2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Great Lakes Region
19
Ranked Colleges
72
Degrees Awarded
$32,500
Avg Cost*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Geological & Earth Sciences is the 95th most popular major in the country with 8,124 degrees awarded in 2021-2022. In , geological & earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $38,869 and had an average of $22,278 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,044 geological & earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,990 and $22,113 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 72 geological & earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,470 and $126,402 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 19 colleges that offer a degree in geological & earth sciences. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in geological & earth sciences.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region”.
Top 19 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Great Lakes Region
Out of the 19 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s geology degrees to 7 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Chicago
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan Technological University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region. Houghton, Michigan is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s geology degrees to 2 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Michigan Technological University Geological & Earth Sciences Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Michigan University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Western Michigan University is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s geology degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full WMU Geological & Earth Sciences Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 3 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Ohio State
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Miami University - Oxford. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Oxford, Ohio, and it awarded 57 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Miami University - Oxford Geological & Earth Sciences Report
Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Purdue University - Main Campus is a large school located in West Lafayette, Indiana that handed out 4 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Purdue University - Main Campus
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 13 doctorate’s geology degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Northwestern University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 6 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 99%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Northwestern Geological & Earth Sciences Report
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 5 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UIUC
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. IU Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s geology degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at IU Bloomington
With a ranking of #11, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan State is a large school located in East Lansing, Michigan that handed out 3 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Michigan State University
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 9 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #13. UIC is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 21 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UIC
Kent State University at Kent landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Kent State is a public institution located in Kent, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Kent State University at Kent
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UC is a public institution located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Geological & Earth Sciences Report
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #16. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is a large school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that handed out 2 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #17. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s geology degrees to 2 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at SIUC
Case Western Reserve University ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Case Western Reserve University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Case Western Geological & Earth Sciences Report
Northern Illinois University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s geology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Northern Illinois University Geological & Earth Sciences Report
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.
