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Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$28,139 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$36,736 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences School for You

In 2020-2021, 140 degrees and certificates were awarded to geological and earth sciences students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #141 most popular major in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in Illinois 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.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois

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

Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality in Geological & Earth Sciences

$13,968 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Illinois State University the best value school in Illinois for geological and earth sciences students. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $13,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Illinois State also is in the top 10% of our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois ranking.

Read More…

$17,634 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in Illinois. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,634 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, geology majors at UIUC accumulate an average of around $23,250 in student debt.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UIUC is ranked #3 for overall quality for geology in Illinois.

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$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 7 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WIU are $13,297 per year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Western Illinois University Report

$15,603 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois list. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.

UIC undergraduate students pay an average of $15,603 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, geology majors at UIC accumulate an average of around $21,651 in student debt.

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$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 7 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the # 5 spot on the list. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year.

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

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
$60,768 Average Tuition & Fees

Northwestern University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northwestern are $60,768 a year.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois rankings.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern University Report

#7

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL
$60,963 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Chicago landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value geological and earth sciences programs. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UChicago are $60,963 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UChicago is ranked #2 for overall quality for geology in Illinois.

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 211
Ohio 237
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 7 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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