If you plan on majoring in geography & cartography, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #110 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 121 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of geography & cartography. Combined, these schools handed out 8,281 degrees in geography & cartography to qualified students.
Your choice of geography & cartography school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for geography & cartography schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
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 Geography & Cartography Schools list to help you make the college decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
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.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Geography & Cartography in the United States
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the geography degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in geography & cartography. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 106 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the geography program make an average of $36,776 for their early career.
University of Pennsylvania is a great option for students pursuing a degree in geography & cartography. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were approximately 37 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available.
University of Wisconsin - Madison is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in geography & cartography. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were approximately 94 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program state that they receive average early career income of $44,009.
University of California - Santa Barbara is a good decision for students pursuing a degree in geography & cartography. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 114 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program state that they receive average early career income of $37,398.
USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 87 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Those geography & cartography students who get their degree from University of Southern California make $18,028 more than the average geography graduate.
Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Baltimore. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were roughly 23 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the geography & cartography degree program at Johns Hopkins University get $32,468 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
GWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #25 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means GWU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 40 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent year we have data available. Those geography & cartography students who get their degree from George Washington University earn $9,848 more than the average geography grad.
Located in the fringe town of Storrs, UCONN is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 18 colleges for overall quality in the state of Connecticut.
There were about 51 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UCONN in the most recent data year.
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus. This university ranks 1st out of 91 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were roughly 68 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, geography degree recipients usually make around $44,789 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.
There were about 196 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available. Geography & Cartography degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus receive an earnings boost of approximately $8,774 over the typical income of geography & cartography graduates.
UMCP is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of College Park. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UMCP is a great university overall.
There were approximately 84 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program report average early career income of $40,913.
Located in the midsize city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #42 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.
There were approximately 95 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Those geography & cartography students who get their degree from Texas A&M University - College Station earn $11,169 more than the average geography grad.
Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were roughly 49 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program state that they receive average early career income of $38,019.
ASU - Tempe is a fairly large public university located in the city of Tempe. This university ranks 2nd out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.
There were approximately 111 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the geography & cartography major at Arizona State University - Tempe get $7,689 above the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were roughly 29 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available.
Colgate is a small private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Hamilton. This university ranks 11th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were roughly 20 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Colgate in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 50 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program report average early career wages of $36,878.
Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population. This school ranks 2nd out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 54 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the geography program make an average of $39,328 for their early career.
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges 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 year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program report average early career earnings of $42,214.
UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.
There were roughly 30 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the geography program make around $42,454 for their early career.
Located in the city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 68 colleges for overall quality in the state of Georgia.
There were about 63 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program state that they receive average early career earnings of $26,801.
Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Villanova is a great university overall.
There were about 16 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Amherst, UMass Amherst is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 43 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UMass Amherst in the most recent data year.
Located in the large city of Denver, DU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 31 schools for overall quality in the state of Colorado.
There were approximately 104 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at DU in the most recent year we have data available. Geography & Cartography degree recipients from University of Denver earn a boost of around $15,774 over the average earnings of geography & cartography majors.
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.