2025 Best Natural Resource Management Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

When it comes to popularity, a bachelor's degree in natural resource management sits in the middle of the road, ranking #149 out of 363 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.

College Factual looked at 2 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Natural Resource Management Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 62 bachelor's degrees in natural resource management to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to natural resource management students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other natural resource management students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt natural resource management students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized natural resource management related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for natural resource management students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The resource management school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Natural Resource Management Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Natural Resource Management in the Plains States Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in natural resource management.

Top Plains States Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Resource Management

1

South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD

16 Annual Graduates

South Dakota State University is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in natural resource management. South Dakota State is a fairly large public university located in the town of Brookings.More information about a bachelor’s in natural resource management from South Dakota State University

2

North Dakota State University - Main Campus
Fargo, ND

22 Annual Graduates

$40,971 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat North Dakota State University - Main Campus if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in natural resource management. North Dakota State University is a large public university located in the midsize city of Fargo.

After graduation, resource management bachelor's recipients generally make around $40,971 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resource management from North Dakota State University - Main Campus

Best Natural Resource Management Colleges by State

Explore the best natural resource management colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	228	12
Minnesota	215	2
Iowa	197	2
Nebraska	180	2
North Dakota	149	27
South Dakota	148	13

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Resource Management

Natural Resource Management is one of 5 different types of Natural Resources & Conservation programs to choose from.

Resource Management Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy	46
Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services	16

Most Popular Majors Related to Resource Management

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation	1,102
Wildlife Management	138
Forestry	48
Natural Resources Conservation (Other)	13
Fisheries Sciences	2

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Brian M. Powell. More about our data sources and methodologies.