2023 Most Focused Colleges for Geology & Earth Sciences in Iowa

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 6,024 people earned their degree in geology and earth sciences, making the major the 125th most popular in the United States.

Across Iowa, there were 52 geology and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in geology and earth sciences. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their geology and earth sciences program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 “Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa” 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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa”.

Top 4 Most Focused Colleges for Geology & Earth Sciences in Iowa

1

Cornell College
Mount Vernon, Iowa

$30,504 Average Early-Career Earnings

$27,000 Average Student Debt

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cornell College. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa. Cornell College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mount Vernon, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Geology & Earth Sciences at Cornell College

2

University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa

#4 overall quality in Iowa

$40,810 Average Early-Career Earnings

$23,518 Average Student Debt

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa list. Cedar Falls, Iowa is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s geology degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Geology & Earth Sciences at University of Northern Iowa

3

Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa

#1 overall quality in Iowa

$48,142 Average Early-Career Earnings

$24,637 Average Student Debt

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 21 ’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Geology & Earth Sciences at Iowa State University

4

University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

#2 overall quality in Iowa

$50,430 Average Early-Career Earnings

$24,741 Average Student Debt

Out of the 4 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Geology Major in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, this large public school handed out 19 diplomas to qualified ’s geology students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Geology & Earth Sciences at University of Iowa

• Most Focused Colleges for Geology & Earth Sciences in the Plains States Region
• Most Focused Colleges for Geology & Earth Sciences

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

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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 Kelvinsong.