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2025 Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois

6 Colleges in Illinois
159 Geography Degrees Awarded
$43,035 Avg Early-Career Salary
Geography & Cartography is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #110 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 6 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 159 degrees in geography & cartography annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Geography & Cartography School

Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois The geography program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Geography & Cartography rankings. We derive our Best Overall Geography & Cartography School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Geography & Cartography Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Geography
Master's Degrees in Geography
Doctor's Degrees in Geography

The geography 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 Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Geography & Cartography in Illinois

The schools below may not offer all types of geography degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Illinois Schools in Geography

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Geography Degrees Awarded
$42,214 Median Starting Salary

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in geography & cartography. UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 32 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the geography program make around $42,214 for their early career.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$34,952 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in geography & cartography needs to look into Illinois State University. Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 14 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the geography program make an average of $34,952 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from Illinois State University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL
33.3% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in geography & cartography has to look into Northern Illinois University. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #529 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NIU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 18 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from Northern Illinois University

4
Augustana crest
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$40,683 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat Augustana College if you want to pursue a degree in geography & cartography. Located in the small city of Rock Island, Augustana is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 21st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 7 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, geography degree recipients generally make an average of $40,683 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from Augustana College

5

SIUE is a large public university located in the suburb of Edwardsville. This university ranks 31st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 30 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, geography degree recipients usually make an average of $44,543 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In IL

Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 37th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 9 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at WIU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from Western Illinois University

Best Geography & Cartography Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 132
Ohio 314 243
Indiana 294 77
Wisconsin 273 249

View All Rankings >

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

Geography Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Geography 121
Geographic Information Science 37
Other Geography 1

View All Geography Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 2,222
Political Science & Government 1,528
Sociology 798
International Relations & National Security 373
Anthropology 300
General Social Sciences 254
Sociology & Anthropology 51
Other Social Sciences 45
Urban Studies 18
Archeology 1

View All Geography Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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