2025 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

Geological & Earth Sciences is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #37 most popular doctor's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in the Southeast 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 130 doctor's degrees in geological & earth sciences during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor'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

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 doctor'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 doctor'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 colleges for geological & earth sciences students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The geology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Geological & Earth Sciences in the Southeast Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for geological & earth sciences students seeking a a doctor's degree.

Top Southeast Region Schools for a Doctorate in Geology

1

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Knoxville, TN

11 Annual Graduates

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in geological & earth sciences. Located in the medium-sized city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in geological & earth sciences from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

2

Florida International University
Miami, FL

13 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Florida International University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in geological & earth sciences. FIU is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Miami.More information about a doctorate in geological & earth sciences from Florida International University

Best Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges by State

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	138	51
Virginia	127	17
Georgia	126	3
North Carolina	115	16
Mississippi	113	7
Louisiana	103	16
Tennessee	102	6
Alabama	98	1
South Carolina	91	5
Kentucky	87	0
Arkansas	58	4
West Virginia	49	2

View All Rankings >

Geological & Earth Sciences Related Rankings by Major

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	61
Other Geological & Earth Sciences/Geosciences	41
Chemical & Physical Oceanography	28

Most Popular Majors Related to Geology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Chemistry	589
Physics	345
Materials Sciences	42
Other Physical Science	28
Astronomy & Astrophysics	26
Physics and Astronomy	17
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	12
General Physical Sciences	9

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.