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 7 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for natural resources & conservation students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 717 degrees in natural resources & conservation to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Natural Resources & Conservation School
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
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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.
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Best Schools for Natural Resources & Conservation in Illinois
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.
Top Illinois Schools in Natural Resources & Conservation
It's hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were about 119 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the natural resources & conservation program report average early career wages of $35,073.
Loyola University Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.
There were about 140 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 wages of $31,620.
It is hard to beat Augustana College if you want to pursue a degree in natural resources & conservation. Augustana is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Rock Island. This college ranks 21st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 9 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the natural resources & conservation program report average early career earnings of $34,394.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 58 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Those natural resources & conservation students who get their degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale make $2,308 more than the standard natural resources & conservation student.
University of Illinois at Springfield is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the midsize city of Springfield, UIS is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 55th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 45 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at UIS in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the natural resources & conservation major at University of Illinois at Springfield earn $14,676 more than the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the large suburb of Lake Forest, Lake Forest is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #289 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Lake Forest is a great college overall.
There were approximately 13 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at Lake Forest 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 wages of $26,153.
Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were about 37 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the natural resources & conservation program make about $25,318 in their early career salary.
NIU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 24th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 35 natural resources & conservation students who graduated with this degree at NIU 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 earnings of $32,157.
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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.
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.
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