2022 Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 2,345 people earned their degree in natural sciences, making the major the 209th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, natural sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $30,257 and had an average of $22,289 in loans still to pay off.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 10 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,680 and $116,043 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in natural sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great natural sciences programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the natural sciences program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree natural sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $30-$48k)

#1

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

#2 in overall quality

$33,399 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Arizona is a large public school situated in Tucson, Arizona. It awarded 1 doctorate’s natural sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Arizona also made our “Best Natural Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #2. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arizona are $33,399.

Full University of Arizona Natural Sciences Report

#2

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$25,774 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k. UCCS is a fairly large public school situated in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It awarded 4 doctorate’s natural sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UCCS also made our “Best Natural Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCCS are $25,774, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Natural Sciences at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

#3

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$29,228 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Commonwealth University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k. Virginia Commonwealth University is a large public school situated in Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 5 doctorate’s natural sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Natural Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Virginia Commonwealth University are $29,228, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Virginia Commonwealth University Natural Sciences 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 Agsftw.

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