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Best Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences

50 Geological & Earth Sciences programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Geological & Earth Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin (Texas) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $83,481. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$83,481	$16,993	46	91.1
2	Stanford University Stanford, CA	Doctoral Degree	$120,024	—	30	88.1
3	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	Master's Degree	$109,407	—	36	87.6
4	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$74,594	$18,686	46	86
5	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,820	$14,916	40	85.7
6	University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, LA	Master's Degree	$106,248	$20,500	14	85.5
7	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,418	$15,000	26	85.4
8	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Doctoral Degree	$100,332	—	22	85.3
9	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,337	$16,000	20	83.5
10	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	Master's Degree	$164,523	—	12	83.5
11	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Doctoral Degree	$92,982	—	22	83.2
12	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	Doctoral Degree	$97,886	—	15	82.2
13	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC	Master's Degree	$84,961	—	21	81.5
14	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,143	—	30	80.6
15	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	Master's Degree	$83,661	—	19	80.6
16	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA	Master's Degree	$97,545	—	12	80.3
17	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Master's Degree	$83,481	—	18	79.9
18	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX	Master's Degree	$99,705	—	5	79.1
19	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$69,227	$15,000	23	78.9
20	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	Bachelor's Degree	$67,728	$15,000	37	78.8
21	Montana Technological University Butte, MT	Master's Degree	$91,662	—	9	78.2
22	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	Doctoral Degree	$97,886	—	0	78.1
23	University of Houston Houston, TX	Master's Degree	$110,277	$34,875	28	77.4
24	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,305	$19,375	14	77.3
25	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$69,943	$19,737	27	77
26	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	Master's Degree	$74,484	—	21	76.9
27	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,647	$21,500	21	76.7
28	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,453	—	21	76.5
29	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY	Bachelor's Degree	$68,883	$18,960	30	76.5
30	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$81,092	$25,648	57	76.3
31	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Master's Degree	$96,433	$32,799	67	76.3
32	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA	Master's Degree	$73,636	—	22	76.1
33	University of Florida-Online Gainesville, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$69,943	$19,737	22	76.1
34	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	Master's Degree	$86,410	$29,609	84	75.7
35	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	Bachelor's Degree	$71,631	$22,250	34	75.5
36	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$72,978	$19,707	11	74.9
37	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$66,788	$16,298	50	74.1
38	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	Bachelor's Degree	$66,922	$18,500	29	74.1
39	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA	Bachelor's Degree	$67,493	$19,500	35	73.5
40	East Carolina University Greenville, NC	Master's Degree	$77,252	—	4	72.9
41	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$66,845	$19,000	97	72.7
42	Union College	Bachelor's Degree	$75,195	—	7	72.6
43	Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	$76,463	—	2	72.3
44	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$81,092	$25,648	—	71.8
45	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	Bachelor's Degree	$85,207	$27,000	16	71.3
46	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	Bachelor's Degree	$67,728	$15,000	0	70.7
47	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$74,591	$25,250	17	70.3
48	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	Bachelor's Degree	$70,284	$23,250	14	68.9
49	California State University-Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$69,989	—	11	68.5
50	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$68,201	$21,875	18	68

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Hidden Gems for Geological & Earth Sciences

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Geological & Earth Sciences — the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, LA Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$106,248	87%	85.5
2	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$164,523	77%	83.5
3	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$84,961	64%	81.5
4	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$83,661	72%	80.6
5	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$97,545	95%	80.3
6	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$99,705	100%	79.1
7	Montana Technological University Butte, MT Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$91,662	91%	78.2
8	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$97,886	63%	78.1
9	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$73,305	75%	77.3
10	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$68,883	97%	76.5
11	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$86,410	78%	75.7
12	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO Strong Geological & Earth Sciences outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$71,631	89%	75.5

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Geological & Earth Sciences field (CIP 40.06) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Geological & Earth Sciences programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Geological & Earth Sciences program?+

By our outcome score, The University of Texas at Austin (Texas) ranks #1 for Geological & Earth Sciences, with median graduate earnings of $83,481.

How are these Geological & Earth Sciences programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Geological & Earth Sciences programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.