2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region
12
Ranked Colleges
2,179
Degrees Awarded
$17,000
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking.
Natural Resources & Conservation is the 25th most popular major in the country with 30,503 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, natural resources and conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $35,158 and had an average of $23,267 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 2,179 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,077 and $22,865 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural resources and conservation. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent natural resources and conservation programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the natural resources and conservation program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Natural Resources & Conservation Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students.
Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation in the Rocky Mountains Region
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wyoming landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Wyoming is located in Laramie, Wyoming and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 81 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Wyoming is $11,085 for Rocky Mountains Region Natural Resources & Conservation students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Wyoming Natural Resources & Conservation Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Utah State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region. Utah State University is a public institution located in Logan, Utah. The school has a large population, and it awarded 112 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
USU also took the #5 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Utah State University is $13,257 for rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Utah State University
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado State University - Fort Collins landed the #3 spot on the list. Colorado State is a large public school situated in Fort Collins, Colorado. It awarded 273 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
Colorado State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Colorado State is $18,679 for Rocky Mountains Region Natural Resources & Conservation students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Colorado State
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Colorado University landed the #4 spot on the list. Western is a small school located in Gunnison, Colorado that handed out 62 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students list, Western has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Western is $16,690 for Rocky Mountains Region Natural Resources & Conservation students.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Western Colorado University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Idaho. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region. U of I is a fairly large school located in Moscow, Idaho that handed out 197 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at U of I, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for U of I is $13,964 for Rocky Mountains Region Natural Resources & Conservation students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Idaho Natural Resources & Conservation Report
Fort Lewis College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Durango, Colorado is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to 33 students in 2020-2021.
FLC also took the #12 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $16,255 for Rocky Mountains Region Natural Resources & Conservation students per year to attend Fort Lewis College.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Fort Lewis College
The University of Montana came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Missoula, Montana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to 230 students in 2020-2021.
UM also took the #7 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $14,755 for rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students per year to attend UM.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at UM
With a ranking of #8, University of Utah did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. University of Utah is a large public school situated in Salt Lake City, Utah. It awarded 98 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
U of U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Utah is $13,572 for rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Utah
Boise State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Boise State University is a large public school situated in Boise, Idaho. It awarded 48 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
Boise State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Boise State is $16,153 for Rocky Mountains Region Natural Resources & Conservation students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Boise State
Metropolitan State University of Denver did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #10. MSU Denver is a fairly large school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 40 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
MSU Denver did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for MSU Denver is $14,313 for rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at MSU Denver
University of Colorado Boulder ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. CU - Boulder is located in Boulder, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 268 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students list, CU - Boulder has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CU - Boulder is $20,967 for rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Colorado Boulder
University of Denver landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. University of Denver is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Denver, Colorado. It awarded 203 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
DU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $33,830 for rocky mountains region natural resources & conservation students per year to attend DU.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full DU Natural Resources & Conservation Report
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.
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