undergradly.
Major · Natural Resources & Conservation

Investigate how ecosystems respond to human pressure and change

Environmental Science applies biology, chemistry, physics, and geoscience to understand and solve environmental problems — from pollution abatement to natural resource management. About 8,754 degrees are awarded annually across 681 colleges, with programs available at both the associate and bachelor's level.

Schools offering
681
Annual completions
8,754
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$55k

About this major

Environmental science sits at the junction of biology, chemistry, physics, and geosciences, organized around a practical aim: understanding how environmental systems work and addressing what goes wrong in them. Typical coursework builds from general chemistry and biology into more specialized territory — ecology, hydrology, soil science, atmospheric science, and the quantitative methods (statistics, mathematical modeling) that run through all of it. Field and laboratory work are present throughout, and most programs develop familiarity with environmental sampling, data analysis, and the regulatory landscape that shapes environmental careers. The CIP definition specifically flags pollution abatement, human-society-environment interaction, and natural resources management as the field's core problem areas — that framing reflects both where the coursework goes and where the careers are.

The major attracts students who want their science to connect directly to problems they can see — water quality, air quality, land degradation, ecosystem stress. If you find yourself energized by a specific environmental issue and want the technical foundation to work on it professionally rather than just advocate for it, that instinct aligns well with what this curriculum develops. Quantitative comfort matters: statistics and modeling are not peripheral, and students who treat the math as something to survive rather than something to use tend to find the upper-division coursework harder to navigate.

The program is offered at 681 colleges nationally, with 8,754 degrees awarded annually. Two career paths anchor the bachelor's-level outcomes: environmental scientists and specialists, at a $80,060 median wage with 4.4% projected growth, and compliance officers at $78,420 median. Both require a bachelor's degree as the typical entry credential. The technician-level roles — environmental science and protection technician ($49,490 median) and forest and conservation technician ($54,310 median) — are accessible at the associate's level and represent a different earnings and responsibility ceiling.

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
Compliance officers $78k +3.0% Bachelor's degree
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health $80k +4.4% Bachelor's degree
Environmental science and protection technicians, including health $49k +4.0% Associate's degree
Forest and conservation technicians $54k -3.2% Associate'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

$55k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$42k

Bachelor's

$56k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you're drawn to environmental problems that require scientific rather than purely policy-oriented solutions — if the idea of testing water samples, running air quality models, or evaluating contamination sites sounds like the actual work you want to do. You may also fit well here if you can hold both quantitative rigor and fieldwork in the same curriculum without one feeling like a distraction from the other, if you're interested in regulation and compliance as a career path (the $78,420 median for compliance officers is not far off the $80,060 for environmental scientists), and if a bachelor's degree is your plan — the earnings gap between bachelor's and associate's completers runs about $14,000 at the five-year mark.

Think twice if the policy, communication, or social-science dimensions of environmental work are what actually draw you — Environmental Studies offers comparable career access with more interdisciplinary flexibility, and you will likely find the coursework more engaging. Think twice also if you expect the curriculum to be largely field-based from the start; the quantitative methods, chemistry, and lab work are load-bearing parts of the degree, not electives to minimize. And if forest and conservation work is specifically your target, the -3.2% projected job decline in forest and conservation technician roles is worth factoring in before committing to that path as your primary goal.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Environmental Science

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 0 554 554
American Public University System Charles Town, WV 0 301 301
University of South Florida Tampa, FL 0 155 155
Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 0 140 140
University of California-Davis Davis, CA 0 132 132
Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH 0 127 127
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 126 126
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 119 119
Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 0 118 118
University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC 0 110 110
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Environmental Studies

7,184 completions/yr

Sustainability Studies

1,590 completions/yr

Natural Resources/Conservation, General

1,555 completions/yr

Geography and Environmental Studies

608 completions/yr

Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Other

112 completions/yr

Environmental Geosciences

84 completions/yr

Environmental Toxicology

14 completions/yr

Environmental Chemistry

7 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Environmental Science field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Environmental Science worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Environmental Science majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework blends biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences with quantitative methods — statistics and mathematical modeling show up early and recur throughout the curriculum. You will spend time in the lab and in fieldwork settings, collecting and analyzing environmental samples, running assessments, and building familiarity with regulatory frameworks. Upper-division work typically branches into areas like ecology, climatology, toxicology, or GIS-based spatial analysis depending on the program's emphasis. The CIP definition frames this as applying natural science principles to both understanding environmental systems and solving problems within them, so both the analytical and applied sides matter.
Do I need a bachelor's, or is an associate's enough for Environmental Science?
Degree level matters here in a concrete way. Bachelor's completers in this major report median five-year earnings around $55,777, while associate's completers report about $41,556 — a gap of roughly $14,000. More importantly, the two highest-paying career paths aligned with this major — environmental scientists and specialists at a $80,060 median wage, and compliance officers at $78,420 — both list a bachelor's degree as the typical entry credential. Associate's completers are more likely to enter technician-level roles like environmental science and protection technician ($49,490 median) or forest and conservation technician ($54,310 median). If your goal is the scientist or compliance track, plan for the four-year degree.
What kinds of jobs do Environmental Science graduates end up in?
The most direct destination is environmental scientist or specialist, which carries a $80,060 median wage and 4.4% projected job growth — the top-earning career in this field that a bachelor's degree directly enables. Compliance officers are a common adjacent path at $78,420 median with 3% projected growth; this role involves monitoring organizations for adherence to environmental regulations rather than conducting field research. Technician-level roles — environmental science and protection technicians ($49,490, 4% growth) and forest and conservation technicians ($54,310, -3.2% growth) — are accessible with an associate's. Teaching at the postsecondary level requires a doctoral degree. The -3.2% projected decline in forest and conservation technician jobs is worth noting if that specific path interests you.
How competitive is the job market for Environmental Science graduates?
Growth projections for the careers tied to this major are modest — 4.4% for environmental scientists and specialists, 3% for compliance officers, and 4% for environmental science technicians. None of those numbers are alarming, but none are standout growth stories either. The field's visibility has grown with expanded environmental regulation and climate-related hiring in government and the private sector, but the annual graduate pipeline — 8,754 completions at about 681 colleges — is large enough that competition for federal agency and large consulting positions is real. State and local government, environmental consulting firms, and corporate compliance departments tend to offer more entry points than federal research positions.
Is Environmental Science the right fit, or should I look at a related major?
Environmental Science is the most applied-science option in its cluster. If you want more policy and social-science framing alongside the hard science, Environmental Studies (7,184 completions per year) covers much of the same career ground with a broader interdisciplinary emphasis. Sustainability Studies (1,590 completions) is a smaller but increasingly popular option with more overlap into business and planning. If your interest is specifically in biological systems, Conservation Biology or Environmental Biology are tighter science programs. If you are drawn toward the regulatory compliance track specifically, note that Compliance Officer roles are also entered by graduates of business, law, and public administration programs — the environmental science route is one path among several.
What's a realistic earnings picture after an Environmental Science degree?
Five-year median earnings for this major run about $55,462 across degree levels, with bachelor's completers specifically at roughly $55,777. That puts this major in the middle tier of science-related programs — well below fields like chemical engineering or computer science, but above many humanities or social science programs. The environmental scientist occupation itself posts an $80,060 median wage, but that reflects experienced workers, not first-year hires. Early-career salaries in environmental consulting or government tend to start in the $40,000-$55,000 range depending on location and sector. The compliance officer path offers a somewhat higher floor over time, with that occupation's $78,420 median reflecting roles where regulatory expertise accumulates into salary.