2026 Best Natural Resource Management Schools in California
Natural Resource Management is a field worth a close look when choosing where to study. A focused field like this rewards careful comparison of the schools that offer it.
For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 8 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for natural resource management students pursuing a degree.
What’s on this page:
Best Schools for Natural Resource Management in California
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall natural resource management education in California.
Top Schools in Natural Resource Management
No school ranked higher than California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo this year for natural resource management. California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo. About 86% of students finish within six years. California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo awarded about 136 natural resource management degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, natural resource management degree recipients from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo generally make around $37,126. Typical student debt for the program is $20,000.
More information about a degree in natural resource management from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
A rank of #2 makes California State University Bakersfield one of the top schools for natural resource management. California State University Bakersfield is a large public school located in the city of Bakersfield. California State University Bakersfield graduates 50% of students within six years. There were roughly 10 natural resource management students who graduated with this degree at California State University Bakersfield in the most recent data year.
See the full natural resource management program report for California State University Bakersfield
More Natural Resource Management Rankings
View All Natural Resource Management Rankings >
Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on a blend of student outcomes (graduation rate, post-graduation earnings), affordability, and program focus, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 8 schools evaluated.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
