2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Sustainability Studies
12
Ranked Colleges
36
Degrees Awarded
$32,900
Avg Cost*

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Sustainability Studies is the 248th most popular major in the country with 3,745 degrees awarded in 2021-2022.
At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 36 sustainability studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,735 and $124,256 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in sustainability studies. That schools that top this list have a program in sustainability studies in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Sustainability Studies Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major” list to help you make the college decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major
The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree sustainability students.
Top 12 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Sustainability Studies
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major list. UNC Charlotte is a large public school situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. It awarded 11 doctorate’s sustainability degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Sustainability Studies at University of North Carolina at Charlotte
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend West Virginia University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major. WVU is a public institution located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Sustainability Studies at West Virginia University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Georgia. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major. UGA is located in Athens, Georgia and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s sustainability degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Sustainability Studies at University of Georgia
Out of the 12 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in New York, New York, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s sustainability students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Columbia University in the City of New York Sustainability Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rochester Institute of Technology. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major. Rochester Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Rochester, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Sustainability Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major ranking. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Sustainability Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
With a ranking of #7, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major list. WUSTL is a private not-for-profit institution located in Saint Louis, Missouri. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Sustainability Studies at Washington University in St Louis
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major ranking. University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is located in Norman, Oklahoma and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s sustainability degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Sustainability Studies Report
Arizona State University - Tempe came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major ranking. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s sustainability degrees to 4 students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Sustainability Studies at Arizona State University - Tempe
University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major ranking. UIC is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 1 doctorate’s sustainability degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full University of Illinois at Chicago Sustainability Studies Report
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major ranking. This large school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 76 doctorate’s sustainability degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Sustainability Studies at U-M
Utah State University ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Sustainability Major list. Located in Logan, Utah, this large public school awarded 29 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s sustainability students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Sustainability Studies at USU
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits