2025 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

If you plan on getting your master's degree in geological & earth sciences, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #82 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 2 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 105 master's degrees in geological & earth sciences during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on geological & earth sciences students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other geological & earth sciences students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt geological & earth sciences students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized geological & earth sciences related body.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Geological & Earth Sciences in the Plains States Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in geological & earth sciences.

Top Plains States Region Schools for a Master's in Geology

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN

22 Annual Graduates

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in geological & earth sciences. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in geological & earth sciences from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2

Missouri State University - Springfield
Springfield, MO

11 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in geological & earth sciences has to check out Missouri State University - Springfield. Located in the midsize city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in geological & earth sciences from Missouri State University - Springfield

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best geological & earth sciences schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	193	34
Minnesota	174	22
Iowa	154	15
Kansas	149	28
Nebraska	123	5
North Dakota	115	0
South Dakota	89	2

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Geological & Earth Sciences Related Rankings by Major

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

Geology Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Geology & Earth Sciences	59
Other Geological & Earth Sciences/Geosciences	22
Hydrology & Water Resources Science	15
Paleontology	7
Geophysics & Seismology	2

Majors Similar to Geology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Chemistry	143
Physics	85
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	21
Materials Sciences	9
Astronomy & Astrophysics	5
General Physical Sciences	3

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong. More about our data sources and methodologies.