Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Natural Resources Conservation and Research

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 256

Avg grad salary: $44,180

Total graduates: 14,298

Top Colleges for Natural Resources Conservation and Research: Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD	$72,828	$55,545	58	$10,308	N/A
2	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$72,049	$47,338	273	$12,988	11.7%
3	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	$70,524	$41,870	21	$17,000	11.9%
4	UCLA Los Angeles, CA	$69,142	$31,944	65	$18,000	8.7%
5	Bentley University Waltham, MA	N/A	$68,600	17	$27,000	48.4%
6	Columbia Southern University Orange Beach, AL	$65,626	$74,546	58	$27,071	N/A
7	Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, MA	$64,846	$50,931	71	$26,000	94.5%
8	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH	$64,484	$43,868	277	$32,256	96.1%
9	UC Davis Davis, CA	$63,206	$38,954	205	$15,200	41.6%
10	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	$63,177	$46,698	21	$26,798	32.0%
11	University of Redlands Redlands, CA	$62,460	$46,164	40	$26,000	80.9%
12	UC San Diego La Jolla, CA	$62,369	$37,524	54	$18,000	24.5%
13	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	$61,930	$34,090	88	$13,191	34.4%
14	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$61,930	$38,949	36	$23,125	50.8%
15	Tulane University New Orleans, LA	$61,560	$27,339	22	$19,500	14.6%
16	Hobart William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY	$60,887	$43,671	27	$27,000	57.3%
17	George Washington University Washington, DC	$60,690	$51,201	16	$19,500	43.5%
18	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	$60,564	$37,308	71	$22,100	93.6%
19	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA	$58,905	$38,876	17	N/A	96.8%
20	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	$58,824	$36,266	280	$21,125	63.2%
21	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	$58,582	$49,529	18	N/A	39.9%
22	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	$58,440	$41,621	66	$16,500	8.2%
23	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	$58,140	$42,576	17	$23,250	43.8%
24	Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ	$57,743	$43,223	75	$25,706	65.3%
25	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ	$57,743	$43,223	75	$25,706	78.7%
26	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	$57,416	$30,835	39	$28,956	77.5%
27	UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$57,262	$33,759	253	$16,533	27.8%
28	Duke University Durham, NC	$56,777	$28,121	35	$11,875	6.8%
29	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	$56,718	$39,361	42	$26,408	57.0%
30	Villanova University Villanova, PA	N/A	$56,549	16	N/A	25.1%
31	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	$56,387	$28,749	44	$16,150	96.2%
32	Denison University Granville, OH	$55,445	$36,236	19	N/A	16.9%
33	William Paterson University of New Jersey Wayne, NJ	$55,279	$40,613	17	N/A	92.5%
34	Washington College Chestertown, MD	$55,203	$22,324	35	$26,529	65.5%
35	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	$55,166	$40,759	53	$15,856	94.7%
36	Towson University Towson, MD	$54,966	$34,345	57	$22,750	82.8%
37	Iowa State University Ames, IA	$54,860	$37,890	86	$22,227	89.1%
38	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$54,749	$33,870	45	$13,575	47.1%
39	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$54,193	$41,152	60	$19,699	44.8%
40	American Public University System Charles Town, WV	$54,110	$50,260	217	$23,875	N/A
41	The University of the South Sewanee, TN	$53,237	$35,204	18	N/A	50.9%
42	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ	$53,125	$29,306	30	$23,875	77.8%
43	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	$53,052	$30,521	50	$16,157	63.3%
44	University of North Georgia Dahlonega, GA	$53,050	$44,124	19	N/A	72.2%
45	State University of New York at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY	$53,049	$28,447	55	$19,500	75.2%
46	Emory University Atlanta, GA	$52,860	$21,227	22	$23,172	11.1%
47	University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI	$52,391	$29,264	141	$16,577	17.9%
48	Roger Williams University Bristol, RI	$51,640	$39,869	21	$26,000	87.8%
49	California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA	$51,606	$30,712	100	$16,806	94.8%
50	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	$51,556	$24,336	24	$16,277	49.0%
51	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA	$51,541	$39,068	39	$24,125	85.5%
52	University of Delaware Newark, DE	$51,189	$38,908	83	$25,740	65.1%
53	University at Albany Albany, NY	$51,117	$31,835	17	$22,801	69.9%
54	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	$51,113	$44,236	51	$25,370	99.1%
55	UIUC Champaign, IL	$50,978	$31,369	72	$21,000	43.7%
56	Ball State University Muncie, IN	$50,870	$34,000	37	$27,000	71.6%
57	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$50,863	$28,155	72	$18,269	37.7%
58	UC Irvine Irvine, CA	$50,846	$36,304	38	$12,477	25.6%
59	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN	$50,765	$33,565	50	$26,894	81.8%
60	Northeastern University Boston, MA	$50,604	$51,137	67	$23,430	9.9%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Natural Resources Conservation and Research Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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