2023 Best Value Colleges for Sustainability Studies in the Plains States Region
3
Ranked Colleges
193
Degrees Awarded
$20,800
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 3,005 people earned their degree in sustainability studies, making the major the 248th most popular in the United States.
Across the Plains States region, there were 193 sustainability studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in sustainability studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality sustainability studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the sustainability studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Plains States Region” list to help you make the college decision.
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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Plains States Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Plains States Region.
Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Sustainability Studies in the Plains States Region
Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Iowa State is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 22 ’s sustainability degrees in 2020-2021.
Iowa State also took the #3 spot in our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $16,002 for plains states region sustainability students per year to attend Iowa State.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Full Iowa State University Sustainability Studies Report
Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Iowa is a large school located in Iowa City, Iowa that handed out 89 ’s sustainability degrees in 2020-2021.
Iowa also made our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for University of Iowa is $19,401 for Plains States Region Sustainability students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Iowa Sustainability Studies Report
Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington University in St Louis landed the #3 spot on the list. Saint Louis, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s sustainability degrees to 32 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at WUSTL, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Washington University in St Louis is $26,921 for Plains States Region Sustainability students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Sustainability Studies at WUSTL
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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