Michigan State University

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that geology majors at U-M take out is $20,948.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#8

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from Purdue carry an average student debtload of $15,519.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

#9

Hope College

Holland, MI

Hope College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geological and earth sciences programs. Hope is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Holland.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Hope College Report

Illinois State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Illinois State University Report

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best geological and earth sciences schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 211
Ohio 237
Illinois 140
Indiana 98
Wisconsin 130

One of 8 majors within the area of study, geological and earth sciences has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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