Majors

Best Colleges for Environmental Science and Conservation, by Earnings

671 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Conservation, about 16,777 degrees a year. Across the 251 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $54,957 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Boston College	MA	$82,861	38	16.4%
2	University of Southern California	CA	$78,731	47	9.8%
3	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$78,624	464	11%
4	Tufts University	MA	$77,753	60	11.5%
5	University of Maryland Global Campus	MD	$77,259	74
6	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$75,927	108	9%
7	University of Houston-Clear Lake	TX	$75,258	10	90.5%
8	Massachusetts Maritime Academy	MA	$74,393	30	94.7%
9	Brandeis University	MA	$73,936	23	40.5%
10	Duke University	NC	$73,435	54	5.7%
11	Santa Clara University	CA	$72,889	46	48%
12	Kansas State University	KS	$72,398	26	81.7%
13	Fordham University	NY	$71,430	29	59.3%
14	Colgate University	NY	$70,760	38	13.9%
15	Northeastern University	MA	$70,272	70	5.2%
16	Northeastern University Professional Programs	MA	$70,272	2
17	Purdue University	IN	$69,768	36	49.9%
18	California State University-Chico	CA	$69,531	29	92.7%
19	University of St Thomas	MN	$69,525	19	85.4%
20	Sonoma State University	CA	$69,077	15	93.4%
21	University of California-San Diego	CA	$69,061	73	26.7%
22	Cornell University	NY	$68,088	79	8.8%
23	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$67,805	63	58.1%
24	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	$67,805	12	71.4%
25	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$67,795	62	94%
26	Villanova University	PA	$67,060	20	27%
27	Bucknell University	PA	$66,963	27	28.9%
28	George Washington University	DC	$66,178	36	47.1%
29	University of California-Davis	CA	$65,983	241	41.8%
30	CUNY Queens College	NY	$65,863	39	64.4%
31	University of Michigan	MI	$65,714	134	15.6%
32	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	$65,513	9	88.4%
33	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	$65,337	114	15.3%
34	Seton Hall University	NJ	$65,075	21	73.3%
35	University of California-Riverside	CA	$64,944	39	76.4%
36	University of Oklahoma	OK	$64,798	25	76.6%
37	Emory University	GA	$64,795	41	10.7%
38	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	$63,936	29	85.7%
39	American University	DC	$63,711	26	62%
40	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$63,628	338	33%
41	Seattle University	WA	$63,465	15	76.9%
42	Rollins College	FL	$63,363	19	47.5%
43	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$63,337	206	78.1%
44	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$63,175	25	98.8%
45	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$63,040	52	46.3%
46	University of Idaho	ID	$62,791	21	75.5%
47	Augustana College	IL	$62,757	21	62.7%
48	University of Florida	FL	$62,683	48	24.2%
49	Gettysburg College	PA	$62,604	24	38.9%
50	San Francisco State University	CA	$62,116	49	96.4%
51	Hobart William Smith Colleges	NY	$61,905	36	64%
52	University of Massachusetts-Boston	MA	$61,382	49	83.8%
53	Youngstown State University	OH	$60,965	8	84.5%
54	George Mason University	VA	$60,874	39	87.5%
55	Temple University	PA	$60,864	42	80.4%
56	Michigan State University	MI	$60,728	84	84.8%
57	University of Southern Maine	ME	$60,665	8	79.2%
58	Arizona State University	AZ	$60,369	132	89.9%
59	Pennsylvania State University	PA	$60,193	46	60.6%
60	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College	PA	$60,193	14	96.8%
61	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona	PA	$60,193	8	98.1%
62	Gonzaga University	WA	$60,015	28	81.7%
63	University of Rhode Island	RI	$59,964	40	72.2%
64	Oakland University	MI	$59,922	37	87.8%
65	University of California-Irvine	CA	$59,908	62	28.6%
66	Virginia Tech	VA	$59,868	37	54.8%
67	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	$59,783	26	83%
68	Saint Johns University	MN	$59,718	10	90.6%
69	Baylor University	TX	$59,701	38	51.3%
70	University of Delaware	DE	$59,620	61	70.6%
71	Saint Cloud State University	MN	$59,549	6	94.8%
72	Occidental College	CA	$59,542	23	44.2%
73	California State University-East Bay	CA	$59,333	11	97.4%
74	University of Maryland	MD	$59,329	39	44.8%
75	University of Iowa	IA	$59,071	56	83.6%
76	Portland State University	OR	$58,961	63	90.9%
77	University of San Diego	CA	$58,517	30	52.4%
78	Drexel University	PA	$58,495	30	79.4%
79	University of Virginia	VA	$58,475	68	16.8%
80	University of North Georgia	GA	$58,403	20	67.9%
81	Stockton University	NJ	$58,319	64	88.9%
82	University of Washington	WA	$58,229	220	39.1%
83	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus	WA	$58,229	31	82.5%
84	University of Washington-Bothell Campus	WA	$58,229	23	90.6%
85	San Diego State University	CA	$58,215	102	36.2%
86	Ohio State University	OH	$58,119	143	60.6%
87	Eastern Washington University	WA	$58,106	23	90.8%
88	Keene State College	NH	$58,065	16	90.3%
89	Ramapo College of New Jersey	NJ	$58,005	32	70.6%
90	Loyola University Chicago	IL	$57,790	67	81.6%
91	University of New Hampshire	NH	$57,747	67	88.2%
92	Texas A&M University	TX	$57,722	249	57.4%
93	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	$57,431	73	86.8%
94	Towson University	MD	$57,388	35	82%
95	University of Connecticut	CT	$57,384	99	52.4%
96	University of Redlands	CA	$57,319	48	82.7%
97	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	$57,319	22	93.7%
98	Framingham State University	MA	$57,280	5	83.6%
99	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	$57,130	10	86.5%
100	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$57,056	12	75%

Showing the top 100 of 251 colleges that report earnings. 420 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Environmental Science and Conservation graduates?

Boston College ($82,861), University of Southern California ($78,731), University of California-Berkeley ($78,624), Tufts University ($77,753), University of Maryland Global Campus ($77,259) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Environmental Science and Conservation majors make?

The median across 251 colleges is $54,957 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $37,015 to $82,861.

Which colleges have the biggest Environmental Science and Conservation programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Southern New Hampshire University (504), University of California-Berkeley (464), University of California-Santa Barbara (338), Texas A&M University (249), University of California-Davis (241).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Natural Resources Conservation and Research". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.