Federal data
Highest earning natural resources conservation and research programs in California
California 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 | University of California-Berkeley | Berkeley | Public, 4-year | $47,338 | 273 |
| 2 | University of Redlands | Redlands | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $46,164 | 40 |
| 3 | Ashford University | San Diego | For-profit, 4-year | $41,893 | 64 |
| 4 | Sonoma State University | Rohnert Park | Public, 4-year | $40,759 | 53 |
| 5 | University of California-Davis | Davis | Public, 4-year | $38,954 | 205 |
| 6 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $38,949 | 36 |
| 7 | University of California-San Diego | La Jolla | Public, 4-year | $37,524 | 54 |
| 8 | California State University-San Marcos | San Marcos | Public, 4-year | $37,364 | 60 |
| 9 | California State University-Sacramento | Sacramento | Public, 4-year | $37,308 | 71 |
| 10 | University of California-Irvine | Irvine | Public, 4-year | $36,304 | 38 |
| 11 | San Diego State University | San Diego | Public, 4-year | $34,090 | 88 |
| 12 | California State University-Long Beach | Long Beach | Public, 4-year | $33,870 | 45 |
| 13 | University of California-Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public, 4-year | $33,759 | 253 |
| 14 | California State University-Chico | Chico | Public, 4-year | $33,758 | 30 |
| 15 | University of California-Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public, 4-year | $31,944 | 65 |
| 16 | California State University-Monterey Bay | Seaside | Public, 4-year | $30,712 | 100 |
| 17 | University of California-Riverside | Riverside | Public, 4-year | $30,521 | 50 |
| 18 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | Arcata | Public, 4-year | $29,917 | 208 |
| 19 | University of California-Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz | Public, 4-year | $29,152 | 221 |
| 20 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public, 4-year | $28,749 | 44 |
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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