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Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

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2023 Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

582 Colleges
$38,705 Avg Salary
$23,383 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences School for You

In 2020-2021, 7,821 people earned a degree or certificate in geological and earth sciences, making the major the #96 most popular in the United States.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 582 schools in the United States to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Geological & Earth Sciences program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges.

#1

Mississippi State University

Mississippi State, MS

Our 2023 rankings named Mississippi State University the most popular school in the United States for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the town of Mississippi State, Mississippi State is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, geology majors at Mississippi State accumulate an average of around $26,000 in student debt.

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The excellent programs at Texas A&M University - College Station helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in the United States. Located in the midsize city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, geology majors at Texas A&M College Station accumulate an average of around $19,250 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $340, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Texas A&M University - College Station

Out of the 582 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Wazzu is a very large public school located in the distant town of Pullman.

The average amount in student loans that geology majors at Wazzu take out is $21,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $399.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, geology graduates from UW Seattle take out $21,103 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#5

University of Houston

Houston, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Houston. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Located in the large city of Houston, UH is a public school with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from UH carry an average student debt load of $21,550.

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#6

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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With a ranking of #7, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

On average, geology graduates from Columbia take out $10,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Columbia University in the City of New York

Southern New Hampshire University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the suburb of Manchester, SNHU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from SNHU carry an average student debt load of $29,562.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Southern New Hampshire University

With a ranking of #9, University of North Carolina at Charlotte did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from UNC Charlotte carry an average student debt load of $24,891.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. Pitt is a very large public school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

While working on their degree, geology majors at Pitt accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $367, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

University of California - San Diego came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools ranking. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - San Diego Report

#12

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR

Oregon State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools ranking. Oregon State is a very large public school located in the small city of Corvallis.

While working on their degree, geology majors at Oregon State accumulate an average of around $19,611 in student debt.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Oregon State University Report

#13

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

University of Arizona landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, geology graduates from University of Arizona take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Arizona

Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Louisiana State University is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Baton Rouge.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from Louisiana State University carry an average student debt load of $19,500. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $273, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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With a ranking of #15, University of California - Irvine did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Irvine.

On average, geology graduates from UC Irvine take out $19,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Geology majors at UC Santa Cruz take out an average of $23,815 in student loans while working on their egree.

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

University of Colorado Boulder landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the midsize city of Boulder, CU - Boulder is a public college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that geology majors at CU - Boulder take out is $23,513.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Colorado Boulder

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #18 on the list. U-M is a very large public school located in the city of Ann Arbor.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from U-M carry an average student debt load of $20,948.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

Missouri State University - Springfield ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools list. Missouri State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Springfield.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from Missouri State carry an average student debt load of $27,000.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Missouri State University - Springfield Report

With a ranking of #20, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the city of Bloomsburg, Bloomsburg is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from Bloomsburg carry an average student debt load of $27,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $270, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

#20

University at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY

University at Buffalo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Buffalo, University at Buffalo is a public college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that geology majors at University at Buffalo take out is $23,296.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University at Buffalo Report

With a ranking of #20, Colorado School of Mines did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. Mines is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Golden.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Colorado School of Mines

#23

Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA

Western Washington University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #23 on the list. WWU is a large public school located in the small city of Bellingham.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from WWU carry an average student debt load of $23,536.

Read More…

The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #24 on the list. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the large city of Austin.

While working on their degree, geology majors at UT Austin accumulate an average of around $16,479 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $171.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin

University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. UCSB is a very large public school located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.

The average amount in student loans that geology majors at UCSB take out is $25,000.

Read More…

#26

Binghamton University

Vestal, NY
#29

West Virginia University

Morgantown, WV
#32

Georgia State University

Atlanta, GA
#34

Montana State University

Bozeman, MT
#34

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, TX
#36

University of Wyoming

Laramie, WY
#38

The Graduate Center, CUNY

New York, NY
#41

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT
#44

Western Michigan University

Kalamazoo, MI
#44

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI
#44

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL
#49

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI
#49

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, TN

Additional Award Winners

This list shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 582 different United States geological and earth sciences schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
49 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
49 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
49 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
54 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
54 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
54 West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA
54 University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI
58 University of New Hampshire - Main Campus Durham, NH
58 United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
58 University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS
58 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
58 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
58 The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX
58 Brown University Providence, RI
65 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
65 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
67 University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA
67 University of New Mexico - Main Campus Albuquerque, NM
67 Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Stillwater, OK
70 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
70 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
72 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
72 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
72 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
72 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
72 Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA
72 California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA
72 Montclair State University Montclair, NJ
72 Portland State University Portland, OR
72 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
81 United States Coast Guard Academy New London, CT
81 University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, LA
81 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
81 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
81 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
81 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
87 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
87 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
87 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
87 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
87 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
87 Florida International University Miami, FL
87 Rice University Houston, TX
87 University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools award.

Rank College Location
95 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
95 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
95 Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY
98 Humboldt State University Arcata, CA
98 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
98 Fort Hays State University Hays, KS
98 Boise State University Boise, ID
98 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA
98 SUNY New Paltz New Paltz, NY
98 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
105 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
105 University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO
105 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
108 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
108 University of Delaware Newark, DE
108 Baylor University Waco, TX
108 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
108 Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN
113 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
113 Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA
113 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
113 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
113 University of New Orleans New Orleans, LA
113 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
113 University of Maine Orono, ME
113 Carleton College Northfield, MN
113 Iowa State University Ames, IA
113 Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO

Geological & Earth Sciences by Region

View the Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Geological & Earth Sciences is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar 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 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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