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2025 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

4 Colleges in the Far Western US Region
190 Doctor's Degrees
$79,645 Avg Early-Career Salary
a doctor's degree in geological & earth sciences is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #37 out of 306 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in the Far Western US Region to determine which ones were the best for geological & earth sciences students pursuing a doctor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 190 doctor's degrees in geological & earth sciences during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region The geology doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their doctor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Geological & Earth Sciences in the Far Western US Region

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

Top Far Western US Region Schools for a Doctorate in Geology

1

University of California - San Diego is a great option for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in geological & earth sciences. UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla.

Doctorate students who receive their degree from the geology program make about $79,645 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a doctorate in geological & earth sciences from University of California - San Diego

2
16 Annual Graduates

University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a good decision for individuals interested in a doctor's degree in geological & earth sciences. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in geological & earth sciences from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

3
11 Annual Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in geological & earth sciences. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in geological & earth sciences from University of California - Los Angeles

4
15 Annual Graduates

University of California - Santa Cruz is a good decision for students interested in a doctor's degree in geological & earth sciences. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the city of Santa Cruz.More information about a doctorate in geological & earth sciences from University of California - Santa Cruz

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best geological & earth sciences colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
California 180 125
Washington 122 17
Oregon 107 15
Nevada 84 11
Hawaii 53 8
Alaska 19 7

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Geological & Earth Sciences is one of 8 different types of Physical Sciences programs to choose from.

Geology Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Geology & Earth Sciences 95
Chemical & Physical Oceanography 40
Geophysics & Seismology 25
Other Geological & Earth Sciences/Geosciences 19
Hydrology & Water Resources Science 10
Geochemistry 1

Majors Similar to Geology

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 505
Physics 343
Materials Sciences 72
Astronomy & Astrophysics 39
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 23
Other Physical Science 4

Notes and References

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