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Best Schools for Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences in 2026

103 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences graduate earns $39,934/yr across 103 schools.

Programs Ranked

103

Avg Earnings

$39,934/yr

Avg DW Score

41/100

AI Risk

High

50% task exposure

All Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY · Public	59 59–60	$45,758/yr	24.6x
2	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	58 57–59	$48,565/yr	22.9x
3	East Carolina University Greenville, NC · Public	56 56–57	$44,961/yr	20.1x
4	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	53 54–55	$44,585/yr	12.9x
5	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public	53 55–55	$43,068/yr	15.0x
6	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · Public	53 54–54	$42,932/yr	15.8x
7	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · Public	51 52–52	$43,362/yr	11.5x
8	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO · Public	51 54–52	$41,158/yr	13.7x
9	Iowa State University Ames, IA · Public	51 50–52	$50,150/yr	12.0x
10	College of Charleston Charleston, SC · Public	51 50–52	$49,786/yr	10.5x
11	University of Houston-Downtown Houston, TX · Public	51 49–52	$50,894/yr	15.5x
12	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX · Public	51 49–52	$49,727/yr	11.0x
13	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA · Public	50 49–51	$49,406/yr	15.6x
14	Weber State University Ogden, UT · Public	50 49–52	$47,998/yr	17.8x
15	University of Florida-Online Gainesville, FL · Public	50 53–51	$40,691/yr	33.3x
16	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA · Public	49 56–50	$35,509/yr	27.0x
17	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA · Public	49 51–50	$42,218/yr	12.5x
18	Kean University Union, NJ · Public	49 48–50	$50,645/yr	9.5x
19	The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX · Public	49 50–50	$42,779/yr	14.7x
20	University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public	48 49–49	$43,462/yr	9.8x
21	Eastern Connecticut State University Willimantic, CT · Public	48 49–49	$43,915/yr	10.6x
22	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	48 51–49	$40,691/yr	19.8x
23	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY · Public	48 51–48	$39,696/yr	13.9x
24	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA · Public	48 50–49	$41,094/yr	13.4x
25	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public	48 50–49	$42,062/yr	12.1x
26	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT · Public	48 47–49	$49,446/yr	12.3x
27	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA · Public	48 47–49	$48,118/yr	9.5x
28	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI · Public	48 48–49	$44,207/yr	13.3x
29	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO · Public	47 47–48	$46,263/yr	8.4x
30	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA · Public	47 51–48	$39,375/yr	16.2x
31	Fort Hays State University Hays, KS · Public	47 48–48	$43,421/yr	18.3x
32	State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY · Public	47 50–48	$40,524/yr	15.6x
33	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR · Public	47 50–48	$39,450/yr	12.4x
34	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · Public	46 50–47	$38,804/yr	11.5x
35	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	46 46–47	$44,825/yr	8.2x
36	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS · Public	46 48–47	$42,298/yr	12.8x
37	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR · Public	46 50–47	$39,450/yr	11.5x
38	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA · Public	45 44–46	$48,489/yr	9.9x
39	Winona State University Winona, MN · Public	45 51–46	$36,984/yr	14.7x
40	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Public	45 50–46	$37,717/yr	18.0x
41	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	44 49–45	$38,617/yr	11.2x
42	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI · Public	44 43–45	$45,974/yr	7.1x
43	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC · Public	44 48–44	$38,459/yr	16.6x
44	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX · Public	44 45–45	$42,788/yr	10.4x
45	University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO · Public	43 42–44	$46,954/yr	8.8x
46	SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY · Public	43 48–44	$37,768/yr	14.9x
47	University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH · Public	43 47–44	$39,678/yr	10.7x
48	Auburn University Auburn, AL · Public	42 41–43	$45,588/yr	8.1x
49	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	42 45–43	$39,997/yr	8.6x
50	Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO · Public	42 41–43	$47,352/yr	7.3x
51	Portland State University Portland, OR · Public	42 47–43	$37,831/yr	11.9x
52	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	42 48–43	$36,802/yr	14.3x
53	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public	41 43–42	$42,528/yr	9.1x
54	San Diego State University San Diego, CA · Public	41 43–42	$41,351/yr	11.5x
55	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ · Public	41 40–42	$47,045/yr	5.8x
56	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ · Public	41 40–42	$47,045/yr	6.1x
57	Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton, OH · Public	41 44–41	$39,321/yr	10.9x
58	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV · Public	40 42–41	$41,963/yr	11.0x
59	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit	40 40–41	$45,727/yr	5.9x
60	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH · Public	40 45–41	$38,637/yr	14.6x
61	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH · Public	40 45–41	$38,637/yr	14.6x
62	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH · Public	40 45–41	$38,637/yr	14.6x
63	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH · Public	40 45–41	$38,637/yr	14.6x
64	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH · Public	40 45–41	$38,637/yr	14.6x
65	University of Pittsburgh-Bradford Bradford, PA · Public	40 44–41	$38,652/yr	9.2x
66	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA · Public	40 44–41	$38,652/yr	9.2x
67	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO · Public	39 46–39	$34,481/yr	14.3x
68	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ · Public	39 40–40	$43,985/yr	6.4x
69	Appalachian State University Boone, NC · Public	39 47–40	$35,021/yr	16.3x
70	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	39 42–40	$41,156/yr	8.8x
71	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS · Public	38 40–39	$41,626/yr	7.9x
72	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public	38 41–39	$39,553/yr	10.0x
73	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA · Public	38 47–39	$28,040/yr	14.9x
74	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN · Public	38 46–39	$34,329/yr	13.8x
75	Washington State University Pullman, WA · Public	38 46–38	$33,178/yr	11.6x
76	Boise State University Boise, ID · Public	37 47–38	$31,701/yr	15.7x
77	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC · Public	37 41–38	$38,871/yr	9.9x
78	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA · Public	37 41–37	$38,652/yr	5.9x
79	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	37 40–38	$39,692/yr	8.9x
80	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA · Public	36 45–37	$30,759/yr	11.0x
81	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH · Public	36 39–37	$40,005/yr	8.2x
82	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI · Public	35 42–36	$35,235/yr	9.2x
83	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH · Public	35 39–35	$38,478/yr	6.5x
84	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV · Public	35 42–36	$36,382/yr	11.4x
85	University of West Georgia Carrollton, GA · Public	33 41–33	$33,344/yr	13.0x
86	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public	33 37–34	$38,867/yr	5.1x
87	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	33 37–34	$38,675/yr	5.6x
88	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH · Public	33 38–34	$38,637/yr	6.0x
89	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	33 38–34	$38,432/yr	6.6x
90	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	33 42–34	$29,724/yr	11.1x
91	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA · Public	33 43–34	$29,724/yr	11.2x
92	Montana State University Bozeman, MT · Public	32 41–33	$29,030/yr	14.8x
93	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA · Public	31 41–32	$29,476/yr	14.4x
94	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL · Public	31 37–32	$37,280/yr	5.5x
95	Carleton College Northfield, MN · Private nonprofit	29 32–30	$40,371/yr	0.5x
96	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA · Public	29 36–29	$34,617/yr	6.6x
97	Wayne State University Detroit, MI · Public	27 36–27	$30,723/yr	8.0x
98	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR · Public	25 34–26	$31,087/yr	7.0x
99	University of Wisconsin-Parkside Kenosha, WI · Public	25 34–25	$29,117/yr	8.3x
100	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN · Public	24 34–25	$30,101/yr	7.8x
101	SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY · Public	23 31–24	$27,395/yr	6.6x
102	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY · Private nonprofit	22 30–23	$34,658/yr	0.3x
103	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA · Public	19 24–20	$22,998/yr	3.1x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, University of Wyoming ranks #1 for Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences with a score of 59/100 and graduate earnings of $45,758/yr.

How much do Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences graduates earn?

Across 103 schools, Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences graduates earn an average of $39,934/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $50,894/yr.

Is Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences a good major for AI resistance?

Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences has an average AI task exposure of 50%, rated "High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.