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2024 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

30 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
572 Bachelor's Degrees
$35,990 Avg Early-Career Salary
Geological & Earth Sciences is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #80 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 30 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 572 bachelor's degrees in geological & earth sciences during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Geological & Earth Sciences School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The geology bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality geology program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for geological & earth sciences students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Geology Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.

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

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Geological & Earth Sciences in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in geological & earth sciences.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Geology

1
6 Annual Graduates

University of Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in geological & earth sciences. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from University of Chicago

1
11 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in geological & earth sciences needs to take a look at Northwestern University. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from Northwestern University

2
37 Annual Graduates
$39,352 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in geological & earth sciences. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison.

Bachelor's recipients from the geological & earth sciences degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $3,362 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3
48 Annual Graduates
$33,679 Median Starting Salary
$17,875 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in geological & earth sciences needs to look into University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the geology program earn around $33,679 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4
11 Annual Graduates
$23,250 Median Student Debt

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in geological & earth sciences. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5
15 Annual Graduates
$33,505 Median Starting Salary
$16,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the geology program report average early career wages of $33,505.

More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from Purdue University - Main Campus

6
10 Annual Graduates
$34,649 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the geology program earn around $34,649 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from Ohio State University - Main Campus

7
28 Annual Graduates
$34,008 Median Starting Salary
$20,862 Median Student Debt

Located in the fringe town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the geology program report average early career earnings of $34,008.

More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from Miami University - Oxford

8
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
24 Annual Graduates
$39,719 Median Starting Salary
$29,869 Median Student Debt

Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.

Those geological & earth sciences students who get their bachelor's degree from Michigan State University make $3,729 more than the standard geology graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from Michigan State University

9

WMU is a large public university located in the city of Kalamazoo.

After graduation, geology bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $36,192 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in geological & earth sciences from Western Michigan University

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best geological & earth sciences colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 155
Ohio 252 159
Illinois 241 88
Indiana 235 59
Wisconsin 213 111

View All Rankings >

One of 8 majors within the Physical Sciences area of study, Geological & Earth Sciences has other similar majors worth exploring.

Geology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Geology & Earth Sciences 532
Hydrology & Water Resources Science 11
Other Geological & Earth Sciences/Geosciences 10
Geochemistry 9
Geophysics & Seismology 8
Paleontology 2

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 2,175
Physics 1,152
Astronomy & Astrophysics 186
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 133
Other Physical Science 15
Materials Sciences 12
General Physical Sciences 11

Notes and References

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