by our College Data Analytics Team
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 4,954 people earned their degree in geography, making the major the 159th most popular in the United States.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 697 geography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 34 geography graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,305 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in geography. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their geography program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region doctor’s degree geography students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kent State University at Kent. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Kent, Ohio, this large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified doctorate’s geography students in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan State University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region. Michigan State University is located in East Lansing, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 doctorate’s geography degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 2 degrees to qualified doctorate’s geography students in 2020-2021.
Out of the 11 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 7 doctorate’s geography degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Geography at University of Wisconsin - Madison
Out of the 11 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. Ohio State is a large public school situated in Columbus, Ohio. It awarded 6 doctorate’s geography 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Geography at Ohio State University - Main Campus
With a ranking of #6, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s geography degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is a large public school situated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It awarded 1 doctorate’s geography degrees in 2020-2021.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 0 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Toledo did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. University of Toledo is a public institution located in Toledo, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Indiana State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Indiana State is located in Terre Haute, Indiana and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 25 doctorate’s geography degrees to qualified students.
Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s geography degrees to 15 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Geography at Indiana University - Bloomington
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
