2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 15 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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.
Featured Geology Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Gain the analytical, technical and science communications skills you need to begin your career with this specialized online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
BS in Geosciences - Natural Resources Conservation
Learn to manage and conserve our natural resources with this specialized online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
Top 10 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for geological and earth sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UIUC are $30,862 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UIUC also did well on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Request Information
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great value for geological and earth sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 a year.
UW - Madison excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report
Request Information
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Purdue University - Main Campus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value geological and earth sciences schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Purdue are $28,794 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Purdue also is in the top 10% of our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Purdue University - Main Campus
Request Information
Out of the 15 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Northwestern graduate students pay an average of $56,567 in tuition and fees each year.
Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region rankings.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern University
Request Information
Out of the 15 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Michigan University landed the # 5 spot on the list. WMU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Kalamazoo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at WMU are $26,248 a year.
Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Western Michigan University Report
Request Information
University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.
UIC graduate students pay an average of $28,468 in tuition and fees each year.
Request Information
Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree geological and earth sciences programs. IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the city of Bloomington.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at IU Bloomington are $33,352 a year.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Indiana University - Bloomington
Request Information
Kent State University at Kent ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Kent State is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Kent.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Kent State are $21,952 a year.
Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Kent State University at Kent Report
Request Information
Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Ohio State are $38,377 a year.
Request Information
Miami University - Oxford came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Miami University - Oxford are $32,332 per year.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Miami University - Oxford
Request InformationBest Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges by State
Explore the best geological and earth sciences colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 211 |
| Ohio | 237 |
| Illinois | 140 |
| Indiana | 98 |
| Wisconsin | 130 |
More Geological & Earth Sciences Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Majors Related to Geology
One of 8 majors within the area of study, geological and earth sciences has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related 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 15 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.