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2025 Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools

81 Colleges in the United States
5,399 Master's Degrees
$55,242 Avg Early-Career Salary
You'll be studying one of the lesser sought-after majors if you pursue a Master's Degree in natural resources & conservation. It is ranked #23 out of 37 major degree programs in terms of popularity. As such, your educational options may be more limited than if you were in a more popular field.

College Factual reviewed 81 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of natural resources & conservation. Combined, these schools handed out 5,399 master'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 Master's Degree

Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools Your choice of natural resources & conservation for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree 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.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

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 master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Natural Resources & Conservation Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Natural Resources & Conservation Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The natural resources & conservation 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 Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Natural Resources & Conservation in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master'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.

16 Top Schools for a Master's in Natural Resources & Conservation

1
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
216 Annual Graduates

Duke University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a master's degree in natural resources & conservation. Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Duke University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
52 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in natural resources & conservation needs to check out University of California - Berkeley. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of California - Berkeley

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
29 Annual Graduates

University of California - Davis is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in natural resources & conservation. UC Davis is a very large public university located in the small suburb of Davis.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of California - Davis

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
250 Annual Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a good choice for students interested in a master's degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
25 Annual Graduates

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

6
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
111 Annual Graduates

Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Virginia Tech

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 Annual Graduates

University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Charlottesville.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Virginia - Main Campus

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
81 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from North Carolina State University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 Annual Graduates

UW Seattle is a very large public university located in the large city of Seattle.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
18 Annual Graduates

UMass Amherst is a very large public university located in the small city of Amherst.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Massachusetts Amherst

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
40 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Northeastern University

12
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Annual Graduates

UF is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Gainesville.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Florida

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
79 Annual Graduates

UCSB is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of California - Santa Barbara

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
57 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the large city of Madison.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Wisconsin - Madison

15
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
25 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Bellingham, WWU is a public university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Western Washington University

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11 Annual Graduates

UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

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

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 Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
17 American University Washington, DC
18 University of Denver Denver, CO
19 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
20 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
21 George Washington University Washington, DC
22 University of Georgia Athens, GA
23 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
24 Tufts University Medford, MA
25 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
26 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
27 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA

Natural Resources & Conservation by Region

View the Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master'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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Natural Resources & Conservation Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation 3,728
Natural Resource Management 1,046
Forestry 329
Wildlife Management 228
Fisheries Sciences 42
Natural Resources Conservation (Other) 26

Related Major Annual Graduates
Engineering 54,258
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 23,405
Mathematics & Statistics 13,187
Engineering Technologies 8,568
Architecture & Related Services 7,438
Physical Sciences 7,174
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations 3,185
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 1,122
Science Technologies / Technicians 93

Notes and References

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