2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Marine Science

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 312 people earned their degree in marine science, making the major the 304th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, marine science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $28,200 and had an average of $21,630 in loans still to pay off.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 156 marine science graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in marine science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great marine science programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the marine science program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Marine Science

#1

University of Maine

Orono, Maine

#1 in overall quality

$17,558 Average Net Price

$32,569 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Maine landed the #1 spot on the list. UMaine is a fairly large public school situated in Orono, Maine. It awarded 44 bachelors’s marine science degrees in 2019-2020.

UMaine also took the #1 spot in our “Best Marine Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $17,558 for Bachelor’s Degree Marine Science students per year to attend University of Maine.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UMaine Marine Science Report

#2

California State University - Monterey Bay

Seaside, California

#4 in overall quality

$12,212 Average Net Price

$28,960 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Monterey Bay landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Seaside, California, this medium-sized public school awarded 57 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s marine science students in 2019-2020.

CSUMB also took the #4 spot in our “Best Marine Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CSUMB is $12,212 for bachelor’s degree marine science students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Monterey Bay Marine Science Report

#3

Texas A&M University - College Station

College Station, Texas

#3 in overall quality

$19,057 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M University - College Station. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Texas A&M College Station is a large school located in College Station, Texas that handed out 10 bachelors’s marine science degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M College Station also made our “Best Marine Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M College Station is $19,057 for bachelor’s degree marine science students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Marine Science at Texas A&M University - College Station

#4

University of California - Davis

Davis, California

#2 in overall quality

$14,669 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Marine Science Schools for a Bachelor’s. Located in Davis, California, this large public school awarded 19 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s marine science students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also took the #2 spot in our “Best Marine Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $14,669 for Bachelor’s Degree Marine Science students per year to attend University of California - Davis.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UC Davis Marine Science Report

Notes and References

References

• 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Daderot.

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