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2025 Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

13 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
645 Master's Degrees
$49,386 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.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 13 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 645 master's degrees in natural resources & conservation during the 2022-2023 academic year.

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 in the Great Lakes Region 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 consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various 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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for natural resources & conservation students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Natural Resources & Conservation Schools

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More Natural Resources & Conservation Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Natural Resources & Conservation in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in natural resources & conservation.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Natural Resources & Conservation

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
250 Annual Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a great decision for students interested in a master's degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the medium-sized 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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
57 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in natural resources & conservation needs to look into University of Wisconsin - Madison. UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
25 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in natural resources & conservation has to take a look at Michigan State University. Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Michigan State University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you want to pursue a master's degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Indiana University - Bloomington

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Ohio State University - Main Campus

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Annual Graduates

UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
13 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Purdue University - Main Campus

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Annual Graduates

Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Loyola University Chicago

9
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10 Annual Graduates

DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from DePaul University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
21 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Green Bay, UW - Green Bay is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

Best Natural Resources & Conservation Colleges by State

Explore the best natural resources & conservation colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Illinois 34 109
Indiana 33 80
Ohio 32 71
Michigan 31 202
Wisconsin 31 105

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Natural Resources & Conservation Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation 559
Natural Resource Management 34
Forestry 31
Wildlife Management 21

Related Major Annual Graduates
Engineering 8,214
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 3,036
Mathematics & Statistics 2,194
Engineering Technologies 1,710
Physical Sciences 1,168
Architecture & Related Services 835
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations 425
Science Technologies / Technicians 15
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 10

Notes and References

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