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Program ranking · CIP 03.xx family bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Environmental Science

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings inside the CIP 03 environmental science family. For each school we take its highest published bachelor's CIP median with at least 25 completers - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment.

$86,357
Highest environmental science earnings
100
Colleges ranked
$55,435
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $55,435 median earnings for Environmental Science bachelor's (CIP 03.xx family) completers. North Carolina State University at Raleigh leads at $86,357.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$86,357
#1 - North Carolina State
$55,435
#100 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
100+
schools with a published CIP-03 median

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Top 15 environmental science programs by median completer earnings

Environmental Science bachelor's (CIP 03.xx family) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows Environmental-field pay varies by whether graduates enter policy, field science, or graduate study - the listed CIP is the one that produced each school's highest published completer median.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 100

# School Name StateTop environmental science CIPMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC Forestry $86,357 $21,750 81
2 Boston College MA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $82,861 $17,200 34
3 Columbia Southern University AL Natural Resources Conservation and Research $81,292 $22,078 62
4 California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt CA Forestry $79,849 $21,000 34
5 University of Southern California CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $78,731 $9,125 65
6 University of California-Berkeley CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $78,624 $12,817 430
7 Tufts University MA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $77,753 $18,050 46
8 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA Forestry $77,419 $17,333 39
9 University of Maryland Global Campus MD Natural Resources Conservation and Research $77,259 $20,327 58
10 University of California-Los Angeles CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $75,927 $17,806 107
11 West Virginia University WV Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy $75,022 $22,239 26
12 Massachusetts Maritime Academy MA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $74,393 $26,000 32
13 Duke University NC Natural Resources Conservation and Research $73,435 $11,875 36
14 Santa Clara University CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $72,889 $24,500 41
15 Fordham University NY Natural Resources Conservation and Research $71,430 $23,250 25
16 Colgate University NY Natural Resources Conservation and Research $70,760 $17,000 37
17 Northeastern University MA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $70,272 $22,973 64
18 Purdue University-Main Campus IN Natural Resources Conservation and Research $69,768 $19,500 35
19 California State University-Chico CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $69,531 $20,500 25
20 University of California-San Diego CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $69,061 $18,000 80
21 Michigan State University MI Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy $68,913 $20,500 29
22 Cornell University NY Natural Resources Conservation and Research $68,088 $15,500 101
23 Rutgers University-New Brunswick NJ Natural Resources Conservation and Research $67,805 $23,250 58
24 California State University-Sacramento CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $67,795 $20,000 69
25 Villanova University PA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $67,060 - 27
26 Dartmouth College NH Natural Resources Conservation and Research $67,020 $15,078 32
27 George Washington University DC Natural Resources Conservation and Research $66,178 $19,500 34
28 University of California-Davis CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $65,983 $15,000 227
29 CUNY Queens College NY Natural Resources Conservation and Research $65,863 - 44
30 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI Natural Resources Conservation and Research $65,714 $15,500 123
31 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry NY Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy $65,604 - 36
32 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC Natural Resources Conservation and Research $65,337 $12,000 124
33 University of California-Riverside CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $64,944 $16,250 42
34 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK Natural Resources Conservation and Research $64,798 $24,125 43
35 Emory University GA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $64,795 $23,172 41
36 University of Idaho ID Forestry $64,392 $16,500 38
37 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA Forestry $64,204 $20,663 87
38 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater WI Natural Resources Conservation and Research $63,936 $20,733 25
39 Clemson University SC Forestry $63,764 $22,875 32
40 American University DC Natural Resources Conservation and Research $63,711 $26,125 33
41 University of California-Santa Barbara CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $63,628 $16,200 318
42 Seattle University WA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $63,465 $19,500 28
43 Rollins College FL Natural Resources Conservation and Research $63,363 - 27
44 University of Colorado Boulder CO Natural Resources Conservation and Research $63,337 $19,750 214
45 Metropolitan State University of Denver CO Natural Resources Conservation and Research $63,175 $18,630 25
46 California State University-Long Beach CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $63,040 $14,000 41
47 Colorado State University-Fort Collins CO Forestry $62,919 $22,073 30
48 University of Florida FL Natural Resources Conservation and Research $62,683 $20,200 45
49 Gettysburg College PA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $62,604 $24,889 29
50 San Francisco State University CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $62,116 $14,087 49
51 Hobart William Smith Colleges NY Natural Resources Conservation and Research $61,905 $27,000 54
52 University of Massachusetts-Boston MA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $61,382 $20,412 66
53 George Mason University VA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $60,874 $22,483 45
54 Temple University PA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $60,864 $20,500 65
55 Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ Natural Resources Conservation and Research $60,369 $18,463 113
56 Arizona State University Digital Immersion AZ Natural Resources Conservation and Research $60,369 $18,463 67
57 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $60,193 $26,000 35
58 Oakland University MI Natural Resources Conservation and Research $59,922 $19,187 28
59 University of California-Irvine CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $59,908 $12,477 51
60 Baylor University TX Natural Resources Conservation and Research $59,701 $25,500 29
61 University of Delaware DE Natural Resources Conservation and Research $59,620 $25,000 52
62 University of Maryland-College Park MD Natural Resources Conservation and Research $59,329 $19,607 52
63 University of Iowa IA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $59,071 $23,875 70
64 Portland State University OR Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,961 $25,000 48
65 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Forestry $58,651 $19,500 46
66 University of San Diego CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,517 $23,000 53
67 Mississippi State University MS Forestry $58,499 $19,000 26
68 Drexel University PA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,495 $29,898 30
69 University of Virginia-Main Campus VA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,475 $14,000 79
70 Stockton University NJ Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,319 $18,915 65
71 University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,229 $15,932 184
72 University of Washington-Bothell Campus WA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,229 $15,932 29
73 University of Washington-Tacoma Campus WA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,229 $15,932 29
74 San Diego State University CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,215 $12,726 119
75 Ohio State University-Main Campus OH Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,119 $20,650 170
76 Keene State College NH Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,065 $22,194 26
77 Ramapo College of New Jersey NJ Natural Resources Conservation and Research $58,005 $18,250 26
78 Loyola University Chicago IL Natural Resources Conservation and Research $57,790 $22,808 49
79 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus NH Natural Resources Conservation and Research $57,747 $26,250 54
80 Texas A&M University-College Station TX Natural Resources Conservation and Research $57,722 $19,487 282
81 Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College GA Forestry $57,678 $20,065 26
82 American Public University System WV Natural Resources Conservation and Research $57,618 $24,306 304
83 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville TN Forestry $57,436 $25,548 25
84 The University of Texas at San Antonio TX Natural Resources Conservation and Research $57,431 $21,908 79
85 Towson University MD Natural Resources Conservation and Research $57,388 $18,000 52
86 University of Connecticut CT Natural Resources Conservation and Research $57,384 $20,500 81
87 University of Redlands CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $57,319 $25,943 43
88 University of Minnesota-Duluth MN Natural Resources Conservation and Research $56,728 $24,699 29
89 St. Mary's College of Maryland MD Natural Resources Conservation and Research $56,619 $19,000 33
90 California State University-San Marcos CA Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,903 $13,273 50
91 Indiana University-Bloomington IN Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,861 $18,425 46
92 Oregon State University OR Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,805 $20,500 121
93 Stephen F Austin State University TX Forestry $55,786 $21,597 36
94 Southern New Hampshire University NH Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,733 $20,649 388
95 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point WI Forestry $55,724 $21,393 55
96 Colby College ME Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,719 $19,313 52
97 Texas State University TX Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,595 $23,200 77
98 Binghamton University NY Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,579 $15,353 57
99 University of Nevada-Reno NV Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,528 $14,000 43
100 The University of Arizona Global Campus AZ Natural Resources Conservation and Research $55,435 $41,000 33

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by the highest College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings among bachelor's CIP 03.xx environmental science programs at that school. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts, then CIP code. The winning CIP title appears in the table. Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. Environmental science spans several CIP codes in the Scorecard - this ranking uses each school's highest-earning bachelor's program inside the CIP 03 natural resources and conservation family (environmental policy, conservation, forestry, and related). The winning CIP is shown per school.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.