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Major · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

An interdisciplinary degree where the destination depends on what you pair it with

Sustainability Studies (CIP 30.3301) blends environmental science, policy, business, and social science. About 1,590 students complete the degree across 158 institutions, and tracked bachelor’s graduates earn a median of $60,188 in five-year wages — modest relative to STEM peers, with destination outcomes spread across science, policy, and management roles.

Schools offering
158
Annual completions
1,590
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$60k

About this major

Sustainability Studies (CIP 30.3301) is an interdisciplinary bachelor’s that approaches sustainability across environmental science, policy, ethics, ecology, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, economics, natural resources, sociology, and anthropology. Students typically take a science core (ecology, environmental systems, introductory chemistry or biology), a policy and economics core, and electives that range from GIS and life-cycle analysis on the technical side to environmental justice and humanities on the qualitative side. Where the program lives — a college of environment, a business school, a liberal-arts division — shapes the flavor heavily.

The major fits students who want to combine systems thinking across the natural and social sciences. Strong fit signals include comfort with both quantitative methods (statistics, environmental data, basic GIS) and policy or ethics writing, an interest in how environmental constraints meet human institutions, and a willingness to add a technical or graduate credential later. Reward goes to students who treat the breadth as a base layer and add depth — not students who treat the major as an end in itself.

A grounded read on scale and trajectory: 1,590 students complete this CIP each year across 158 institutions, with the heaviest concentrations at flagship public universities like the University of Utah (101 bachelor’s graduates), University of Wisconsin-Madison (89), and The University of Texas at Austin (88). Tracked bachelor’s graduates earn a five-year median of $60,188 — below the named environmental-scientist destination wage of $80,060, which signals that many tracked graduates are early-career or in lower-paying roles like environmental technician ($49,490) and sustainability coordinator. Higher outcomes (natural sciences manager at $161,180, urban planner at $83,720) sit further along the credential and experience ladder.

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
Postsecondary teachers, all other $78k +1.8% Doctoral or professional degree
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health $80k +4.4% Bachelor's degree
Urban and regional planners $84k +3.4% Master's degree
Social scientists and related workers, all other $100k -1.7% Bachelor's degree
Environmental science and protection technicians, including health $49k +4.0% Associate'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

$60k

Who this major is for

Strong fit signals start with a willingness to work across disciplines — environmental science, policy, economics, and social science in the same week — and an interest in concrete environmental and resource problems rather than abstract advocacy. Comfort with quantitative coursework matters: the graduates who land the named destinations of environmental scientists ($80,060) and conservation scientists ($67,950) typically carry technical skills like GIS, environmental data analysis, or life-cycle assessment. Strategic intent to add a credential — an MBA for corporate sustainability, an MS in environmental science, a master’s in urban planning for the $83,720 planner role, or a law degree for environmental policy — strengthens the bachelor’s materially. Grounded expectations about the $60,188 bachelor’s median round out the profile.

Reconsider this route if your target career requires a named technical credential employers recognize directly: environmental consulting firms, ecology-focused agencies, and environmental engineering employers often prefer Environmental Science (CIP 03.0104, 8,754 completions) or a named engineering or science discipline over the broader interdisciplinary label. Pause if you’re drawn to the field on values alone without an interest in the quantitative or policy methods the work actually rewards — sustainability-coordinator and entry-level compliance roles cluster near the technician wage of $49,490, not the manager wage. Reconsider also if graduate study isn’t in your plan, since several higher-pay outcomes in the data (urban planner, postsecondary teacher, social scientist) sit behind a master’s or doctorate.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Sustainability Studies

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT 0 101 101
University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 0 89 89
The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 0 88 88
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 0 87 87
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL 0 69 69
Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 0 56 56
Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 0 55 55
Florida International University Miami, FL 0 50 50
Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY 0 43 43
Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 0 40 40
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biological and Physical Sciences

25,374 completions/yr

Environmental Science

8,754 completions/yr

Environmental Studies

7,184 completions/yr

Cognitive Science, General

2,642 completions/yr

Human Biology

2,094 completions/yr

Data Science, General

2,068 completions/yr

Natural Sciences

1,708 completions/yr

Ecology

794 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Sustainability Studies majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition organizes coursework around sustainability from an interdisciplinary perspective — sustainable development, environmental policies, ethics, ecology, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, economics, natural resources, sociology, and anthropology. In practice, students take a science core (ecology, environmental systems, basic chemistry or biology), a policy and economics core, and electives that lean either quantitative (GIS, life-cycle analysis, environmental data) or qualitative (environmental humanities, justice). Programs vary widely by department — some sit inside a college of environment, others inside business or liberal arts.
What jobs do Sustainability Studies graduates end up in?
Tracked destinations include environmental scientists and specialists ($80,060, 4.4% growth, bachelor’s typical), conservation scientists ($67,950, 3.4% growth), and environmental science and protection technicians ($49,490, 4% growth, associate’s typical). Higher-paying outcomes — natural sciences managers ($161,180) and social scientists, all other ($100,340) — are mid-career or graduate-degree paths, not entry-level. Urban and regional planners ($83,720) typically need a master’s. Bachelor’s-only graduates often land in environmental consulting, corporate sustainability and ESG analyst roles, nonprofit program work, or government environmental compliance.
Is the bachelor’s enough, or do graduates need more school?
The bachelor’s is enough for entry-level environmental scientist, conservation, ESG analyst, and compliance roles, but the higher-leverage outcomes in the data require more. Urban and regional planners ($83,720) typically hold a master’s. Postsecondary teaching roles ($78,490 to $87,710) require a doctorate. Many graduates pair Sustainability Studies with an MBA, an MS in environmental science or environmental engineering, a master’s in urban planning, or a law degree to access higher-pay roles in corporate sustainability, energy policy, or environmental law.
Where do students actually complete this major?
All 1,590 completions are at the bachelor’s level across 158 institutions, with a heavy concentration at flagship public universities. The University of Utah leads with 101 graduates, followed by University of Wisconsin-Madison (89), The University of Texas at Austin (88), University of Florida (87), and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (69). Western Washington University (56), Oregon State (55), Florida International (50), Columbia (43), and Michigan State (40) round out the top ten. The data packet shows an associate’s pathway exists, but no top-ten institution reports associate’s completions — the degree functions almost entirely as a bachelor’s.
How do the wages compare with related environmental majors?
The packet reports a five-year bachelor’s median of $60,188 for Sustainability Studies. That sits below the named bachelor’s-tier destinations of environmental scientist ($80,060) and conservation scientist ($67,950), which suggests many tracked graduates are early in their careers or in lower-paying roles like technician ($49,490), nonprofit work, or sustainability-coordinator positions. Closely related majors — Environmental Science (CIP 03.0104, 8,754 completions) and Environmental Studies (03.0103, 7,184 completions) — are roughly five times larger and often more recognizable to environmental-science employers.
What if I care about sustainability but want better job leverage?
Two routes work. First, pair Sustainability Studies with a quantitative or technical secondary skill — GIS, environmental data analysis, life-cycle assessment, accounting for ESG reporting, or environmental engineering coursework — through a minor, double major, or focused electives. Second, choose a more specialized adjacent major. Environmental Science (CIP 03.0104) and Ecology (26.1301) lean technical and feed environmental scientist and conservation roles directly; Data Science (30.7001) opens climate-modeling and ESG-analytics paths. The interdisciplinary breadth is an asset only when paired with a technical depth employers can name.