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2024 Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Great Lakes Region

44 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
4,118 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
$32,801 Avg Early-Career Salary
You'll be studying one of the lesser sought-after majors if you pursue a degree in natural resources & conservation. It is ranked #25 out of 38 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.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 44 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for natural resources & conservation students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,118 degrees in natural resources & conservation during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Natural Resources & Conservation School

Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of natural resources & conservation school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for natural resources & conservation schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Natural Resources & Conservation Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation
Bachelor's Degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation
Master's Degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation
Doctor's Degrees in Natural Resources & Conservation

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Natural Resources & Conservation in the Great Lakes Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the natural resources & conservation degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Natural Resources & Conservation

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
312 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
12.8% Growth in Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in natural resources & conservation. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 312 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the natural resources & conservation degree program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $6,729 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
491 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
$24,435 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat University of Wisconsin - Madison if you want to pursue a degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were approximately 491 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the natural resources & conservation program report average early career wages of $24,435.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
235 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
5.1% Growth in Graduates

Ohio State University - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in natural resources & conservation. Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were about 235 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the natural resources & conservation program make around $33,416 for their early career.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from Ohio State University - Main Campus

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
$35,073 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you wish to pursue a degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 87 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Natural Resources & Conservation degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get an earnings boost of around $2,272 above the typical earnings of natural resources & conservation majors.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
107 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
$40,857 Median Starting Salary

IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Bloomington. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.

There were about 107 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Those natural resources & conservation students who get their degree from Indiana University - Bloomington receive $8,056 more than the standard natural resources & conservation grad.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from Indiana University - Bloomington

6
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
196 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
$33,041 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 196 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the natural resources & conservation program make an average of $33,041 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from Michigan State University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
107 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
11.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were approximately 107 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the natural resources & conservation program state that they receive average early career income of $31,620.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from Loyola University Chicago

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
295 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
$33,580 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Stevens Point, UW - Stevens Point is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 26th out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were about 295 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at UW - Stevens Point in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the natural resources & conservation program report average early career wages of $33,580.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
$30,036 Median Starting Salary

GVSU is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Allendale. This university ranks 9th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 60 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the natural resources & conservation program make around $30,036 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from Grand Valley State University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
124 Natural Resources & Conservation Degrees Awarded
8.1% Growth in Graduates

Purdue is a very large public university located in the city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were about 124 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the natural resources & conservation program earn around $32,076 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in natural resources & conservation from Purdue University - Main Campus

Best Natural Resources & Conservation Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Indiana 38 447
Michigan 38 955
Ohio 38 875
Illinois 38 557
Wisconsin 37 930

View All Rankings >

Natural Resources & Conservation Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation 3,064
Natural Resource Management 373
Forestry 259
Wildlife Management 245
Fisheries Sciences 144
Natural Resources Conservation (Other) 33

View All Natural Resources & Conservation Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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