2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 8,918 people earned their degree in geological and earth sciences, making the major the 84th most popular in the United States. 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 doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 15 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,900 and $148,219 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 3 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the geological and earth sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. 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 Doctorate in Illinois”.

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. 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 Doctorate in Illinois

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

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 4 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 2 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northwestern University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#3

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UChicago

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & 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

• *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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