2022 Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Natural Sciences is the 209th most popular major in the country with 2,345 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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” ranking, we looked at 2 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

The natural sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences

#1

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$29,228 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #1 spot on the list. Virginia Commonwealth University is a large school located in Richmond, Virginia that handed out 5 doctorate’s natural sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at VCU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Natural Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Virginia Commonwealth University are $29,228, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Natural Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University

#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. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this fairly large public school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s natural sciences students in 2019-2020.

UCCS also took the #2 spot in our “Best Natural Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs are $25,774, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UCCS Natural Sciences Report

#3

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

#2 in overall quality

$33,399 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Arizona. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Doctorate. University of Arizona is a large public school situated in Tucson, Arizona. It awarded 1 doctorate’s natural sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree natural sciences students list, University of Arizona has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Natural Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arizona are $33,399, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Natural Sciences at University of Arizona

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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