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2025 Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools

233 Colleges in the United States
17,614 Bachelor's Degrees
$34,596 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #33 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 233 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 17,614 bachelor's degrees in natural resources conservation to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Natural Resources Conservation School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of natural resources conservation for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality conservation program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Conservation Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.

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 Resources Conservation in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Conservation

1
464 Annual Graduates
$47,338 Median Starting Salary
$27,918 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the natural resources conservation program at University of California - Berkeley get $12,742 more than the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of California - Berkeley

2
249 Annual Graduates
$36,266 Median Starting Salary
$27,559 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation needs to check out Texas A&M University - College Station. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of College Station.

Soon after graduating, conservation bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $36,266 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Texas A&M University - College Station

3
241 Annual Graduates
$38,954 Median Starting Salary
$26,101 Median Student Debt

University of California - Davis is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation. UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Davis.

Natural Resources Conservation bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Davis receive an earnings boost of approximately $4,358 above the typical income of natural resources conservation graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of California - Davis

4
220 Annual Graduates
$35,867 Median Starting Salary
$23,900 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation needs to check out University of Washington - Seattle Campus. UW Seattle is a very large public university located in the large city of Seattle.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the conservation program make around $35,867 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

5

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the large city of Madison.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program make about $28,824 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Wisconsin - Madison

6
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC

Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program earn about $28,121 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Duke University

7

Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduating, conservation bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $32,948 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from North Carolina State University

8
158 Annual Graduates
$29,690 Median Starting Salary
$18,575 Median Student Debt

UMass Amherst is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Amherst.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program make around $29,690 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Massachusetts Amherst

9
150 Annual Graduates
$33,132 Median Starting Salary
$31,377 Median Student Debt

UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the conservation program state that they receive average early career income of $33,132.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

10
108 Annual Graduates
$31,944 Median Starting Salary
$39,463 Median Student Debt

UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the conservation program earn about $31,944 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of California - Los Angeles

11
207 Annual Graduates
$30,899 Median Starting Salary
$28,722 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Bellingham, WWU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program make around $30,899 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Western Washington University

12
338 Annual Graduates
$33,759 Median Starting Salary
$32,297 Median Student Debt

UCSB is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the conservation program earn about $33,759 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of California - Santa Barbara

13
134 Annual Graduates
$29,264 Median Starting Salary
$17,980 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program make an average of $29,264 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

14
167 Annual Graduates
$29,152 Median Starting Salary
$30,033 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the conservation program make an average of $29,152 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of California - Santa Cruz

15
47 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Southern California

16

Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the natural resources conservation major at Cornell University earn $7,025 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Cornell University

17
92 Annual Graduates
$37,890 Median Starting Salary
$35,266 Median Student Debt

Iowa State is a very large public university located in the small city of Ames.

Bachelor's recipients from the natural resources conservation major at Iowa State University get $3,294 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Iowa State University

18
UVM crest
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT
232 Annual Graduates
$26,871 Median Starting Salary
$67,947 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Burlington, UVM is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program earn an average of $26,871 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Vermont

19

University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the midsize suburb of Charlottesville.

Natural Resources Conservation bachelor's degree recipients from University of Virginia - Main Campus get an earnings boost of approximately $7,194 over the typical earnings of natural resources conservation majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Virginia - Main Campus

20
143 Annual Graduates
$39,545 Median Starting Salary
$25,820 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the natural resources conservation degree program at Ohio State University - Main Campus earn $4,949 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Ohio State University - Main Campus

21
61 Annual Graduates
$38,908 Median Starting Salary
$74,289 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of Newark, UD is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Natural Resources Conservation bachelor's degree recipients from University of Delaware get an earnings boost of around $4,312 above the typical income of natural resources conservation graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Delaware

22
99 Annual Graduates
$26,899 Median Starting Salary
$32,429 Median Student Debt

UCONN is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Storrs.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program earn an average of $26,899 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Connecticut

23

Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Natural Resources Conservation bachelor's degree recipients from Northeastern University get an earnings boost of approximately $16,541 over the typical earnings of natural resources conservation graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Northeastern University

24
67 Annual Graduates
$37,286 Median Starting Salary
$44,460 Median Student Debt

Located in the fringe town of Durham, UNH is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the natural resources conservation degree program at University of New Hampshire - Main Campus earn $2,690 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of New Hampshire - Main Campus

25
132 Annual Graduates
$40,476 Median Starting Salary
$21,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the natural resources conservation degree program at Arizona State University - Tempe get $5,880 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Arizona State University - Tempe

Rest of the Top Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools

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27
28
29
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
30
Bucknell crest
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA
31
Colgate crest
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY
32
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

33
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

34
35
36
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
37
38
39
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
40
41

42
Colby crest
Colby College
Waterville, ME

43
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
44
45
46

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
47 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
48 South Dakota State University Brookings, SD
49 Baylor University Waco, TX
50 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
51 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
52 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
53 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI
54 Columbia Southern University Orange Beach, AL
55 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
56 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
57 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
58 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
59 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
60 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
61 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
62 University of Wyoming Laramie, WY
63 Fordham University Bronx, NY
64 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
65 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
66 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
67 University of Denver Denver, CO
68 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
69 Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA
70 The University of Montana Missoula, MT
71 University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA
72 California State University - Monterey Bay Seaside, CA
73 Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, MA
74 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
75 University of Redlands Redlands, CA
76 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
77 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO

Natural Resources Conservation by Region

View the Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 5 majors within the Natural Resources & Conservation area of study, Natural Resources Conservation has other similar majors worth exploring.

Conservation Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Environmental Science 8,016
Environmental Studies 7,988
Natural Resources/Conservation, General 1,493
Natural Resources Conservation & Research, Other 117

Majors Similar to Conservation

Related Major Annual Graduates
Wildlife Management 1,666
Natural Resource Management 1,427
Forestry 1,083
Fisheries Sciences 342
Natural Resources Conservation (Other) 70

Notes and References

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