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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

7 Ranked Colleges
40 Degrees Awarded
$32,900 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Geology Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Geological & Earth Sciences is the 84th most popular major in the country with 8,918 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, geological and earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $35,533 and had an average of $23,531 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 155 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,700 and $21,833 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 40 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geological and earth sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geological and earth sciences programs, but they also 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 geological and earth sciences program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

The geology 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 Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k”.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 7 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Northwestern University is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 6 masters’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 2 masters’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UChicago

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UIUC

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s geology degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at SIUC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified masters’s geology students in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #0 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at UIC

#6

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Illinois State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Normal, Illinois, this large public school handed out 11 diplomas to qualified masters’s geology students in 2019-2020.

Illinois State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State are $11,069, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Illinois State

#7

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

Northern Illinois University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. NIU is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 9 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree geology students whose families make $30-$48k list, NIU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at NIU are $11,086.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at NIU

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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 Kelvinsong.

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