2025 Best Geography & Cartography Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

Geography & Cartography is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #111 most popular master's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Geography & Cartography Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 39 master's degrees in geography & cartography during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’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 master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master'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:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to geography & cartography students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of geography & cartography students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• 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 easy is it for geography & cartography to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized geography & cartography related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for geography & cartography 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 Geography & Cartography Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Geography & Cartography in Illinois

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

Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Geography

1

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL

10 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in geography & cartography needs to check out Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in geography & cartography from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

2

Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL

12 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Western Illinois University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in geography & cartography. WIU is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Macomb.More information about a master’s in geography & cartography from Western Illinois University

Best Geography & Cartography Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Geography & Cartography Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	211	27
Ohio	207	47
Indiana	191	10
Wisconsin	173	59

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Rankings in Majors Related to Geography

One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, Geography & Cartography has other similar majors worth exploring.

Geography Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Geography	26
Geographic Information Science	13

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Social Sciences	706
Economics	315
Political Science & Government	113
International Relations & National Security	97
Sociology	66
Anthropology	27
Other Social Sciences	9
Urban Studies	2

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 Couleur. More about our data sources and methodologies.