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2025 Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

33 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
2,440 Bachelor's Degrees
$32,522 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #33 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 33 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,440 bachelor's degrees in natural resources conservation to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Natural Resources Conservation School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of natural resources conservation for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality conservation program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for natural resources conservation students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Conservation Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 the Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Natural Resources Conservation in the Great Lakes Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Conservation

1

It's hard to beat University of Wisconsin - Madison if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation. UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the large city of Madison.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program make around $28,824 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Wisconsin - Madison

2
134 Annual Graduates
$29,264 Median Starting Salary
$17,980 Median Student Debt

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program earn an average of $29,264 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

3
143 Annual Graduates
$39,545 Median Starting Salary
$25,820 Median Student Debt

Ohio State University - Main Campus is a wonderful option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.

Natural Resources Conservation bachelor's degree recipients from Ohio State University - Main Campus get an earnings boost of approximately $7,023 over the average income of natural resources conservation majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Ohio State University - Main Campus

4
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
84 Annual Graduates
$37,170 Median Starting Salary
$33,155 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in natural resources conservation needs to look into Michigan State University. Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.

Bachelor's recipients from the natural resources conservation major at Michigan State University make $4,648 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Michigan State University

5
82 Annual Graduates
$31,369 Median Starting Salary
$28,171 Median Student Debt

UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the conservation program report average early career wages of $31,369.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

6

Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program make an average of $31,655 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Indiana University - Bloomington

7

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.

Those natural resources conservation students who get their bachelor's degree from Purdue University - Main Campus make $6,467 more than the average conservation student.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Purdue University - Main Campus

8
91 Annual Graduates
$32,118 Median Starting Salary
$26,709 Median Student Debt

GVSU is a very large public university located in the town of Allendale.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the conservation program make about $32,118 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Grand Valley State University

9
67 Annual Graduates
$30,797 Median Starting Salary
$60,352 Median Student Debt

Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Soon after graduation, conservation bachelor's recipients typically make about $30,797 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Loyola University Chicago

10
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
36 Annual Graduates
$28,430 Median Starting Salary
$18,631 Median Student Debt

Located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the conservation program report average early career earnings of $28,430.

More information about a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation from Central Michigan University

Best Natural Resources Conservation Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 551
Ohio 252 548
Illinois 241 371
Indiana 235 263
Wisconsin 213 452

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 Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Environmental Studies 1,207
Environmental Science 1,064
Natural Resources/Conservation, General 161
Natural Resources Conservation & Research, Other 8

Majors Similar to Conservation

Related Major Annual Graduates
Wildlife Management 214
Natural Resource Management 205
Forestry 160
Fisheries Sciences 150
Natural Resources Conservation (Other) 13

Notes and References

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