Environmental Science

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

These majors bridge the physical and biological sciences to study ecosystems, conservation, and resource management. Coursework combines biology, chemistry, ecology, and data science. Field work involves getting your hands dirty: sampling water quality in local watersheds, monitoring forest health, restoring degraded habitats, or testing agricultural soils.

What you'll do after college

Graduates are highly sought after by environmental protection agencies (like the EPA or state equivalents), conservation nonprofits, agricultural sectors, and environmental consulting firms. Their day-to-day might involve ecological surveying, ensuring regulatory compliance, managing land or water resources, or running environmental toxicity tests.

Famous graduates

M. Sanjayan - CEO of Conservation International, B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Oregon

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$54,671

765

100–93%

$51,856

1,545

93–87%

$52,205

2,316

87–82%

$53,075

3,070

82–70%

$56,152

3,096

70–45%

$55,663

2,283

45–30%

$58,074

1,607

30–13%

$64,172

736

13–0%

Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$50,119

565

400–1050

$50,485

1,182

1050–1130

$52,269

1,737

1130–1200

$53,199

2,295

1200–1280

$56,824

2,303

1280–1370

$55,600

1,776

1370–1440

$60,178

1,130

1450–1500

$61,396

607

1500–1600

Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings vs. selectivity rank

Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major	Colleges	Degrees ▼	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	Employment
Environmental Science	699	15,572	36% / 64%	2%	$54,195	95%
Environmental Science	430	6,365	37% / 63%	2%	$53,815	95%
Environmental Studies	361	6,111	34% / 66%	2%	$53,243	95%
Natural Sciences	56	694	29% / 71%	5%	$55,169	94%
Natural Resources	11	415	45% / 55%	0%	$49,681	97%
Environmental Sciences	8	397	30% / 70%	2%	$57,620	94%
Natural Resources Management	21	261	47% / 53%	0%	$55,249	97%
Environmental Science and Resource Management	1	155	27% / 73%	6%	$51,900	91%
Environment	1	118	15% / 85%	1%	$59,488	92%
Environmental Geosciences	8	104	32% / 68%	0%	$59,433	98%
Environmental and Resource Management	1	95	32% / 68%	1%	$59,517	92%
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences	1	84	48% / 52%	5%	$59,352	91%
Conservation and Resource Studies	1	79	27% / 73%	11%	$78,676	92%
Environmental Resource Science	1	79	34% / 66%	9%	$68,135	92%
Natural Resource Conservation	1	78	36% / 64%	1%	$55,177	97%
Natural Science	5	75	39% / 61%	3%	$62,524	100%
Ecological Restoration	1	51	37% / 63%	2%	$66,140	96%
Natural Resources and Environmental Science	1	39	28% / 72%	0%	$71,228	91%
Environmental and Natural Resources	1	38	39% / 61%	0%	$46,523	98%
Environmental, Geographical, and Geological Sciences	1	38	63% / 37%	0%	$55,606	96%
Environmental and Natural Resources Management	2	31	68% / 32%	0%	$52,129	98%
Earth & Environmental Sciences	1	30	40% / 60%	20%	$58,466
Marine and Environmental Sciences	1	29	24% / 76%	7%	$64,599
Natural Resources Law Enforcement	1	25	80% / 20%	0%	$55,892	98%
Marine Science, Safety, and Environmental Protection	1	22	64% / 36%	0%	$71,447	100%
Environmental Systems Science	1	21	48% / 52%	0%	$52,238	97%
Natural Resource Management	2	20	60% / 40%	0%	$49,852
Renewable Natural Resources	1	19	32% / 68%	0%	$71,841	96%
Environmental Resource Management	3	17	71% / 29%	0%	$58,758	93%
Environmental Management	1	17	59% / 41%	0%	$53,196	100%
Environmental Horticulture	1	14	43% / 57%	7%	$50,514	100%
Environmental Toxicology	1	13	54% / 46%	0%	$66,777	100%
Wood Science	3	10	50% / 50%	0%	$62,714	94%
Environment and Natural Resources	1	10	30% / 70%	0%	$52,238	97%
Environmental Sustainability	1	9	33% / 67%	0%	$53,158	100%
Environmental Analysis	1	6	50% / 50%	0%	$62,464
Water Resources Science	1	3	0% / 100%	0%	$53,082

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