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2024 Best Environmental Studies Schools in California

19 Colleges in California
1,729 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in environmental studies, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #87 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 19 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Environmental Studies Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,729 degrees in environmental studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Environmental Studies School

Best Environmental Studies Schools in California The ecosystem studies program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Environmental Studies rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for environmental studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

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

Pick Your Environmental Studies Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Ecosystem Studies
Master's Degrees in Ecosystem Studies
Doctor's Degrees in Ecosystem Studies

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Environmental Studies Schools in California 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 Environmental Studies in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the ecosystem studies degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in Ecosystem Studies

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
359 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

University of California - Berkeley is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in environmental studies. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were about 359 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from University of California - Berkeley

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In CA
80 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

University of California - Davis is a great decision for students interested in a degree in environmental studies. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were approximately 80 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from University of California - Davis

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
377 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat University of California - Santa Barbara if you want to pursue a degree in environmental studies. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were roughly 377 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from University of California - Santa Barbara

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In CA
39 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in environmental studies needs to look into University of California - Irvine. UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 39 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from University of California - Irvine

5
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In CA

Located in the midsize city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were about 26 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from Santa Clara University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
192 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Santa Cruz. A Best Colleges rank of #102 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Santa Cruz is a great university overall.

There were about 192 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from University of California - Santa Cruz

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
83 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

SDSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were about 83 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from San Diego State University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
83 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

UCSD is a very large public university located in the city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were about 83 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from University of California - San Diego

9
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
44 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

USFCA is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.

There were about 44 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from University of San Francisco

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In CA
41 Ecosystem Studies Degrees Awarded

SFSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Francisco. This university ranks 35th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 41 environmental studies students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental studies from San Francisco State University

Best Environmental Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Environmental Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 344
Oregon 587 190
Nevada 354 0
Hawaii 267 29
Alaska 167 16

View All Rankings >

One of 3 majors within the Natural Resources Conservation area of study, Environmental Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Ecosystem Studies

Related Major Annual Graduates
Environmental Science 1,329
Natural Resources/Conservation, General 349
Natural Resources Conservation & Research, Other 97

View All Ecosystem Studies Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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