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Program ranking · CIP 03.06 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Wildlife Biology

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Wildlife Biology (CIP 03.06) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

$54,449
Highest wildlife biology earnings
24
Colleges ranked
$38,899
#24 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $38,899 median earnings for Wildlife Biology bachelor's (CIP 03.06) completers. Auburn University leads at $54,449.

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

$54,449
#1 - Auburn University
$38,899
#24 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
60
US schools offering this CIP

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 wildlife biology programs by median completer earnings

Wildlife Biology bachelor's (CIP 03.06) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows Wildlife-biology medians mix agency, NGO, and graduate-school pipelines - debt still matters when field pay sits below clinical health fields.

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

The full top 24

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 Auburn University AL $54,449 $21,750 35
2 South Dakota State University SD $50,623 $20,250 34
3 Michigan State University MI $49,948 $28,332 64
4 Bemidji State University MN $49,040 $18,750 33
5 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville TN $48,882 $25,000 56
6 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA $47,496 $21,390 72
7 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus NH $47,370 $27,000 26
8 California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt CA $47,003 $21,889 95
9 University of California-Davis CA $46,209 $15,000 100
10 University of Nevada-Reno NV $46,171 $16,270 34
11 University of Rhode Island RI $45,571 $23,817 35
12 University of Maine ME $45,502 $26,841 30
13 Mississippi State University MS $45,445 $21,625 69
14 West Virginia University WV $45,348 $19,746 54
15 Tennessee Technological University TN $45,348 $11,000 44
16 Utah State University UT $45,120 $19,133 43
17 University of Georgia GA $44,818 $22,000 41
18 The University of Montana MT $43,286 $21,500 64
19 Missouri State University-Springfield MO $42,618 $20,750 25
20 University of Delaware DE $42,567 $25,130 42
21 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point WI $42,330 $24,000 65
22 University of Florida FL $40,434 $16,500 38
23 Unity Environmental University ME $39,017 $27,000 31
24 Delaware Valley University PA $38,899 $25,750 34

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Wildlife Biology (CIP 03.06) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Wildlife Biology (bachelor's). 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. This list covers Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management (CIP 03.06) bachelor's programs - zoology (CIP 26.07) and animal sciences (CIP 01.09) are ranked separately when demand warrants.

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.