CIP 03.0103 Natural Resources and Conservation

Environmental Studies

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

9,978

2025 · 457 schools

International share

6.5%

646 international students

Bachelor's degrees

8,147

2.7% international

Master's degrees

1,462

26.5% international

Overview

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the complex relationships between humans and the environment. This major combines elements from various disciplines, including ecology, geography, biology, sociology, economics, and political science, to provide a comprehensive understanding of environmental issues. Students in this field explore topics such as climate change, pollution, conservation, sustainable development, and environmental policy.

The curriculum typically includes both theoretical and practical components, allowing students to engage in fieldwork, research projects, and community service. This hands-on approach helps students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential for addressing real-world environmental challenges.

Graduates with a degree in Environmental Studies can pursue diverse career paths. They may work in governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, private corporations, or academic institutions. Common roles include environmental consultants, policy analysts, conservation scientists, and sustainability coordinators. Additionally, many graduates choose to further their education in specialized fields such as environmental law, public health, or urban planning.

In light of increasing global environmental challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, the demand for professionals in Environmental Studies is growing. This field not only equips students with knowledge and skills to tackle pressing environmental issues but also fosters a sense of responsibility and stewardship towards the planet, making it a vital area of study in today's world.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

1,547 03

3,366 04

3,605 05

3,725 06

3,711 07

3,969 08

4,051 09

4,822 10

5,632 11

6,698 12

7,720 13

7,793 14

8,074 15

8,200 16

7,853 17

8,952 18

9,025 19

9,412 20

9,451 21

9,730 22

9,912 23

9,683 24

9,978 25

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2003 to 2025, graduates grew 545% and the international share went from 2.9% to 6.5%.

International share (%)

3 03

3 04

3 05

3 06

3 07

3 08

3 09

3 10

3 11

2 12

3 13

4 14

4 15

4 16

4 17

6 18

6 19

6 20

6 21

6 22

6 23

6 24

6 25

Graduates by group, 2025

White

64.2%

Asian

5.1%

Hispanic

12.3%

Black

2.8%

Other

9.2%

Intl.

6.5%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 457 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

Rank	School	State	Graduates	International
#2	Princeton University	New Jersey	1	1
#3	Harvard University	Massachusetts	116	66
#4	Yale University	Connecticut	197	54
#7	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	127	56
#8	Duke University	North Carolina	101	42
#9	University of Chicago	Illinois	43	0
#9	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	1	0
#12	Columbia University in the City of New York	New York	53	28
#16	Washington University in St Louis	Missouri	28	1
#16	Brown University	Rhode Island	16	2
#16	Rice University	Texas	7	3
#20	University of California-Berkeley	California	204	28
#23	Georgetown University	D.C.	9	1
#23	Emory University	Georgia	39	1
#25	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan	118	1
#26	University of Virginia-Main Campus	Virginia	22	9
#27	University of Southern California	California	24	1
#27	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	43	0
#29	University of California-San Diego	California	68	4
#31	Boston College	Massachusetts	30	1
#31	Tufts University	Massachusetts	49	7
#31	New York University	New York	6	1
#34	University of California-Davis	California	125	9
#34	University of California-Irvine	California	76	5
#34	The University of Texas at Austin	Texas	19	11
#34	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Wisconsin	87	8
#42	Northeastern University	Massachusetts	71	5
#42	Villanova University	Pennsylvania	16	0
#44	University of California-Santa Barbara	California	353	13
#44	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	New Jersey	12	1
#44	Lehigh University	Pennsylvania	10	0
#49	University of Rochester	New York	8	0
#49	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	Washington	129	3
#55	Santa Clara University	California	21	1
#55	University of Miami	Florida	28	1
#59	George Washington University	D.C.	29	5
#59	Tulane University of Louisiana	Louisiana	24	0
#59	Brandeis University	Massachusetts	21	4
#59	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minnesota	1	0
#59	Stony Brook University	New York	32	1
#59	Texas A & M University-College Station	Texas	64	0
#69	Michigan State University	Michigan	72	3
#69	University of California-Merced	California	1	0
#72	Syracuse University	New York	4	1
#73	University of Connecticut	Connecticut	23	1
#73	Indiana University-Bloomington	Indiana	85	9
#73	Binghamton University	New York	45	1
#73	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	North Carolina	31	4
#80	University of California-Riverside	California	3	0
#80	Drexel University	Pennsylvania	5	0
#85	University of Delaware	Delaware	20	0
#85	Fordham University	New York	17	1
#85	University at Buffalo	New York	53	1
#90	Baylor University	Texas	21	1
#90	Gonzaga University	Washington	24	0
#90	Marquette University	Wisconsin	6	0
#95	American University	D.C.	69	18
#100	Florida International University	Florida	38	2
#100	University of Iowa	Iowa	22	0
#100	Saint Louis University	Missouri	15	0
#100	Elon University	North Carolina	7	0
#109	University of California-Santa Cruz	California	189	5
#109	Loyola Marymount University	California	28	3
#109	University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado	297	10
#109	Fairfield University	Connecticut	7	0
#109	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	New Hampshire	5	1
#109	Temple University	Pennsylvania	27	0
#116	University of San Francisco	California	46	4
#116	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	Oklahoma	16	0
#116	University of Oregon	Oregon	126	1
#121	Arizona State University-Tempe	Arizona	128	5
#121	University of Arizona	Arizona	12	1
#121	University of Denver	Colorado	1	0
#121	University of Central Florida	Florida	118	2
#121	Loyola University Chicago	Illinois	25	0
#121	University of South Carolina-Columbia	South Carolina	47	0
#133	University of Vermont	Vermont	154	1
#137	San Diego State University	California	64	2
#137	Clarkson University	New York	2	0
#137	St John's University (NY)	New York	5	0
#148	University of Kansas	Kansas	70	1
#148	University of Kentucky	Kentucky	34	1
#148	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	Massachusetts	11	0
#148	University of Tulsa	Oklahoma	2	0
#156	Florida A&M University	Florida	10	0
#156	Kansas State University	Kansas	4	2
#156	University of St Thomas (MN)	Minnesota	7	1
#156	Seton Hall University	New Jersey	4	0
#156	University of Portland	Oregon	8	0
#156	Duquesne University	Pennsylvania	1	0
#156	Virginia Commonwealth University	Virginia	59	0
#169	DePaul University	Illinois	21	0
#169	Butler University	Indiana	7	0
#169	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Nebraska	12	0
#179	CUNY Hunter College	New York	25	0
#179	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	Ohio	57	0
#179	University of Utah	Utah	44	12
#179	Seattle University	Washington	20	0
#191	Samford University	Alabama	7	0
#191	Drake University	Iowa	6	0
#191	Rowan University	New Jersey	17	0
#191	Adelphi University	New York	5	2
#191	Hofstra University	New York	1	0
#191	Washington State University	Washington	22	4
#202	University of Massachusetts-Boston	Massachusetts	10	0
#202	Ohio University-Main Campus	Ohio	24	3
#208	University of Idaho	Idaho	1	0
#208	Mississippi State University	Mississippi	16	1
#208	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	North Carolina	23	2
#227	San Francisco State University	California	30	0
#227	Ball State University	Indiana	6	4
#227	The New School	New York	11	1
#227	University of North Dakota	North Dakota	10	1
#227	University of Texas-San Antonio	Texas	9	0
#227	West Virginia University	West Virginia	4	0
#236	Kent State University at Kent	Ohio	62	0
#236	Pacific University	Oregon	2	0
#236	Portland State University	Oregon	25	1
#250	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	New Mexico	9	0
#250	Pace University-New York	New York	10	0
#250	South Dakota State University	South Dakota	17	0
#250	University of Wyoming	Wyoming	19	0
#262	Aurora University	Illinois	9	0
#262	University of New England	Maine	9	0
#262	Suffolk University	Massachusetts	1	0
#262	Central Michigan University	Michigan	24	0
#276	Northern Arizona University	Arizona	74	0
#276	Regis University	Colorado	1	0
#276	Western Michigan University	Michigan	10	0
#276	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	Ohio	10	0
#288	University of Hartford	Connecticut	1	0
#288	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	Illinois	23	6
#288	Utah State University	Utah	45	0
#288	Shenandoah University	Virginia	3	0
#299	Southern Connecticut State University	Connecticut	22	0
#299	Boise State University	Idaho	35	0
#299	University of Toledo	Ohio	8	1
#299	Tennessee Technological University	Tennessee	13	0
#299	Concordia University Wisconsin	Wisconsin	2	0
#308	Northern Illinois University	Illinois	27	0
#317	Morgan State University	Maryland	4	0
#317	Emory & Henry University	Virginia	4	0
#332	University of Baltimore	Maryland	1	0
#342	Cleveland State University	Ohio	10	0
#353	Arkansas State University	Arkansas	2	1
#353	Plymouth State University	New Hampshire	15	0
#353	Pennsylvania Western University	Pennsylvania	3	0
#365	Jackson State University	Mississippi	1	0
#365	The University of Montana	Montana	24	1
#382	Wilmington University	Delaware	4	2
#382	University of Southern Maine	Maine	5	0
#382	Texas Southern University	Texas	1	0
#382	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus	Puerto Rico	3	0
LAC #1	Williams College	Massachusetts	17	1
LAC #2	Amherst College	Massachusetts	15	1
LAC #3	Claremont McKenna College	California	7	2
LAC #3	Swarthmore College	Pennsylvania	11	1
LAC #10	Wellesley College	Massachusetts	17	0
LAC #12	Vassar College	New York	13	0
LAC #12	Washington and Lee University	Virginia	7	0
LAC #14	Wesleyan University	Connecticut	19	1
LAC #14	Hamilton College	New York	27	0
LAC #16	Carleton College	Minnesota	15	0
LAC #16	Davidson College	North Carolina	21	1
LAC #19	Middlebury College	Vermont	84	7
LAC #21	University of Richmond	Virginia	10	0
LAC #22	Colby College	Maine	17	1
LAC #22	College of the Holy Cross	Massachusetts	8	0
LAC #22	Smith College	Massachusetts	24	1
LAC #22	Colgate University	New York	43	1
LAC #26	Bates College	Maine	39	0
LAC #26	Haverford College	Pennsylvania	15	0
LAC #28	Macalester College	Minnesota	19	2
LAC #29	Bucknell University	Pennsylvania	15	0
LAC #30	Lafayette College	Pennsylvania	11	0
LAC #31	Denison University	Ohio	20	1
LAC #31	Bryn Mawr College	Pennsylvania	18	0
LAC #34	Colorado College	Colorado	22	1
LAC #34	Spelman College	Georgia	4	0
LAC #34	Mount Holyoke College	Massachusetts	29	2
LAC #34	Franklin and Marshall College	Pennsylvania	6	0
LAC #38	Occidental College	California	14	0
LAC #38	Scripps College	California	3	0
LAC #38	Trinity University	Texas	19	0
LAC #41	Skidmore College	New York	16	1
LAC #41	Kenyon College	Ohio	28	0
LAC #44	Pitzer College	California	2	0
LAC #44	Union College	New York	5	0
LAC #49	St. Olaf College	Minnesota	26	0
LAC #49	St. Lawrence University	New York	14	0
LAC #49	The University of the South	Tennessee	5	0
LAC #54	Centre College	Kentucky	9	0
LAC #54	Dickinson College	Pennsylvania	13	1
LAC #54	Gettysburg College	Pennsylvania	27	3
LAC #59	Oberlin College	Ohio	28	2
LAC #60	Hobart and William Smith Colleges	New York	13	0
LAC #60	Reed College	Oregon	21	0
LAC #62	Lake Forest College	Illinois	13	2
LAC #62	Gustavus Adolphus College	Minnesota	29	0
LAC #68	College of St. Benedict	Minnesota	10	1
LAC #68	Wofford College	South Carolina	21	0
LAC #68	Lawrence University	Wisconsin	2	0
LAC #72	Saint Anselm College	New Hampshire	3	0
LAC #74	Rollins College	Florida	24	1
LAC #74	Principia College	Illinois	2	0
LAC #74	St. John's University (MN)	Minnesota	8	0
LAC #78	Saint Mary's College	Indiana	5	0
LAC #78	Hope College	Michigan	1	0
LAC #78	Whitman College	Washington	3	0
LAC #83	Earlham College	Indiana	7	0
LAC #85	Knox College	Illinois	9	0
LAC #85	Stonehill College	Massachusetts	5	0
LAC #85	Drew University	New Jersey	3	0
LAC #85	Susquehanna University	Pennsylvania	6	0
LAC #85	Randolph-Macon College	Virginia	3	0
LAC #91	Augustana College	Illinois	14	1
LAC #91	College of Wooster	Ohio	10	0
LAC #91	Juniata College	Pennsylvania	2	0
LAC #91	Ursinus College	Pennsylvania	13	0
LAC #91	Washington and Jefferson College	Pennsylvania	4	0
LAC #91	Southwestern University	Texas	9	0
LAC #97	Washington College	Maryland	6	0
LAC #97	Lewis & Clark College	Oregon	38	1
LAC #97	Austin College	Texas	2	0
LAC #100	Hendrix College	Arkansas	7	0
LAC #100	Beloit College	Wisconsin	1	0
LAC #106	St. Mary's College of Maryland	Maryland	34	0
LAC #106	Pacific Lutheran University	Washington	7	0
LAC #111	Luther College	Iowa	14	0
LAC #116	Ohio Wesleyan University	Ohio	4	0
LAC #116	Saint Michael's College	Vermont	13	0
LAC #116	Roanoke College	Virginia	18	0
LAC #119	Albion College	Michigan	9	0
LAC #119	Meredith College	North Carolina	2	0
LAC #119	Christopher Newport University	Virginia	10	0
LAC #119	Ripon College	Wisconsin	5	0
LAC #125	Goucher College	Maryland	5	0
LAC #128	University of Minnesota-Morris	Minnesota	10	0
LAC #128	SUNY at Purchase College	New York	9	0
LAC #132	Eckerd College	Florida	60	1
LAC #132	Bennington College	Vermont	6	0
LAC #142	The College of Idaho	Idaho	8	0
LAC #150	New College of Florida	Florida	8	0
LAC #154	SUNY Old Westbury	New York	4	0
LAC #154	University of North Carolina Asheville	North Carolina	27	0
LAC #157	Randolph College	Virginia	2	0
LAC #160	Salem College	North Carolina	3	1
LAC #160	Albright College	Pennsylvania	1	0
LAC #168	Cottey College	Missouri	3	0
LAC #170	The Evergreen State College	Washington	23	0
LAC #172	Guilford College	North Carolina	3	0
LAC #172	University of Wisconsin-Green Bay	Wisconsin	12	0
LAC #175	Mitchell College	Connecticut	3	0
LAC #176	Virginia Wesleyan University	Virginia	6	0
LAC #181	Warren Wilson College	North Carolina	16	0
LAC #184	Fort Lewis College	Colorado	34	0
LAC #184	College of Coastal Georgia	Georgia	15	1
LAC #184	Indiana University-Southeast	Indiana	5	0
—	Arizona State University Digital Immersion	Arizona	145	1
—	University of Phoenix	Arizona	144	0
—	Columbia Southern University	Alabama	96	0
—	Appalachian State University	North Carolina	84	0
—	Stockton University	New Jersey	61	0
—	Grand Valley State University	Michigan	56	1
—	Western Washington University	Washington	56	1
—	Florida Gulf Coast University	Florida	56	0
—	California State University-Monterey Bay	California	45	0
—	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry	New York	44	2
—	Antioch University-New England	New Hampshire	44	0
—	Western Colorado University	Colorado	40	1
—	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt	California	39	0
—	Northern Michigan University	Michigan	38	0
—	The University of Tampa	Florida	37	1
—	California State University-San Marcos	California	36	0
—	California State University--San Bernardino	California	29	1
—	Prescott College	Arizona	28	0
—	Eastern Michigan University	Michigan	27	0
—	Webster University	Missouri	26	2
—	State University of New York at New Paltz	New York	26	0
—	University of North Georgia	Georgia	24	0
—	Western Kentucky University	Kentucky	23	0
—	Purdue University Global	Indiana	23	0
—	College of Charleston	South Carolina	22	0
—	University of Wisconsin--Oshkosh	Wisconsin	21	0
—	Sierra College	California	20	0
—	SUNY Maritime College	New York	20	0
—	Community College of Vermont	Vermont	20	0
—	Kentucky State University	Kentucky	19	18

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

Occupation	US employment	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage
Compliance Officers	417,070	$42.50	$88,400
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health	89,250	$44.08	$91,680
Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary	6,690	—	$103,610

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2003–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.

Environmental Studies

Overview

Graduates by year

Colleges that award this degree

Related jobs and pay

Other majors in Natural Resources and Conservation