2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Earth Sciences

EARTH SCIENCES DEGREES

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES

Earth sciences is nearly as popular at the undergraduate level as the typical major. The standard course of study awards 6,156 undergrad degrees per year; 6,574 students received an undergrad degree in earth sciences last year, making it the United States of America's 70th most popular subject. 151 of those students are now alumni of Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus, which boasts having the largest department in the United States, and 722 of those undergrads attended schools in California.

456 schools around the country have a four-year degree in earth sciences; consequently, selecting the right college can not be easy. At the undergraduate level, earth sciences is 2.4 times more broadly available than the typical course of study, making it the 45th most widely offered concentration in the United States.

GRADUATE DEGREES

While 71% of last May's degrees in earth sciences were four-year degrees; 29% were postgraduate degrees. Earth sciences is the 72nd most popular grad degree in the USA, with 2,688 degrees conferred. For some context, the average subject is 3% more popular among postgraduate students than earth sciences.

In Total, 9,262 students received a bachelor's or higher in earth sciences last May.

ONLINE EARTH SCIENCES DEGREES

86 of those 9,262 alumni (0.9%) completed their studies remotely - 73 college students and 13 postgraduate students. As you can tell, not many undergraduate students choose to pursue a degree in earth sciences online. It's at the moment the 135th most popular online course of study with 84.8% less online students than the average subject. For postgrad students, it's ranked 228th, and is 97.9% under the national average (616).

Southern New Hampshire University​ awarded 62 online bachelor's degrees, more than any other U.S. school. Last fall, 86,849 undergrad students were attending the college remotely, 93% of their student body. They offer 35 online areas of study. That's 56% of their courses.

Further, Colleges from New Hampshire awarded the most online undergrad degrees in earth sciences last year (62). New Hampshire single-handedly accounts for 85% of the USA's remote students.

Just 1.1% of all undergraduate degrees in earth sciences are completed through completely online programs, (0.5% for grad degrees). 1.68% of the University of Florida-Online's​ last undergraduate class majored in earth sciences entirely remote, higher than any other college in the nation. 10 students in their 597 student class received an online bachelor's degree in earth sciences. They offer 21 degrees remote, and had 3,926 enrolled online undergraduate students last fall. That's 100% of the student body.

There are 4 colleges in the US with a comprehensively online bachelor's degree in earth sciences, making it the 45th most broadly offered remote degree. Less than 1% of the institutions with the degree even have a completely online option, and for every private institution giving out college degree in earth sciences there are 2.2 public colleges. Florida has the most remote programs of any state, with 2 colleges to choose from.

If you wish to study earth sciences and are skilled at self learning, you may want to think about the University of Florida, as it has the 63rd best earth sciences program in the US. It also offers an additional 67 degrees online, so you can explore classes inside other subjects. Further, they have 1,029 remote undergrads, which is 3% of the student body.

PARTIALLY ONLINE EARTH SCIENCES DEGREES

• Earth sciences is the 67th most popular partially online undergrad degree in the United States
• Earth sciences is the 46th most widely available partially online college degree across the country
• Last year, 1,730 people earned a bachelor's or higher in earth sciences partially online
• Concord University's​ last undergraduate class had the most dense population of partially online earth sciences majors in America (1.29%)
• Texas graduates more earth sciences majors partially online than any other state (192 four-year degrees awarded last year)
• 10.94% of all advanced degrees in earth sciences are done partially online

IN-PERSON EARTH SCIENCES DEGREES

• 5,063 people last spring received a college degree in earth sciences in-person
• Earth sciences is the 36th most universally offered exclusively in-person undergraduate degree nationally
• Last year, 7,444 students earned a bachelor's or higher in earth sciences completely in-person
• 12.86% of United States Coast Guard Academy's​ last undergraduate class studied earth sciences entirely in-person, higher than any other institution in the nation
• California graduates more earth sciences majors completely in-person than any other state (575 undergrad degrees granted last year)
• 88.58% of all advanced degrees in earth sciences are done exclusively in-person