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Most Popular Schools for Natural Resources & Conservation

2026 Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools

There are 1,206 colleges that offer a degree in Natural Resources & Conservation. The most popular schools, by student demand, are below:

Finding the Best Natural Resources & Conservation School for You

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which Natural Resources & Conservation program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendance, there are many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience.

The Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 1,206 schools in the United States to see which Natural Resources & Conservation programs were the most popular. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school’s program.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools.

#1

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR

Our 2026 rankings named Oregon State University the most popular school in the U.S. for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Located in Corvallis, OR, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 671 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $47,459. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Oregon State University

Southern New Hampshire University landed the #2 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. Located in Manchester, NH, this is a private nonprofit institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 554 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $54,644. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Southern New Hampshire University

University of California-Berkeley landed the #3 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. University of California-Berkeley is a public school located in Berkeley, CA. This school awarded 540 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $57,445. Full Natural Resources & Conservation at University of California-Berkeley Report

University of Wisconsin-Madison landed the #4 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. University of Wisconsin-Madison is a public school located in Madison, WI. During the most recent year for which we have data, 501 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $53,379. Read More…

American Public University System landed the #5 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. Located in Charles Town, WV, this is a private for-profit institution. This school awarded 463 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $57,877. Read More…

University of California-Santa Barbara landed the #6 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. Located in Santa Barbara, CA, this is a public institution. This school awarded 434 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $38,259. Full Natural Resources & Conservation at University of California-Santa Barbara Report

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University comes in at #7 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public school located in Blacksburg, VA. This school awarded 407 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $59,604. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

University of California-Davis landed the #8 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. University of California-Davis is a public school located in Davis, CA. During the most recent year for which we have data, 397 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $41,123. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of California-Davis

#9

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida landed the #9 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. Located in Gainesville, FL, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 388 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $48,898. Full Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Florida Report

North Carolina State University at Raleigh landed the #10 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public school located in Raleigh, NC. This school awarded 364 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $50,866. Read More…

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor comes in at #11 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Located in Ann Arbor, MI, this is a public institution. This school awarded 364 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $64,597. Full Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Report

California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt comes in at #12 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Located in Arcata, CA, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 306 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $30,678. Read More…

#13

University of Vermont

Burlington, VT

University of Vermont landed the #13 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. Located in Burlington, VT, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 302 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $40,117. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Vermont

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point landed the #14 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is a public school located in Stevens Point, WI. This school awarded 298 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,073. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Texas A&M University-College Station landed the #15 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. Texas A&M University-College Station is a public school located in College Station, TX. This school awarded 297 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $54,018. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Texas A&M University-College Station

University of Washington-Seattle Campus landed the #16 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. University of Washington-Seattle Campus is a public school located in Seattle, WA. This school awarded 293 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $53,990. Full Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Washington-Seattle Campus Report

University of Colorado Boulder comes in at #17 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Located in Boulder, CO, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 292 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $48,932. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Colorado Boulder

Colorado State University-Fort Collins landed the #18 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. Located in Fort Collins, CO, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 289 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $43,283. Read More…

Ohio State University-Main Campus comes in at #19 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Ohio State University-Main Campus is a public school located in Columbus, OH. This school awarded 274 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $49,087. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Ohio State University-Main Campus

#20

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, AZ

Northern Arizona University comes in at #20 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Located in Flagstaff, AZ, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 261 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $45,100. Read More…

University of Massachusetts-Amherst comes in at #21 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. University of Massachusetts-Amherst is a public school located in Amherst, MA. During the most recent year for which we have data, 237 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $51,780. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Massachusetts-Amherst

#22

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University comes in at #22 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Located in East Lansing, MI, this is a public institution. This school awarded 232 degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $50,898. Full Natural Resources & Conservation at Michigan State University Report

#23

University of Idaho

Moscow, ID

University of Idaho landed the #23 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking. Located in Moscow, ID, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 230 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $40,058. Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Idaho

#24

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University comes in at #24 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. Duke University is a private nonprofit school located in Durham, NC. During the most recent year for which we have data, 225 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $74,497. Full Natural Resources & Conservation at Duke University Report

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry comes in at #25 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation majors. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry is a public school located in Syracuse, NY. During the most recent year for which we have data, 214 people earned their degree in Natural Resources & Conservation from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669. Read More…

#26

Yale University

New Haven, CT
#27

University of Denver

Denver, CO
#28

Auburn University

Auburn, AL
#29

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ
#31

Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA
#34

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
#36

The University of Montana

Missoula, MT
#37

University of Georgia

Athens, GA
#38

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA
#40

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL
#43

Mississippi State University

Mississippi State, MS
#45

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI
#46

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL
#47

Reedley College

Reedley, CA
#48

University of Maine

Orono, ME
#49

University of Oregon

Eugene, OR
#50

Unity Environmental University

New Gloucester, ME

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for this major that just missed the list above.

Rank College Location
51 University of Phoenix-Arizona Phoenix, AZ
52 University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC
53 University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO
54 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
55 Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
56 University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
57 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
58 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH
59 University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
60 Iowa State University Ames, IA
61 Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN
62 Appalachian State University Boone, NC
63 Hocking College Nelsonville, OH
64 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
65 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
66 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE
67 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
68 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
69 Northeastern University Boston, MA
70 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
71 Minnesota North College Hibbing, MN
72 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN
73 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
74 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD
75 Columbia Southern University Orange Beach, AL
76 Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH
77 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
78 University of Delaware Newark, DE
79 Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL
80 Montana State University Bozeman, MT
81 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
82 Clemson University Clemson, SC
83 Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX
84 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
85 University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV
86 The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX
87 American University Washington, DC
88 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
89 Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science Paul Smiths, NY
90 University of Chicago Chicago, IL
91 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA
92 Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI
93 The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN
94 University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA
95 University of Wyoming Laramie, WY
96 Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX
97 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
98 California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA
99 University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI
100 Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH
101 Antioch University-New England Keene, NH
102 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
103 University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK
104 California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA
105 Eckerd College Saint Petersburg, FL
106 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
107 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
108 University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA
109 Portland State University Portland, OR
110 Tufts University Medford, MA
111 University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC
112 Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI
113 Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN
114 South Dakota State University Brookings, SD
115 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
116 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
117 Utah State University Logan, UT
118 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
119 Stockton University Galloway, NJ
120 University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA
121 Brown University Providence, RI
122 Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO
123 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
124 University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD
125 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
126 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL
127 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
128 University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA
129 Finger Lakes Community College Canandaigua, NY
130 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
131 Baylor University Waco, TX
132 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
133 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
134 Front Range Community College Westminster, CO
135 SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill Cobleskill, NY
136 Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, TX
137 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
138 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK
139 California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA
140 Broward College Fort Lauderdale, FL
141 Colby College Waterville, ME
142 George Washington University Washington, DC
143 Green River College Auburn, WA
144 University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC
145 Florida International University Miami, FL
146 Fort Lewis College Durango, CO
147 Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO
148 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
149 Delaware Valley University Doylestown, PA
150 Prescott College Prescott, AZ
151 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
152 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
153 Pennsylvania Western University California, PA
154 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
155 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
156 St Lawrence University Canton, NY
157 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
158 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
159 Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO
160 Lake Tahoe Community College South Lake Tahoe, CA
161 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI
162 Southern Oregon University Ashland, OR
163 University of Redlands Redlands, CA
164 Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC
165 California State University-Chico Chico, CA
166 California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA
167 Colgate University Hamilton, NY
168 Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY
169 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
170 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
171 University of West Florida Pensacola, FL
172 Bemidji State University Bemidji, MN
173 Coastal Pines Technical College Waycross, GA
174 Towson University Towson, MD
175 Bates College Lewiston, ME
176 Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH
177 Dickinson College Carlisle, PA
178 Fordham University Bronx, NY
179 Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA
180 Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO
181 Boise State University Boise, ID
182 Citrus College Glendora, CA
183 Clark University Worcester, MA
184 Emory University Atlanta, GA
185 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH
186 Washington State University Pullman, WA
187 Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Tifton, GA
188 CUNY Queens College Queens, NY
189 California State University-Channel Islands Camarillo, CA
190 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
191 University of Alaska Southeast Juneau, AK
192 Washington College Chestertown, MD
193 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
194 Otterbein University Westerville, OH
195 University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL
196 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD
197 Villanova University Villanova, PA
198 New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM
199 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX
200 University of Arkansas at Monticello Monticello, AR

Natural Resources & Conservation by Region

View the Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools ranking for a specific region near you.

Region
New England
Middle Atlantic
Great Lakes
Plains States
Southeast
Southwest
Rocky Mountains
Far Western US

More Natural Resources & Conservation Rankings

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this Most Popular Natural Resources & Conservation Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Natural Resources & Conservation Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation 23,853
Natural Resource Management 3,090
Forestry 2,460
Wildlife Management 2,419
Fisheries Sciences 407
Other Resources & Conservation 132

References

*The average salary above is for the top 25 schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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