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Major · Physical Sciences

The geosciences catchall where program substance varies more than the CIP suggests

Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences, Other is the residual CIP — the bucket for earth-science programs that don’t fit the named CIPs (Geology General, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Paleontology, Hydrology, Oceanography). The 564 bachelor’s completions across 76 colleges include interdisciplinary earth-systems programs, online general-science offerings, and locally distinctive majors. Five-year earnings sit at $61,215 — the same band as Geology General — but the program-to-program variance is wider than that median implies.

Schools offering
76
Annual completions
564
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$61k

About this major

Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences, Other (CIP 40.0699) is the residual category in the federal classification — the bucket where the National Center for Education Statistics places earth-science bachelor’s programs that don’t fit any of the seven named geoscience CIPs. The federal definition is brief: any geological or related science instructional program not listed under the more specific codes. Example terms are Geodetics and Geodesy. In practice, the 564 annual completions across 76 colleges include three categories of program: interdisciplinary earth-systems-science majors that span geology, atmospheric, and ocean topics; boutique programs with locally distinctive emphasis like energy and earth resources or environmental geology; and traditional earth-science programs that the institution simply hasn’t recoded to a more specific named CIP. Coursework therefore varies widely — some programs look indistinguishable from a Geology General curriculum, others lean heavily into hydrology or oceanography, and some online offerings substitute lab and modeling work for traditional fieldwork.

The major fits students who already know what they want from a specific program. Strong fits read the syllabus, check faculty research areas, and confirm whether field camp, computational coursework, and target-employer connections exist before enrolling — the CIP code itself is a weak signal here. The major rewards students who pair quantitative work in chemistry, physics, and calculus with comfort observing earth systems in the field or through remote-sensing data. Curiosity about how earth processes connect across disciplines (atmosphere, ocean, solid earth, biosphere) is more central than commitment to one traditional subspecialty.

The scale data tells its own story. Southern New Hampshire University leads with 91 bachelor’s completions, ahead of Florida Atlantic (35), Penn State Main Campus (34), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (30), and Pittsburgh (28) — a top-ranking distribution shaped more by coding choices than by traditional geoscience prestige. The career list shows Geoscientists at $99,240 and Natural Sciences Managers at $161,180 as the bachelor’s-entry target and mid-career ceiling, with postsecondary teaching at $101,390 requiring a doctorate.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers $99k +3.2% Bachelor's degree
Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary $101k +2.6% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$61k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if a specific program in this CIP — its faculty, curriculum, and field or research opportunities — already pulled you in for reasons you can articulate beyond the title; if your interest is in earth-systems science as an integrated field rather than a single subspecialty like geology or oceanography; if you have or are willing to build the quantitative foundation in chemistry, physics, and calculus that any rigorous earth-science program assumes; if you’re targeting the bachelor’s-entry geoscientist role at $99,240 and your program’s placement record into energy, environmental consulting, or state and federal survey work supports that path; or if the program offers Python, GIS, and machine-learning coursework alongside traditional field and lab training, which now matters for energy and consulting employability.

Think twice if you chose this CIP because it sounded geosciences-adjacent without checking what the specific program actually teaches — Geology General (40.0601, 3,815 completions), Hydrology (40.0605), Oceanography (40.0607), or Atmospheric Sciences (40.0401) are clearer pipelines into their respective career destinations and may serve you better. Reconsider if the program is online or doesn’t include a 4–6 week summer field camp, since traditional energy and environmental-consulting employers weight documented field training heavily and field-light degrees in this CIP carry that disadvantage. Reconsider if your real interest is environmental policy or advocacy rather than physical-science fieldwork, since Environmental Studies offers more direct policy preparation. Finally, reconsider if you’re looking at the SNHU-style online offering as a primary preparation for traditional geoscientist careers, since most field-oriented employers will treat that degree differently from a campus-based program with field camp.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences, Other

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 0 91 91
Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL 0 35 35
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA 0 34 34
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA 0 30 30
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA 0 28 28
Cornell University Ithaca, NY 0 20 20
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 19 19
Eastern Connecticut State University Willimantic, CT 0 19 19
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 0 18 18
Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA 0 18 18
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Geology/Earth Science, General

3,815 completions/yr

Astronomy

545 completions/yr

Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, General

530 completions/yr

Astrophysics

340 completions/yr

Marine Sciences

322 completions/yr

Oceanography, Chemical and Physical

239 completions/yr

Meteorology

216 completions/yr

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Other

87 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does the “Other” in this CIP actually cover?
The .99 designation in any CIP family is the residual bucket — programs that don’t fit any of the seven named geosciences CIPs (40.0601 Geology/Earth Science General, 40.0602 Geochemistry, 40.0603 Geophysics and Seismology, 40.0604 Paleontology, 40.0605 Hydrology, 40.0606 Geochemistry and Petrology, 40.0607 Oceanography Chemical and Physical). The 564 completions land in this bucket for three different reasons: interdisciplinary earth-systems-science majors that span geology, atmospheric, and ocean topics; boutique programs with distinctive local emphasis (energy and earth resources, environmental geology hybrids, geodesy); and programs where the institution simply hasn’t updated its CIP coding to a more specific named code. The example terms in the federal definition are Geodetics and Geodesy — the science of measuring earth’s shape and gravitational field — which is itself a small subspecialty.
Why does Southern New Hampshire University have the most completions?
Southern New Hampshire University (91 completions) and Florida Atlantic (35) leading a CIP normally dominated by research universities is a strong signal that this bucket is collecting non-traditional earth-science programs — in SNHU’s case, an online general-earth-science offering that the institution coded to the residual .99 instead of 40.0601 General. The remaining top-ten institutions look more conventional — Penn State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Pittsburgh, Cornell, University of Washington — but their completions are small (19–34 each) and likely reflect specialized concentrations. The takeaway: this CIP’s top-institutions list is shaped by coding choices, not by program prestige. Use the program’s actual curriculum and faculty as the signal, not the CIP code.
How does this CIP compare with named geoscience CIPs (40.0601, 40.0603, 40.0605, 40.0607)?
Geology/Earth Science General (40.0601) is the broad foundation with 3,815 annual completions, the largest pipeline into bachelor’s-entry geoscientist roles. Geophysics and Seismology (40.0603) and Geochemistry and Petrology (40.0606) are technical subspecialties with the highest pre-grad-school weight — petroleum and mining industry pathways often expect geophysics or geochemistry coursework. Hydrology (40.0605) is the water-resources track with direct alignment to the SOC 19-2043 Hydrologists role at $85K median. Oceanography Chemical and Physical (40.0607, 239 completions) is ocean-focused. The .99 Other catchall has no such clean alignment. The signal for prospective students: if you know your interest is geology, choose 40.0601; if you know it’s water resources, choose 40.0605. Choose .99 only if the specific program at that specific school is what you want.
What are the realistic earnings pathways for graduates of this CIP?
The same three sector pathways as Geology General apply, since most graduates target the same SOC 19-2042 Geoscientists role at $99,240 median. Energy sector — oil and gas, mining, increasingly geothermal and carbon storage — pays the highest entry wages at $75K–$110K but concentrates in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Wyoming and is cyclical with commodity prices and ESG pressure. Environmental consulting (AECOM, Stantec, Arcadis, ERM) is the largest single employer for earth-science bachelor’s and pays $50K–$70K entry. USGS and state geological surveys pay $55K–$75K at GS-7 to GS-9. The $61,215 five-year median reflects this employer mix. Natural Sciences Managers ($161,180) is the mid-career ceiling, not an entry role.
Is field camp still required at programs in this CIP?
Most accredited geoscience bachelor’s programs require a 4–6 week summer field camp at a remote location, and the requirement carries through to programs coded under .99 — but not universally, since this bucket includes interdisciplinary and online offerings that may substitute lab or modeling work. Field camp adds $3,000–$6,000 in costs beyond regular tuition and is strongly weighted by employers in field-oriented branches of the profession (energy, environmental consulting, state surveys). If a program in this CIP does not include field camp, students should verify what fieldwork or applied research substitutes are offered, and recognize that traditional energy and environmental-consulting employers may treat the degree as less prepared. Online or hybrid programs in this CIP rarely include real field training.
Does machine learning matter for earth-science careers now?
Yes, increasingly so. Seismic interpretation in the energy sector, mineral-exploration targeting in mining, and remote-sensing analysis in environmental work are all being reshaped by machine learning. The durable lanes for bachelor’s-level entrants are roles where domain expertise (knowing what a fault looks like in seismic, knowing what an alteration halo looks like in geochemistry) combines with ML literacy (Python, basic deep-learning workflows, geospatial analysis in GIS plus ML libraries). Programs in this catchall vary widely in computational coursework: some integrate Python and geospatial-ML strongly, others stay traditional. Students should check the program’s curriculum for at least one Python/data-science course and ideally a senior project that combines field or sensor data with computational analysis. This matters more for energy and consulting employability now than five years ago.