2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Illinois (With Aid)

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 “Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Geological & Earth Sciences is the 84th most popular major in the country with 8,918 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, geological and earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $35,533 and had an average of $23,531 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 155 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,700 and $21,833 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 15 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,900 and $148,219 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geological and earth sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geological and earth sciences programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the geological and earth sciences program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

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 “Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 4 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#2

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. UIC is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 2 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago

#3

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s geology degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567.

Full Northwestern Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Chicago

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (With Aid)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.

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