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Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

11 Colleges
$21,063 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$56,185 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree School for You

Geological & Earth Sciences is the #96 most popular major in California with 991 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 11 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for geology students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Our analysis found San Diego State University to be the best value school for geological and earth sciences students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SDSU are $9,570 per year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.

UCSB graduate students pay an average of $13,581 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,160 per year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Berkeley Report

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Santa Cruz is a great value for geological and earth sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the small city of Santa Cruz.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Santa Cruz are $13,895 per year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSD are $13,564 a year.

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University of California - Irvine came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Irvine Report

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University of California - Davis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Davis are $13,608 a year.

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University of California - Riverside landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCR are $13,467 a year.

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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCLA are $13,036 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCLA also is in the top 20% of our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

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#10

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for geological and earth sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Stanford are $55,011 per year.

Stanford did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.

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Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 339
Oregon 137
Nevada 69
Hawaii 42
Alaska 37

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 11 schools only.

  • 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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