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2024 Best Sustainability Science Schools

63 Colleges in the United States
3,005 Sustainability Science Degrees Awarded
$42,827 Avg Early-Career Salary
Sustainability Science isn't the most popular major in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #176 in popularity out of 395 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 63 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Sustainability Science Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,005 degrees in sustainability science during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Sustainability Science School

Best Sustainability Science Schools Your choice of sustainability science school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Sustainability Science School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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

Sustainability Science Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Sustainability Science
Master's Degrees in Sustainability Science
Doctor's Degrees in Sustainability Science

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Sustainability Science Schools 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.

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


 

Best Schools for Sustainability Science in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of sustainability science degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Schools in Sustainability Science

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
151 Sustainability Science Degrees Awarded
$60,336 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Columbia University in the City of New York if you want to pursue a degree in sustainability science. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were approximately 151 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Sustainability Science degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York earn a boost of approximately $17,509 over the typical income of sustainability science graduates.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from Columbia University in the City of New York

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
58.6% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat Stanford University if you wish to pursue a degree in sustainability science. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were approximately 29 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from Stanford University

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In TX
94 Sustainability Science Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat The University of Texas at Austin if you wish to pursue a degree in sustainability science. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were about 94 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from The University of Texas at Austin

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MO
32 Sustainability Science Degrees Awarded

Washington University in St Louis is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in sustainability science. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were approximately 32 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from Washington University in St Louis

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In MA
60.0% Growth in Graduates

WPI is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Worcester. This school ranks 5th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 5 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at WPI in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute

6
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In WI
40 Sustainability Science Degrees Awarded

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 roughly 40 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from University of Wisconsin - Madison

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Sustainability Science Degrees Awarded
$53,527 Median Starting Salary

U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize 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 53 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Those sustainability science students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $10,700 more than the standard sustainability science grad.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

8
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MA
46.7% Growth in Graduates

Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Medford. This university ranks 4th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were roughly 15 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from Tufts University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$38,619 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Oxford. This university ranks 3rd out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were about 23 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, sustainability science degree recipients typically earn around $38,619 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from Miami University - Oxford

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
86 Sustainability Science Degrees Awarded

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 86 sustainability science students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sustainability science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Sustainability Science students that almost earned our Best Sustainability Science Schools award.

Rank College Location
10 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
11 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
12 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
13 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
14 University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA
15 Presidio Graduate School San Francisco, CA

Sustainability Science by Region

View the Best Sustainability Science Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

One of 51 majors within the Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies area of study, Sustainability Science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Sustainability Science Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Sustainability Studies 3,005

View All Sustainability Science Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 34,975
Biological & Physical Science 30,075
Interdisciplinary Studies 9,074
International Studies 7,368
Nutrition Science 5,330
Behavioral Science 4,169
Cognitive Science 2,776
Natural Sciences 2,214
Human Biology 1,939
Human Computer Interaction 1,857

View All Sustainability Science Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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