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2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region

7 Ranked Colleges
230 Degrees Awarded
$24,400 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master's in the Rocky Mountains Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 22,202 people earned their degree in natural resources conservation, making the major the 50th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, natural resources conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,654 and had an average of $25,969 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 1,170 natural resources conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,033 and $25,307 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 230 natural resources conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,560 and $37,817 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in natural resources conservation. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality natural resources conservation programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the natural resources conservation program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Natural Resources Conservation Schools

The conservation school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region.

Top 7 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources Conservation in the Rocky Mountains Region

#1

University of Wyoming

Laramie, Wyoming

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wyoming landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Wyoming is located in Laramie, Wyoming and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 masters’s conservation degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wyoming are $16,615, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Natural Resources Conservation at University of Wyoming

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado State University - Fort Collins landed the #2 spot on the list. Colorado State is a large school located in Fort Collins, Colorado that handed out 38 masters’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

Colorado State also made our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Colorado State University - Fort Collins are $28,055, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Natural Resources Conservation at Colorado State

#3

Western Colorado University

Gunnison, Colorado

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Colorado University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in Gunnison, Colorado, this small public school handed out 43 degrees to qualified masters’s conservation students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region master’s degree conservation students list, Western has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Western Colorado University are $17,371, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Natural Resources Conservation at Western

#4

University of Idaho

Moscow, Idaho

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Idaho landed the #4 spot on the list. U of I is located in Moscow, Idaho and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 27 masters’s conservation degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region master’s degree conservation students list, U of I has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at U of I are $29,112, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Natural Resources Conservation at U of I

#5

The University of Montana

Missoula, Montana

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Montana. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. The University of Montana is a public institution located in Missoula, Montana. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 11 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UM are $23,242, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Natural Resources Conservation at The University of Montana

#2 in overall quality

University of Colorado Boulder did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #6. Boulder, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s conservation degrees to 71 students in 2019-2020.

CU - Boulder also took the #2 spot in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Colorado Boulder are $32,980, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Natural Resources Conservation at CU - Boulder

University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Conservation Schools for a Master’s in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in Denver, Colorado, this large public school awarded 20 degrees to qualified masters’s conservation students in 2019-2020.

CU Anschutz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus are $23,915.

Full University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Natural Resources Conservation Report

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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

Footnotes

  • *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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.

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