2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Rocky Mountains Region
14
Ranked Colleges
143
Degrees Awarded
$62,256
Avg Salary
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 7,821 people earned their degree in geological and earth sciences, making the major the 95th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, geological and earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $38,705 and had an average of $23,383 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 526 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,791 and $24,175 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 143 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,301 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geological and earth sciences. To top this list, a school must have a successful geological and earth sciences program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 “Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s”.
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.
Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s”.
Top 14 Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Rocky Mountains Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado School of Mines. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. This medium-sized school is located in Golden, Colorado, and it awarded 50 masters’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Colorado School of Mines
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Utah State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. Utah State University is a large school located in Logan, Utah that handed out 12 masters’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Utah State University
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Brigham Young University - Provo landed the #3 spot on the list. Brigham Young University - Provo is a large school located in Provo, Utah that handed out 11 masters’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Brigham Young University - Provo
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Boise State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. Boise State is a large school located in Boise, Idaho that handed out 11 masters’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Boise State University
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wyoming landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Wyoming is located in Laramie, Wyoming and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 masters’s geology degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UW
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Utah landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, this large public school awarded 10 diplomas to qualified masters’s geology students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at U of U
With a ranking of #7, Montana Technological University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. Located in Butte, Montana, this small public school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified masters’s geology students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Montana Technological University
With a ranking of #8, Colorado State University - Fort Collins did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. Colorado State is a large school located in Fort Collins, Colorado that handed out 7 masters’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Colorado State
Montana State University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. MSU Bozeman is a public institution located in Bozeman, Montana. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 7 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at MSU Bozeman
With a ranking of #10, University of Colorado Boulder did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. This large school is located in Boulder, Colorado, and it awarded 5 masters’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Colorado Boulder
With a ranking of #11, The University of Montana did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. Missoula, Montana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s geology degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at The University of Montana
University of Idaho did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #11. University of Idaho is located in Moscow, Idaho and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 masters’s geology degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.1% 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%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Idaho
University of Northern Colorado came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s ranking. University of Northern Colorado is a fairly large school located in Greeley, Colorado that handed out 2 masters’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%.
Full University of Northern Colorado Geological & Earth Sciences Report
With a ranking of #13, Idaho State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Geology Major in the Rocky Mountains Region for a Master’s list. This fairly large school is located in Pocatello, Idaho, and it awarded 2 masters’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Idaho 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
- *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.
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