Federal data
Highest earning master's natural resources conservation and research programs in the United States
U.S. natural resources conservation and research programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yale University | New Haven | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $75,985 | 103 |
| 2 | American University | Washington | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $73,531 | 30 |
| 3 | Harvard University | Cambridge | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $72,276 | 68 |
| 4 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $69,495 | 36 |
| 5 | Duke University | Durham | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $67,458 | 129 |
| 6 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $64,831 | 51 |
| 7 | Arizona State University | Tempe | Public, 4-year | $64,193 | 91 |
| 8 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | Arcata | Public, 4-year | $63,768 | 43 |
| 9 | American Public University System | Charles Town | For-profit, 4-year | $63,243 | 105 |
| 10 | Columbia University in the City of New York | New York | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $62,493 | 60 |
| 11 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor | Public, 4-year | $59,248 | 150 |
| 12 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | Fort Collins | Public, 4-year | $58,561 | 57 |
| 13 | University of Colorado | Boulder | Public, 4-year | $57,788 | 67 |
| 14 | University of California-Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public, 4-year | $55,039 | 63 |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison | Public, 4-year | $53,256 | 36 |
| 16 | Indiana University-Bloomington | Bloomington | Public, 4-year | $52,181 | 73 |
| 17 | Antioch University | Keene | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $38,137 | 40 |
| 18 | Western Colorado University | Gunnison | Public, 4-year | $37,354 | 41 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.
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