2023 Best Environmental Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Rocky Mountains Region
8
Ranked Colleges
682
Degrees Awarded
$28,400
Avg Cost*
With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 9,899 people earned their degree in environmental studies, making the major the 87th most popular in the United States.
Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 682 environmental studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in environmental studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great environmental studies programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the environmental studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies
The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region vets studying ecosystem studies.
Top 8 Best Environmental Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Rocky Mountains Region
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Boulder landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Boulder, Colorado, and it awarded 268 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CU - Boulder, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 37,437 students enrolled at University of Colorado Boulder, 1,379 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 968 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,889. During this same period, 46 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Colorado Boulder offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Colorado Boulder]](/colleges/university-of-colorado-boulder/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wyoming. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies list. Laramie, Wyoming is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ecosystem studies degrees to 45 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, University of Wyoming supports 11,829 students, and 473 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 255 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,738. In addition to receiving other benefits, 13 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Utah. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies list. This large school is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it awarded 98 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
U of U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 33,081 students enrolled at U of U were GI Bill® students, of which 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Utah]](/colleges/university-of-utah/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Montana. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies. UM is a fairly large public school situated in Missoula, Montana. It awarded 36 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UM also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, UM supports 9,808 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 0 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
[Read full report on veteran student life at The University of Montana]](/colleges/the-university-of-montana/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Utah State University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies. Located in Logan, Utah, this large public school awarded 31 diplomas to qualified ’s ecosystem studies students in 2020-2021.
USU also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Our most recent data shows that 3 of the 27,691 students enrolled at Utah State University were GI Bill® students, of which 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $285. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at USU]](/colleges/utah-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #6, Boise State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies list. Boise, Idaho is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ecosystem studies degrees to 48 students in 2020-2021.
Boise State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, Boise State University supports 24,069 students, and 1,134 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 798 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,559. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Boise State University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Boise State University Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #7, Fort Lewis College did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies list. Fort Lewis College is a small public school situated in Durango, Colorado. It awarded 30 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
FLC also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Among the 3,469 students enrolled at FLC, 101 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 53 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,268. During this same period, 6 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Fort Lewis College]](/colleges/fort-lewis-college/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #8, Western Colorado University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Ecosystem Studies list. This small school is located in Gunnison, Colorado, and it awarded 62 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our rocky mountains region vets studying ecosystem studies list, Western has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 3,203 students enrolled at Western, 75 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 46 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $7,543. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.