by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2021-2022, 4,439 people earned their degree in geography, making the major the 159th most popular in the United States.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 621 geography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 39 geography graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,470 and $126,402 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in geography. That schools that top this list have a program in geography in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region”.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region”.
Out of the 11 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Kent State University at Kent landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Kent, Ohio, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s geography 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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan State University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region. Michigan State is located in East Lansing, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 11 doctorate’s geography degrees to qualified 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s geography students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Geography at Northern Illinois University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region. This large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s geography degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is located in Columbus, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 7 doctorate’s geography degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. 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%.
Read full report on Geography at Ohio State University - Main Campus
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 2 doctorate’s geography degrees in 2021-2022.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Geography at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s geography degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. SIUC is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 0 doctorate’s geography degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
University of Toledo did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. University of Toledo is a public institution located in Toledo, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Indiana State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, this medium-sized public school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s geography students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Geography Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s geography degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate 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%.
Read full report on Geography at Indiana University - Bloomington
Read more about our data sources and methodologies