Best Value Colleges for Geological/Geophysical Engineering
Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.
6
Schools Ranked
$55,002
Avg. Earnings
1.7 yrs
Best Payback
108
Graduates
How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.
| # | School | Major Earnings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public | $60,004 | 1.7 yrs |
| 2 | Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI · Public | $60,161 | 1.9 yrs |
| 3 | University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public | $55,964 | 2.9 yrs |
| 4 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO · Public | $47,260 | 3.8 yrs |
| 5 | Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO · Public | $55,770 | 4.7 yrs |
| 6 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City, SD · Public | $50,856 | 5 yrs |
Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.