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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

34 Colleges
$24,311 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$35,990 Avg Salary

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 34 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value 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.

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

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

Top 10 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

Our analysis found University of Wisconsin - River Falls to be the best value school for geological and earth sciences students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - River Falls are $15,661 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - River Falls also did well on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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

Out of the 34 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $24,172 in tuition and fees each year.

Illinois State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Illinois State University Report

$11,880 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 34 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Akron Main Campus landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 per year. While working on their degree, geology majors at University of Akron Main Campus accumulate an average of around $22,000 in student debt.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Akron Main Campus

$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 34 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WIU are $13,297 a year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Western Illinois University Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is a great value for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Eau Claire are $17,149 a year. Geology majors at UW - Eau Claire take out an average of $19,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Eau Claire also is in the top 10% of our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Report

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Stevens Point is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Stevens Point.

UW - Stevens Point undergraduate students pay an average of $17,035 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Report

$15,500 Average Tuition & Fees

Eastern Michigan University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value geological and earth sciences programs. Eastern Michigan is a large public school located in the large suburb of Ypsilanti.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Eastern Michigan are $15,500 a year.

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

$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

Northern Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIU are $14,738 a year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Northern Illinois University

Grand Valley State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the large suburb of Allendale, GVSU is a public school with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GVSU are $19,628 per year. Geology majors at GVSU take out an average of $29,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Grand Valley State University

$15,714 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Wisconsin - Parkside did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha, UW - Parkside is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Parkside are $15,714 per year. The average amount in student loans that geology majors at UW - Parkside take out is $26,700.

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

Best 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

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.

  • 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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