2025 Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

If you're seeking a Master's Degree in natural resources & conservation, you will have fewer peers than average since the major degree program is the #23 one in the country in terms of popularity.This may make is a little harder to find a school that is a good fit for you.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of natural resources & conservation. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 160 master's degrees in natural resources & conservation during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’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 master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master'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.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to natural resources & conservation students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other natural resources & conservation students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt natural resources & conservation students go into to obtain their master'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 resources & conservation related body.

Our complete 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

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 Master's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Natural Resources & Conservation in Illinois

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for natural resources & conservation students seeking a a master's degree.

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

1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

36 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in natural resources & conservation needs to take a look at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 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

2

Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, IL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

45 Annual Graduates

Loyola University Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in natural resources & conservation. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in natural resources & conservation from Loyola University Chicago

Best Natural Resources & Conservation Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Natural Resources & Conservation Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

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

View All Rankings >

Natural Resources & Conservation Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation	154
Forestry	6

Majors Similar to Natural Resources & Conservation

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Engineering	1,498
Mathematics & Statistics	999
Biological & Biomedical Sciences	790
Engineering Technologies	383
Physical Sciences	323
Architecture & Related Services	168
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations	154
Science Technologies / Technicians	11
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences	6

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 Lynn Betts. More about our data sources and methodologies.