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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $75-$110k) 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 $75-$110k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” 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.

For this year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 7 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 6 masters’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot 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 Northwestern University are $56,567.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern University

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UChicago Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #3 spot on the 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.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #5 spot 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 Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 3 masters’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k list, UIUC has also earned the #3 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 UIUC are $30,083.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at UIUC

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 9 masters’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Illinois University are $11,086, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at NIU

University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. UIC is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 1 masters’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

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

Full University of Illinois at Chicago Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Illinois State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Illinois State is a large school located in Normal, Illinois that handed out 11 masters’s geology degrees 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 University are $11,069, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Illinois State University

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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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