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Ecology & Plant Biology

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

This category focuses on the "big picture" of life on Earth—how organisms interact with each other and their physical surroundings. Coursework spans ecosystem dynamics, plant sciences, conservation genetics, and population modeling. You will spend significant time outside of the traditional classroom, engaging in fieldwork, measuring environmental variables, and learning to use tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistical software to track environmental changes.

What you'll do after college

Graduates are uniquely equipped to tackle complex environmental challenges. Many find careers as ecologists, environmental consultants, conservation scientists, or botanists. Typical employers include government agencies (like the EPA or the National Park Service), conservation nonprofits, and private consulting firms. The work ranges from assessing the environmental impact of new developments to managing protected habitats and developing sustainable agricultural practices.

Famous graduates

  • Rachel Carson — Marine biologist and conservationist whose work sparked the modern environmental movement; B.A. in Biology from Pennsylvania College for Women
  • Robin Wall Kimmerer — Botanist, ecologist, and author of ''Braiding Sweetgrass''; B.S. in Botany from SUNY-ESF

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$48,648
667
100–79%
$49,861
1,325
78–40%
$59,240
681
40–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$47,055
500
400–1240
$52,504
994
1240–1450
$59,155
499
1450–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings vs. selectivity rank

$42,896p10 $61,634p90 Work College Female-only Liberal Arts Public University Religious University Private University Liberal Arts 1–20 Public University 1–25 Private University 21–40 Private University 1–20 College of the Ozarks · $42,675 Blackburn College · $49,735 Warren Wilson College · $40,109 Barnard College · $65,461 Cedar Crest College · $49,664 Colorado College · $49,966 Trinity University · $53,124 Pitzer College · $50,414 Connecticut College · $67,686 Whitman College · $50,018 St. Lawrence University · $40,805 Florida Southern College · $42,678 DePauw University · $54,771 Providence College · $65,074 Ohio Wesleyan University · $41,400 Friends University · $39,814 Cornell College · $50,084 Bethel University · $48,984 Drury University · $44,129 Elizabethtown College · $50,959 Grove City College · $49,262 Calvin University · $49,668 Susquehanna University · $51,658 Saint Anselm College · $58,100 Franklin College · $49,542 University of California, Irvine · $55,624 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $61,634 University of Montana Western · $47,149 University of California, Santa Barbara · $49,625 University of Washington · $48,263 Cal Poly - Pomona · $56,916 University of California, Davis · $54,261 Stony Brook University · $52,375 San Jose State University · $62,337 University of Connecticut · $48,118 New Mexico State University · $41,523 University of Pittsburgh · $79,518 State University of New York at Cortland · $54,097 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry · $43,430 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $55,201 Central Michigan University · $49,959 Oklahoma State University · $44,624 University of Colorado Boulder · $55,519 Minnesota State University Moorhead · $48,495 Ohio University · $37,386 Southern Illinois University - Carbondale · $45,152 Temple University · $54,039 University of Northern Iowa · $48,681 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $51,640 Augusta University · $43,507 University of California, Santa Cruz · $40,513 University of Vermont · $45,076 Miami University - Ohio · $51,680 Michigan Technological University · $50,768 Oregon State University · $48,254 University of Idaho · $46,425 Northern Arizona University · $48,533 Saginaw Valley State University · $47,925 Tennessee Technological University · $43,272 University of Nebraska, Lincoln · $51,109 University of North Texas · $50,341 Cal Poly - Humboldt · $52,224 Colorado State University - Fort Collins · $52,979 East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania · $52,897 Kent State University at Kent · $44,787 Michigan State University · $53,593 Ferris State University · $52,751 Fort Lewis College · $41,320 Iowa State University · $45,407 Northern State University · $50,236 Saint Cloud State University · $42,896 University of Arizona · $47,012 University of Maine · $46,728 University of California, Riverside · $52,140 University of Hawaii at Manoa · $44,409 University of Kansas · $51,520 Plymouth State University · $49,895 Utah State University · $48,763 Pennsylvania Western University · $45,896 University of Texas at El Paso · $46,119 University of Wyoming · $46,559 Lake Superior State University · $44,011 Utah Valley University · $52,272 Washburn University · $50,178 Weber State University · $47,057 Brigham Young University · $60,660 Union University · $47,855 Liberty University · $45,123 Loyola University New Orleans · $43,053 Southwestern Adventist University · $50,964 Spring Arbor University · $48,960 University of Dayton · $52,379 Queens University of Charlotte · $43,385 Le Moyne College · $52,188 Saint Vincent College · $50,445 Shenandoah University · $51,498 Loyola University Chicago · $53,259 Molloy College · $51,746 Seattle University · $54,399 Grace College and Theological Seminary · $46,298 Lee University · $46,595 University of Mount Olive · $43,440 Wingate University · $46,789 Northwest Nazarene University · $42,741 Thiel College · $48,368 Cornerstone University · $47,887 Saint Edward's University · $48,532 Seattle Pacific University · $46,771 Christian Brothers University · $48,469 Saint Mary's University of Minnesota · $61,179 Southern Nazarene University · $49,244 Jacksonville University · $53,567 Hofstra University · $57,164 Lincoln Memorial University · $45,619 Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science · $47,106 Monmouth University · $36,256 Keystone College · $43,272 University of Denver · $52,002 Colby College · $55,869 University of California, Berkeley · $64,316 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $38,070 University of Florida · $58,659 University of Georgia · $48,597 Purdue University · $55,878 University of Maryland, College Park · $55,322 UCLA · $50,528 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $53,535 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $41,796 Texas A&M University - College Station · $46,235 University of California, San Diego · $55,518 Ohio State University · $48,205 North Carolina State University · $59,501 Washington University in St Louis · $72,809 New York University · $70,386 University of Southern California · $65,992 Boston University · $58,367 Northeastern University · $66,977 Tulane University · $46,821 Harvard University · $77,952 Princeton University · $61,097 Yale University · $88,262 Vanderbilt University · $72,302 Georgetown University · $74,938 Work College: mean $44,173 Female-only: mean $57,563 Liberal Arts: mean $50,407 Public University: mean $49,577 Religious University: mean $49,316 Private University: mean $47,855 Liberal Arts 1–20: mean $55,869 Public University 1–25: mean $52,012 Private University 21–40: mean $63,559 Private University 1–20: mean $74,910 All colleges: p10 $42,896 All colleges: p90 $61,634
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Ecology & Plant Biology 150 2,673 37% / 63% 2% $52,013 96%
Ecology 30 677 39% / 61% 1% $50,239 95%
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 34 653 40% / 60% 1% $54,708 95%
Environmental Biology 38 353 37% / 63% 2% $51,393 98%
Conservation Biology 23 227 32% / 68% 1% $48,455 94%
Botany 21 225 34% / 66% 2% $49,101 98%
Plant Biology 9 103 38% / 62% 3% $52,843 97%
Evolution and Ecology 1 85 27% / 73% 1% $48,205 97%
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology 1 73 38% / 62% 8% $77,952 96%
Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution 1 46 28% / 72% 4% $55,518 96%
Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity 1 46 43% / 57% 2% $37,268 92%
Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology 1 35 31% / 69% 3% $49,625 91%
Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity 1 30 23% / 77% 17% $52,700 94%
Human Ecology 1 26 8% / 92% 0% $43,272 89%
Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology 2 21 24% / 76% 10% $60,492
Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology 1 21 24% / 76% 0% $45,878 89%
Ecology and Conservation Biology 1 15 73% / 27% 0% $60,521 96%
Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Sciences 1 10 50% / 50% 10% $54,331
Plant Biotechnology 1 10 20% / 80% 0% $53,535
Plant Genetics 1 10 40% / 60% 0% $56,625 90%
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology 2 3 33% / 67% 0% $61,578
Agroecology 1 2 50% / 50% 0% $54,969
Plant Pathology/Phytopathology 1 2 100% / 0% 0% $41,519