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2025 Best Natural Resources Conservation Schools in the Southwest Region

17 Colleges in the Southwest Region
2,088 Conservation Degrees Awarded
$38,227 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in natural resources conservation, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #49 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 17 schools in the Southwest 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 2,088 degrees in natural resources conservation annually.

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

Choosing a Great Natural Resources Conservation School

Best Natural Resources Conservation Schools in the Southwest Region The conservation program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Natural Resources Conservation rankings. For our Best Overall Natural Resources Conservation School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

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

Pick Your Natural Resources Conservation Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Conservation
Master's Degrees in Conservation
Doctor's Degrees in Conservation

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 the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Natural Resources Conservation in the Southwest Region

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

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Conservation

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
305 Conservation Degrees Awarded
$36,266 Median Starting Salary

Texas A&M University - College Station is a good decision for students interested in a degree in natural resources conservation. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #42 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were about 305 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, conservation degree recipients typically make an average of $36,266 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in natural resources conservation from Texas A&M University - College Station

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
161 Conservation Degrees Awarded
10.6% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in natural resources conservation has to check out University of Arizona. Located in the city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #110 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Arizona is a great university overall.

There were approximately 161 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the conservation program report average early career earnings of $30,645.

More information about a degree in natural resources conservation from University of Arizona

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
232 Conservation Degrees Awarded
8.6% Growth in Graduates

Arizona State University - Tempe is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in natural resources conservation. ASU - Tempe is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Tempe. A Best Colleges rank of #108 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were roughly 232.00000000000003 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the natural resources conservation degree program at Arizona State University - Tempe get $13,499 more than the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in natural resources conservation from Arizona State University - Tempe

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Conservation Degrees Awarded
$31,707 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in natural resources conservation needs to check out Baylor University. Baylor is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Waco. A Best Colleges rank of #150 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Baylor is a great university overall.

There were roughly 37 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at Baylor in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the conservation program report average early career income of $31,707.

More information about a degree in natural resources conservation from Baylor University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Conservation Degrees Awarded
15.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #221 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NAU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 112 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at NAU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, conservation degree recipients typically earn about $31,097 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in natural resources conservation from Northern Arizona University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
110 Conservation Degrees Awarded
1.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #191 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were approximately 110 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the natural resources conservation degree program at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus get $3,830 more than the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in natural resources conservation from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

7
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Conservation Degrees Awarded
8.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of San Marcos, Texas State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 16th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were about 92 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at Texas State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the conservation program earn around $29,414 in their early career salary.

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

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Conservation Degrees Awarded
6.5% Growth in Graduates

OSU is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Stillwater. This university ranks 2nd out of 31 schools for overall quality in the state of Oklahoma.

There were about 31 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at OSU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the conservation program make an average of $35,385 in the first couple years of their career.

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

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Conservation Degrees Awarded
$36,601 Median Starting Salary

Texas Tech is a very large public university located in the city of Lubbock. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.

There were approximately 61 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the conservation program state that they receive average early career income of $36,601.

More information about a degree in natural resources conservation from Texas Tech University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
167 Conservation Degrees Awarded
43.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 8th out of 26 colleges for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were about 167 natural resources conservation students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Skysong in the most recent year we have data available. Natural Resources Conservation degree recipients from Arizona State University - Skysong earn a boost of approximately $13,499 over the average earnings of natural resources conservation majors.

More information about a degree in natural resources conservation from Arizona State University - Skysong

Best Natural Resources Conservation Colleges by State

Explore the best natural resources conservation colleges for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 317 965
Arizona 287 682
Oklahoma 257 160
New Mexico 219 31

View All Rankings >

One of 5 majors within the Natural Resources & Conservation area of study, Natural Resources Conservation has other similar majors worth exploring.

Conservation Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Environmental Studies 907
Environmental Science 846
Natural Resources/Conservation, General 335

View All Conservation Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Conservation

Related Major Annual Graduates
Wildlife Management 290
Forestry 173
Natural Resource Management 138
Fisheries Sciences 18
Natural Resources Conservation (Other) 4

View All Conservation Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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