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Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region

132 Colleges
$37,732 Avg Salary
$20,537 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, geological and earth sciences was ranked #96 in the country. In fact 7,821 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 132 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones were the most popular programs 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 colleges and universities below are the most popular for geology majors pursuing a .

Our 2023 rankings named Washington State University the most popular school in the Far Western US Region for geological and earth sciences students. Wazzu is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Pullman.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from Wazzu carry an average student debt load of $21,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $399.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Washington State University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that geology majors at UW Seattle take out is $21,103.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Report

#3

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

The excellent programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Stanford University Report

Out of the 132 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

#5

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Oregon State University is a great place for geological and earth sciences students. Oregon State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Corvallis.

Geology majors at Oregon State take out an average of $19,611 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

University of California - Irvine landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Irvine.

The average amount in student loans that geology majors at UC Irvine take out is $19,000.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Irvine Report

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 #7 on the list. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, geology graduates from UC Santa Cruz take out $23,815 in student loans while working on their degree.

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

With a ranking of #8, Western Washington University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. WWU is a large public school located in the city of Bellingham.

While working on their degree, geology majors at WWU accumulate an average of around $23,536 in student debt.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at Western Washington University Report

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #9 on the list. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

After completing their degree, geology graduates from UCSB carry an average student debt load of $25,000.

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

University of California - Berkeley landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

On average, geology graduates from UC Berkeley take out $11,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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

University of California - Davis ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Davis.

On average, geology graduates from UC Davis take out $19,380 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Davis Report

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

The average amount in student loans that geology majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take out is $15,000.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

University of Nevada - Las Vegas landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. UNLV is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Las Vegas.

While working on their degree, geology majors at UNLV accumulate an average of around $22,855 in student debt.

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University of Nevada - Reno landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the city of Reno, UNR is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Nevada - Reno

University of Hawaii at Manoa did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for geological and earth sciences students. It came in at #14 on the list. UH Manoa is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Honolulu.

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California Institute of Technology 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 medium-sized city of Pasadena, Caltech is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at California Institute of Technology Report

University of California - Los Angeles ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

On average, geology graduates from UCLA take out $15,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles Report

University of California - Riverside landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. UCR is a very large public school located in the city of Riverside.

Read More…

#19

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a very large student population.

On average, geology graduates from SDSU take out $26,874 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at San Diego State University

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 in the Far Western US Region award.

Rank College Location
20 Portland State University Portland, OR
20 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
20 California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA
23 University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK
23 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
25 Humboldt State University Arcata, CA
25 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best geological and earth sciences schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 991
Washington 339
Oregon 137
Nevada 69
Hawaii 42
Alaska 37

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 26 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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