Best Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences Degrees in the US by ROI

Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Programs Analyzed

101

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

-$37,660

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$27,472

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Brigham Young University Grad rate: 80.4%	UT	+$325,304	$62,441	$20,879	N/A	Full ROI →
2	California State University-Fullerton Grad rate: 69.3%	CA	+$323,913	$62,570	$16,767	$15,125	Full ROI →
3	Winona State University Grad rate: 60.7%	MN	+$285,458	$62,770	$23,373	$27,000	Full ROI →
4	University of Wisconsin-Madison Grad rate: 89.3%	WI	+$243,150	$61,399	$27,770	$25,000	Full ROI →
5	University of Wyoming Grad rate: 60.3%	WY	+$238,861	$60,017	$22,371	$23,700	Full ROI →
6	Brigham Young University-Idaho Grad rate: 54.5%	ID	+$238,712	$56,607	$13,357	N/A	Full ROI →
7	The University of Texas Permian Basin Grad rate: 41.3%	TX	+$221,012	$57,396	$21,727	N/A	Full ROI →
8	University of West Georgia Grad rate: 43.0%	GA	+$212,999	$59,072	$23,504	$25,500	Full ROI →
9	Sam Houston State University Grad rate: 55.6%	TX	+$203,552	$57,081	$24,517	N/A	Full ROI →
10	California State University-Sacramento Grad rate: 55.1%	CA	+$200,654	$57,588	$22,714	$15,000	Full ROI →
11	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 66.2%	PA	+$164,701	$57,077	$24,781	$27,937	Full ROI →
12	Northern Illinois University Grad rate: 51.3%	IL	+$144,064	$54,646	$27,214	N/A	Full ROI →
13	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 55.3%	PA	+$137,965	$56,451	$28,876	$26,334	Full ROI →
14	James Madison University Grad rate: 81.0%	VA	+$127,861	$55,946	$30,213	$22,375	Full ROI →
15	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Grad rate: 53.7%	OR	+$110,066	$54,008	$27,461	$15,000	Full ROI →
16	Kean University Grad rate: 47.0%	NJ	+$101,874	$53,901	$24,924	$27,000	Full ROI →
17	Oregon State University Grad rate: 70.3%	OR	+$100,206	$54,008	$29,926	$15,000	Full ROI →
18	Union College Grad rate: 85.0%	NY	+$94,292	$63,040	$81,627	N/A	Full ROI →
19	University of Northern Colorado Grad rate: 51.6%	CO	+$75,364	$52,921	$26,989	$26,000	Full ROI →
20	SUNY Oneonta Grad rate: 72.3%	NY	+$73,228	$51,113	$27,258	N/A	Full ROI →
21	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Grad rate: 84.6%	NC	+$65,052	$51,876	$25,613	$22,234	Full ROI →
22	University of Houston Grad rate: 64.0%	TX	+$63,386	$51,868	$25,056	$25,000	Full ROI →
23	Eastern Washington University Grad rate: 48.4%	WA	+$60,872	$49,598	$22,772	N/A	Full ROI →
24	University of Colorado Boulder Grad rate: 74.9%	CO	+$59,426	$53,352	$33,466	$25,000	Full ROI →
25	Texas A&M University-College Station Grad rate: 83.7%	TX	+$52,990	$52,473	$32,085	$20,837	Full ROI →
26	Eastern Connecticut State University Grad rate: 59.1%	CT	+$49,160	$52,374	$30,805	$26,000	Full ROI →
27	The University of Texas at Arlington Grad rate: 55.1%	TX	+$29,893	$50,433	$25,265	$27,931	Full ROI →
28	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Grad rate: 66.8%	CO	+$28,978	$51,145	$29,696	$26,028	Full ROI →
29	University of California-Davis Grad rate: 85.7%	CA	+$16,090	$51,526	$38,067	$16,416	Full ROI →
30	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Grad rate: 49.6%	WI	+$13,234	$48,919	$22,174	$27,000	Full ROI →
31	Tarleton State University Grad rate: 48.3%	TX	+$11,996	$47,196	$22,981	N/A	Full ROI →
32	The University of Texas at Austin Grad rate: 87.7%	TX	+$10,274	$49,595	$29,842	$16,487	Full ROI →
33	University of Idaho Grad rate: 61.0%	ID	+$6,624	$46,865	$22,669	N/A	Full ROI →
34	Georgia Southern University Grad rate: 52.4%	GA	+$6,128	$47,219	$24,563	N/A	Full ROI →
35	West Chester University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 70.7%	PA	-$736	$47,475	$27,559	N/A	Full ROI →
36	Western Colorado University Grad rate: 48.8%	CO	-$3,424	$46,914	$25,426	N/A	Full ROI →
37	The University of Texas at San Antonio Grad rate: 52.3%	TX	-$16,144	$46,768	$21,474	$18,969	Full ROI →
38	The University of Alabama Grad rate: 73.2%	AL	-$17,536	$47,528	$32,024	N/A	Full ROI →
39	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Grad rate: 48.7%	NV	-$17,682	$46,104	$19,440	$16,298	Full ROI →
40	University of California-Irvine Grad rate: 86.3%	CA	-$25,634	$48,955	$36,121	$15,000	Full ROI →
41	Michigan State University Grad rate: 81.9%	MI	-$26,035	$48,820	$30,528	$29,869	Full ROI →
42	Western Kentucky University Grad rate: 52.5%	KY	-$27,060	$45,351	$23,520	N/A	Full ROI →
43	Mississippi State University Grad rate: 63.0%	MS	-$35,174	$47,400	$26,922	$26,286	Full ROI →
44	University of California-Santa Cruz Grad rate: 75.7%	CA	-$36,260	$49,323	$38,649	$20,833	Full ROI →
45	University of Akron Main Campus Grad rate: 48.0%	OH	-$38,790	$46,794	$24,555	$27,000	Full ROI →
46	Temple University Grad rate: 76.3%	PA	-$40,276	$47,946	$39,799	N/A	Full ROI →
47	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Grad rate: 93.2%	MI	-$40,471	$47,852	$33,345	$17,875	Full ROI →
48	University of Arizona Grad rate: 66.9%	AZ	-$43,952	$47,266	$28,543	$26,000	Full ROI →
49	The University of Tennessee-Martin Grad rate: 53.8%	TN	-$50,512	$43,800	$21,628	N/A	Full ROI →
50	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Grad rate: 66.4%	WI	-$60,406	$44,600	$21,014	$21,000	Full ROI →

How ROI is calculated

20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.

Find Best Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences Degrees by State

Browse Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.