2027 Best Value Earth Science Teacher Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region
[Earth Science Teacher Education](/majors/education/teacher-education-and-development/earth-science-teacher-education/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2027 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools to find the best return on investment for earth science teacher education students.
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2027 Best Value Earth Science Teacher Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in earth science teacher education, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Earth Science Teacher Education Schools
Albion College tops our 2027 list of the best value earth science teacher education schools in the Great Lakes Region. Albion College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Albion. In-state tuition and fees average $56,950. Typical student debt for earth science teacher education graduates is $26,047. Early-career earth science teacher education graduates make about $40,829. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Albion College admits about 81% of applicants.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Ball State University earned it the #2 place for earth science teacher education. Ball State University is a very large public school located in the city of Muncie. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $11,082, while out-of-state students pay about $29,630. Students borrow a median of $24,998 to complete the earth science teacher education program here. Early-career earth science teacher education graduates make about $47,863. Set against $24,998 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Ball State University admits about 86% of applicants.
Western Michigan University came in at #3 on our 2027 list of the best value earth science teacher education schools. Set in the city of Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University is a large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $15,987, while out-of-state students pay about $19,952. Students borrow a median of $29,000 to complete the earth science teacher education program here. Early-career earth science teacher education graduates make about $48,966. Set against $29,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 85%.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Grand Valley State University earned it the #4 place for earth science teacher education. Set in the town of Allendale, Grand Valley State University is a very large public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $15,502, with out-of-state students paying around $21,894. Students borrow a median of $30,750 to complete the earth science teacher education program here. Early-career earth science teacher education graduates make about $46,124. Set against $30,750 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 83% of applicants are accepted.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Calvin College earned it the #5 place for earth science teacher education. Set in the city of Grand Rapids, Calvin College is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $39,350. Typical student debt for earth science teacher education graduates is $26,022. Soon after graduation, earth science teacher education degree recipients from Calvin College generally make around $44,220. That is a strong return on a $26,022 median debt. Roughly 71% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 5 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 5 ranked 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
