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Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

17 Colleges
$16,371 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,206 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Geological & Earth Sciences 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.

The Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 17 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for geology students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Colleges.

Top 10 Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Long Beach the best value school in California for geological and earth sciences students. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at California State University - Long Beach Report

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a great value for geological and earth sciences students. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year.

Full Geological & Earth Sciences at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Sacramento. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year.

Read More…

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SDSU are $8,136 a year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at San Diego State University

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best geological and earth sciences schools in California. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list.

Read More…

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Los Angeles landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value geological and earth sciences programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public school with a very large student population.

Cal State LA undergraduate students pay an average of $6,785 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at California State University - Los Angeles

$14,417 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California ranking. UCSB is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

UCSB undergraduate students pay an average of $14,417 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UCSB is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list.

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

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on this year’s best value schools for geological and earth sciences students. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at California State University - Fullerton

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Northridge ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at California State University - Northridge

$14,645 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Davis came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in California ranking. UC Davis is a very large public school located in the small suburb of Davis.

UC Davis undergraduate students pay an average of $14,645 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

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 17 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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