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2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California

11 Ranked Colleges
148 Degrees Awarded
$32,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California

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 Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 California, there were 1,138 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,160 and $19,278 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 148 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geological and earth sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality geological and earth sciences programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

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 Doctorate in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California.

Top 11 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UCLA Geological & Earth Sciences Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California. University of California - San Diego is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 35 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at UCSD

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California list. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree geology students list, UC Davis has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Davis are $28,700.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UC Davis

#4

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #4 spot on the list. UCSB is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 3 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree geology students list, UCSB has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Barbara are $28,670.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at UCSB

#8 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 16 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Irvine

#3 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s geology students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Berkeley

#7

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking. This fairly large school is located in Santa Cruz, California, and it awarded 12 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Cruz are $28,952.

Full UC Santa Cruz Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California list. San Diego State University is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 3 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU also took the #11 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at SDSU

#10 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California list. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 7 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UCR

#10

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s geology degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also took the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Stanford

#11

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Caltech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech also took the #2 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full California Institute of Technology Geological & Earth Sciences Report

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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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