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2023 Best Geography & Cartography Schools

158 Colleges
$38,604 Avg Salary
$22,522 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Geography & Cartography School for You

In 2020-2021, 2,315 people earned a degree or certificate in geography and cartography, making the major the #87 most popular in the United States.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Geography & Cartography Schools ranking. This report analyzed 158 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Geography & Cartography Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for geography majors pursuing a .

Top 15% Best Geography & Cartography Schools

#1

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Our 2023 rankings named Johns Hopkins University the best school in the United States for geography and cartography students. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at Johns Hopkins University

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Texas A&M University - College Station is a great place for geography and cartography students. Located in the midsize city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#3

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Pennsylvania is a great place for geography and cartography students. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

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The excellent programs at North Carolina State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best geography and cartography schools in the United States. NC State is a very large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at North Carolina State University

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means George Washington University is a great place for geography and cartography students. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Geography & Cartography at George Washington University Report

#6

Tufts University

Medford, MA

With a ranking of #6, Tufts University did quite well on this year’s best schools for geography and cartography students. Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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University of Maryland - College Park landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geography and cartography programs. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Geography & Cartography at University of Maryland - College Park Report

#8

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

University of Northern Iowa ranked #8 on this year’s Best Geography & Cartography Schools list. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at University of Northern Iowa

#9

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

William & Mary came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Geography & Cartography Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Geography & Cartography at William & Mary Report

#10

Binghamton University

Vestal, NY

Binghamton University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geography and cartography programs. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Vestal, Binghamton University is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at Binghamton University

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Geography & Cartography Schools ranking. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Geography & Cartography Schools ranking. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Full Geography & Cartography at University of California - Los Angeles Report

#13

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

University of North Dakota came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Geography & Cartography Schools ranking. UND is a large public school located in the city of Grand Forks.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at University of North Dakota

University of Southern California landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geography and cartography programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at University of Southern California

#15

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, IL

Elmhurst University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Geography & Cartography Schools list. Elmhurst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Elmhurst.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at Elmhurst University

#16

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

University of Kentucky landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geography and cartography programs. Located in the large city of Lexington, UK is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at University of Kentucky

With a ranking of #17, University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for geography and cartography students. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public college with a very large student population.

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#18

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for geography and cartography students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#19

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech ranked #19 on this year’s Best Geography & Cartography Schools list. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geography and cartography programs. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best geography and cartography programs. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.

Full Geography & Cartography at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

#22

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Geography & Cartography Schools ranking. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at Michigan State University

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for geography and cartography students. It came in at #23 on the list. UCSB is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at University of California - Santa Barbara

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Geography & Cartography Schools award.

Rank College Location
24 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
25 University of Delaware Newark, DE
26 Iowa State University Ames, IA
27 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
28 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
29 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
30 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
31 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA

Geography & Cartography by Region

View the Best Geography & Cartography Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Geography & Cartography is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 6,173
International Relations & National Security 5,010
Political Science & Government 2,664
Sociology 1,907
Anthropology 1,446

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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