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Major · Biological & Biomedical Sciences

An applied bachelor’s for biodiversity work and agency-pipeline careers

Conservation Biology (CIP 26.1307) is a bachelor’s-only program that applies biology to species preservation, habitat fragmentation, and ecosystem management. About 286 students complete it across 26 colleges, with five-year median earnings of $50,492 — modest entry pay anchored on agency, consulting, and nonprofit destinations.

Schools offering
26
Annual completions
286
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$50k

About this major

Conservation Biology (CIP 26.1307) applies biological science to biodiversity, species preservation, ecological sustainability, and habitat fragmentation under human pressure. The CIP definition spans ecology, extinction theory, human-animal and human-plant interaction, ecosystem science and management, wetland conservation, field biology, and natural history. Coursework pairs core ecology with GIS, statistics, conservation genetics, and increasingly R or Python for landscape and population modeling. Programs at top producers like SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (65 graduates), Unity Environmental University (59), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (58) anchor the major at field-station-equipped land grants and small environmental colleges.

Students who do well here arrive with a fixed interest in biodiversity at the landscape scale, comfort with cold or remote field work, and patience for the credentialing arc that conservation careers require. Day-to-day mixes field-methods labs, quantitative coursework, fieldwork at university preserves and partner agency lands, and writing-heavy assignments — population estimates, ESA Section 7 consultation drafts, NEPA-style technical reports, and grant proposals. Strong programs route undergraduates into Research Experiences for Undergraduates, museum curatorial work, and seasonal agency tech contracts that graduate admissions committees and federal hiring panels actually weigh.

One grounded observation about scale and trajectory: 286 students complete this CIP across 26 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning a five-year median of $50,492. That low completion total reflects administrative grouping more than cohort size — many conservation-track students get rolled into Ecology (26.1301) or Biology, General (26.0101, 83,027 completions) at their home university. The named occupations cluster around agency and consulting work: Conservation scientists at $67,950 with 3.4% growth and Biological scientists, all other at $93,330 anchor the bachelor’s-accessible range, while the postsecondary teaching tracks ($83,460 and $87,710) sit behind doctorates.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Biological science teachers, postsecondary $83k +7.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Biological scientists, all other $93k +1.2% Bachelor's degree
Conservation scientists $68k +3.4% Bachelor's degree
Environmental science teachers, postsecondary $88k +2.9% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$50k

Who this major is for

Strong fit signals: you committed to biodiversity and applied conservation work early enough that a narrower curriculum feels purposeful rather than confining. The bachelor’s reads as a launch into graduate study, since a master’s is the practical entry credential for any role titled Conservation Biologist. Specific destinations pull you — USFWS refuge biology, state DNR field-biologist work, environmental consulting compliance practice at firms like Stantec or Tetra Tech, or land-trust stewardship. Quantitative skills layer naturally on top of the bio core: R, Python, GIS, and remote sensing open the data-adjacent conservation roles emerging around camera-trap ML, eDNA, and landscape modeling.

Reasons to pause: the $50,492 five-year median reflects a graduate mix dominated by seasonal field-tech contracts at $15-22 per hour, not permanent professional positions. Reconsider this route if relocating annually to chase USFWS, USFS, or NPS seasonal postings sounds exhausting rather than adventurous, or if funding a 2-3 year graduate program feels out of reach when most permanent conservation biologist titles require it. Mechanism-level laboratory biology fits better in Cell/Molecular Biology (26.0406, 3,392 completions) or Biology, General (26.0101, 83,027 completions). The narrower scope versus Ecology (26.1301) and Biology General also matters if you want pre-health or biotech optionality.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Conservation Biology

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse, NY 0 65 65
Unity Environmental University New Gloucester, ME 0 59 59
University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 0 58 58
Boston University Boston, MA 0 17 17
Warren Wilson College Swannanoa, NC 0 13 13
University of Idaho Moscow, ID 0 11 11
Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL 0 10 10
Lincoln Memorial University Harrogate, TN 0 7 7
Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH 0 6 6
Grove City College Grove City, PA 0 6 6
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biology/Biological Sciences, General

83,027 completions/yr

Neuroscience

9,625 completions/yr

Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology

3,392 completions/yr

Nutrition Sciences

3,240 completions/yr

Human Biology

2,094 completions/yr

Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other

2,089 completions/yr

Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography

1,922 completions/yr

Sustainability Studies

1,590 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Conservation Biology majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition centers on applying biological sciences to biodiversity, species preservation, habitat fragmentation, and ecosystem management under human pressure. Coursework typically pairs ecology, conservation genetics, wildlife biology, wetland and forest ecology, and field methods with GIS, statistics, and increasingly R or Python for modeling. Programs at top producers like SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (65 graduates), Unity Environmental University (59), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (58) anchor the major at field-station-equipped land grants and small environmental colleges.
What jobs do graduates land at the bachelor’s level?
The packet names Conservation scientists ($67,950, 3.4% growth, bachelor’s entry) and Biological scientists, all other ($93,330, 1.2% growth, bachelor’s entry). Realistic bachelor’s destinations are seasonal biological technician roles at USFWS, USGS, NPS, USFS, and BLM at roughly $15-22 per hour, state DNR field-biologist positions, environmental consulting at firms like Stantec, Tetra Tech, ICF, and HDR doing ESA Section 7 and NEPA compliance work, and conservation nonprofit roles at The Nature Conservancy, Audubon, Defenders of Wildlife, and regional land trusts. Five-year median earnings of $50,492 reflect that mix.
Do I need a master’s or PhD?
For any role titled Conservation Biologist, yes — a master’s is the realistic floor and most permanent agency biologist slots require it. The packet’s named $93,330 wage for Biological scientists, all other and $67,950 for Conservation scientists reflect mid-career professionals, not entry-level techs. Both postsecondary teaching tracks in the data — Biological science teachers ($83,460) and Environmental science teachers ($87,710) — explicitly require a doctorate. Plan for two to four years of stacked seasonal field-tech work plus an MS before a permanent biologist title opens up.
How does this differ from Ecology (26.1301), Wildlife Biology (26.0709), and Natural Resources Conservation (03.0101)?
Conservation Biology (26.1307) is the applied middle of the field — biodiversity-focused and policy-adjacent. Ecology (26.1301) leans more theoretical and research-oriented, while Wildlife Biology (26.0709) skews vertebrate-management with field-tech-to-agency-biologist as the canonical arc. Natural Resources/Conservation, General (03.0101) sits in the natural-resources family and centers on land management, harvest regulation, and human-resource interaction. The packet flags 03.0101 and Environmental Science as cross-references for a reason: pick 26.1307 if biodiversity, GIS, and landscape-scale management problems are the draw.
Why does this CIP show only 286 completions if the field is high-profile?
The small completion total reflects administrative grouping rather than a small cohort. Many universities report conservation-track students under broader CIP codes — Ecology (26.1301), Biology, General (26.0101, 83,027 completions), or Natural Resources/Conservation. The 26 institutions reporting 26.1307 specifically are colleges that built standalone Conservation Biology degrees, often at land grants and small environmental colleges like SUNY-ESF, Unity, Warren Wilson, and University of Idaho. The actual labor pool of conservation-trained bachelor’s graduates is much larger than the 286 figure suggests.
Where does GIS, data science, and AI fit into Conservation Biology now?
Quantitative skills are reshaping the field. Camera-trap classification with machine learning, environmental DNA analysis, population genomics, satellite-derived land-cover modeling, and acoustic monitoring are creating data-adjacent positions at agencies, NGOs, and consulting firms. Students who layer R, Python, GIS, and remote sensing onto the bio core stand out for both graduate admission and the small but growing set of permanent quantitative-conservation roles. The Society for Conservation Biology serves as the professional anchor, and the traditional credential — undergraduate field experience plus an MS — still matters, but quant skills shorten the seasonal-tech ramp.