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Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

22 Colleges
$14,767 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,206 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for geology students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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.

2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for geology majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found California State University - Long Beach to be the best value school for geological and earth sciences students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.

Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, geology graduates from Cal Poly Pomona take out $18,579 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Sacramento helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in California. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Geology majors at Sac State take out an average of $17,487 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at California State University - Sacramento Report

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 22 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Los Angeles landed the # 4 spot on the list. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year.

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#5

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at San Diego State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in California. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SDSU are $8,136 a year. After completing their degree, geology graduates from SDSU carry an average student debtload of $26,874.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at San Diego State University Report

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on this year’s best value schools for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a very large student population.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $10,195 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that geology majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take out is $15,000.

In addition to its great value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list.

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$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on this year’s best value schools for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year. On average, geology graduates from Cal State Fullerton take out $20,125 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at California State University - Fullerton

$7,644 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Stanislaus ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Stan State are $7,644 a year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at California State University - Stanislaus

$7,213 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - San Bernardino ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list. CSUSB is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUSB are $7,213 a year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at California State University - San Bernardino

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Berkeley landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $14,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, geology majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $11,000 in student debt.

UC Berkeley also made our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list, coming in at #3.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Berkeley

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 22 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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