2024 Best Natural Resources & Conservation Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Natural Resources & Conservation is about average in terms of popularity for doctor's degrees programs. That is, it ranks #21 out of the 36 majors across the country that we analyze each year. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for natural resources & conservation students pursuing a doctor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 74 doctor's degrees in natural resources & conservation during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

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

The natural resources & conservation doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality natural resources & conservation program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on natural resources & conservation students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other natural resources & conservation students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt natural resources & conservation students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized natural resources & conservation related body.

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 doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The natural resources & 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 Doctor's Degree Schools in California.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Natural Resources & Conservation in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in natural resources & conservation.

Top California Schools for a Doctorate in Natural Resources & Conservation

1

University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

44 Annual Graduates

University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in natural resources & conservation. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.More information about a doctorate in natural resources & conservation from University of California - Berkeley

2

University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

3 Annual Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is a good option for individuals interested in a doctor's degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in natural resources & conservation from University of California - Los Angeles

3

University of California - Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

3 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in natural resources & conservation has to take a look at University of California - Santa Barbara. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in natural resources & conservation from University of California - Santa Barbara

4

University of California - Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

8 Annual Graduates

University of California - Santa Cruz is a wonderful choice for students interested in a doctor's degree in natural resources & conservation. UC Santa Cruz is a large public university located in the city of Santa Cruz.More information about a doctorate in natural resources & conservation from University of California - Santa Cruz

4

University of California - Riverside
Riverside, CA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

1 Annual Graduates

University of California - Riverside is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in natural resources & conservation. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in natural resources & conservation from University of California - Riverside

Best Natural Resources & Conservation Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	27	23
Oregon	27	28
Nevada	25	0
Hawaii	23	2
Alaska	10	6

View All Rankings >

Natural Resources & Conservation Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation	74

Most Popular Majors Related to Natural Resources & Conservation

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Engineering	1,252
Biological & Biomedical Sciences	935
Physical Sciences	793
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations	268
Mathematics & Statistics	245
Architecture & Related Services	36
Engineering Technologies	26

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts. More about our data sources and methodologies.