Penn State Geology and Earth Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
- Public university
- University Park, PA
- About 82 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Penn State geology and earth science graduates earn more than graduates of most geology and earth science programs nationally, $53,908 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. It is one of the higher-paying geology and earth science degrees in Pennsylvania.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Pennsylvania and national columns are the medians across all geology and earth science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Penn State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $21,136 more than the Pennsylvania median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania geology and earth science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Pennsylvania medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 53% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $276 a month, or 6.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 48 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $62,316.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
60% of graduates (77 of 128) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating. Prices in the State College area are about 3% below the national average, so a $53,908 salary here buys what about $55,712 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to geology and earth science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Natural Sciences Managers
$137,900Median pay in Pennsylvania. 7,980 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
$84,180Median pay in Pennsylvania. 910 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians
$47,380Median pay in Pennsylvania. 240 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Hydrologists
$91,730Median pay in Pennsylvania. 160 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Penn State
Geology and Earth Science ranks 41st of 103 bachelor's programs at Penn State by first-year earnings. The top three are Petroleum Engineering ($85,795), Computer Engineering ($85,446), and Computer and Information Science ($84,050).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $53,908 one year after graduating and $82,224 five years after. The median across geology and earth science bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania is $38,652.
The median federal loan balance is $26,000, which ranks the lowest of 5 geology and earth science bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $276 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 48% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 60%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less.
Most do. 60% (77 of 128) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Pennsylvania comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the geology and earth science program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024