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Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

11 Colleges
$21,063 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$56,185 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 339 degrees and certificates were awarded to geological and earth sciences students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #65 most popular major in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for geology students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for geology majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Top 10 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Our 2023 rankings named San Diego State University the best value school in California for geological and earth sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SDSU are $9,570 a year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at San Diego State University Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Santa Barbara is a great value for geological and earth sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $13,581 per year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara

Out of the 11 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 3 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UC Berkeley also made our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list, coming in at #3.

Read More…

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of California - Santa Cruz helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value geological and earth sciences schools in California. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public college with a large student population.

UC Santa Cruz graduate students pay an average of $13,895 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Santa Cruz Report

Out of the 11 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSD are $13,564 per year.

Read More…

University of California - Irvine came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.

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University of California - Davis ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. UC Davis is a very large public school located in the suburb of Davis.

UC Davis graduate students pay an average of $13,608 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Riverside did quite well on this year’s best value schools for geological and earth sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. UCR is a fairly large public school located in the city of Riverside.

UCR graduate students pay an average of $13,467 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at University of California - Riverside Report

University of California - Los Angeles ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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#10

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for geological and earth sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Stanford are $55,011 per year.

Stanford not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read More…

Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 57
Oregon 43
Nevada 26
Hawaii 24
Alaska 21

Geological & Earth Sciences is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 5,005
Physics 3,727
Materials Sciences 448
Astronomy & Astrophysics 371
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 342

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.

  • 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 Kelvinsong.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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