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Best Geosciences Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

103 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

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

What do Geosciences graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Programs Ranked

103

Avg Earnings

$39,934/yr

Avg DW Score

41/100

AI Risk

High

50% task exposure

All 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

Scores calculated using College Scorecard, BLS, and AI task-exposure data. See full methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Geosciences?

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

How much do Geosciences graduates earn?

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

Is Geosciences a good major for AI resistance?

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

Best Geosciences Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

All Geosciences Programs Ranked

Frequently Asked Questions

See Also