undergradly.
Major · Natural Resources & Conservation

Tackle environmental problems through policy, science, and human systems together

Environmental Studies examines environmental issues through multiple lenses — ecological science, public policy, law, economics, and social analysis — rather than any single discipline. About 7,184 degrees are awarded annually across 511 colleges, with programs at both the associate and bachelor's level.

Schools offering
511
Annual completions
7,184
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$55k

About this major

Environmental studies as a formal major sits at the intersection of the natural sciences and the social and humanistic disciplines that shape how societies respond to environmental problems. Where environmental science builds from chemistry, biology, and physics toward applied technical practice, environmental studies assembles a broader toolkit — ecology, environmental policy and law, economics, ethics, and social analysis — and aims at the space where scientific knowledge meets human decisions. The CIP definition is explicit about this: programs may use scientific, social scientific, or humanistic approaches, or some combination. That design is not a weakness; it reflects the field's actual complexity. Environmental problems do not get solved by scientific knowledge alone, and programs in this family are built around that premise.

Coursework typically moves from foundational ecology and earth systems science through policy and regulatory analysis, environmental economics, and some combination of planning, ethics, or social dimensions of natural resource use. The specific mix varies more across programs here than in more tightly defined science majors — some lean quantitatively, others heavily toward public policy or social science. The interdisciplinary structure produces a different kind of competence than a discipline-specific degree: graduates tend to be fluent across the science-policy interface, able to translate scientific findings into policy recommendations or stakeholder communication, without necessarily being the person running the lab.

The program is available at 511 colleges nationally, with 7,184 degrees awarded annually. Career outcomes center on two main bachelor's-accessible paths: environmental scientists and specialists, at an $80,060 median wage with 4.4% projected job growth, and compliance officers at $78,420 with 3% projected growth. Both require a bachelor's as the typical entry credential. The five-year median earnings for the major — about $55,777 for bachelor's completers — sit below those occupation wages, which is a real signal: not all graduates land in the tracked roles, and many enter policy, nonprofit, or sustainability work where wage data is less consistent.

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 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 what draws you to environmental work is the complexity of getting people, organizations, and governments to act on what the science says — if the translation problem between scientific knowledge and policy action is what actually interests you, more than the science itself. You may also fit well here if you're comfortable working across disciplines without mastering any single one deeply, if you're drawn to careers at the intersection of regulation, planning, or advocacy and environmental science, and if a $55,777 five-year median for bachelor's completers is acceptable given the type of work involved. The compliance officer path ($78,420 median) and environmental scientist path ($80,060) are real destinations, though they take time to reach from entry-level starting salaries.

Think twice if your primary motivation is earnings maximization — this is an honest but middle-tier outcome in the earnings data, and there are adjacent programs (engineering, data science, public health) that reach higher wages with comparable intellectual ambition. Think twice also if you want to do the quantitative scientific work — running environmental assessments, designing sampling protocols, building models — rather than the policy and communication work that sits above it; Environmental Science is the more direct path to those technical roles. And if you are drawn here primarily by environmental values rather than by the career it leads to, it is worth naming that clearly to yourself: the major is strongest when the subject matter is the draw and the career paths are acceptable, not when the career paths are the draw and the earnings are expected to be higher than they turn out to be.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Environmental 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 California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 0 331 331
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 0 203 203
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO 0 180 180
University of Phoenix-Arizona Phoenix, AZ 0 144 144
University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA 0 134 134
University of Vermont Burlington, VT 0 121 121
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 0 109 109
University of Central Florida Orlando, FL 0 106 106
Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ 0 104 104
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 98 98
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Environmental Science

8,754 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 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 Studies field. Read our verdict before you commit.

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

Common questions

What do Environmental Studies majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework draws from ecology, environmental science, and the social sciences and humanities — politics, law, economics, ethics, and policy analysis all appear alongside the natural science core. You will typically take foundational ecology and earth science courses, then branch into areas like environmental law and regulation, environmental economics, sustainability planning, or human dimensions of natural resource management. The interdisciplinary structure means you will rarely go deep on any single discipline, but you will learn to connect scientific findings to policy decisions, which is a different skill from conducting the science itself. Programs vary considerably in where they place the emphasis — some lean more STEM, others more toward policy or social science.
Do I need a bachelor's, or is an associate's enough for Environmental Studies?
The bachelor's is the more functional credential here. Five-year median earnings for bachelor's completers in this major run about $55,777, while associate's completers report around $41,556 — a gap of roughly $14,000. More substantively, the two primary career paths accessible with a bachelor's — environmental scientists and specialists ($80,060 median wage) and compliance officers ($78,420) — both list a bachelor's as the typical entry credential. An associate's degree in this field is more likely to position you for technician-level or support roles. If working in policy, consulting, or regulatory compliance is the goal, a four-year degree is the practical minimum.
What kinds of jobs do Environmental Studies graduates end up in?
The two most common bachelor's-level destinations are environmental scientists and specialists ($80,060 median wage, 4.4% projected growth) and compliance officers ($78,420 median, 3% projected growth). Compliance officers monitor organizations for adherence to environmental and other regulations — it is a broader role than the title suggests and draws graduates from several disciplines, not just environmental programs. Postsecondary environmental science teaching appears in the career data but requires a doctoral degree, so it is not a direct bachelor's path. The five-year median for the major ($55,777 for bachelor's completers) sits noticeably below the wages for these specific occupations, which reflects that many graduates enter roles outside these tracked paths — government program coordinators, nonprofit analysts, sustainability roles in the private sector — where wage data is more diffuse.
How competitive is the job market for Environmental Studies graduates?
Growth projections for the tracked careers are modest — 4.4% for environmental scientists and specialists, 3% for compliance officers. Neither number is a red flag, but neither is a standout growth story. With 7,184 annual completions across 511 colleges, the graduate supply is substantial. The programs with the most completions — UC Santa Barbara, Berkeley, Colorado Boulder, Michigan — are research university programs, not small boutique majors, so the pipeline at the high end is competitive. Environmental consulting firms, state and local government agencies, and corporate sustainability functions tend to offer more accessible entry points than federal research positions. Internship and field experience often matters more than the name of the degree in determining who gets those first roles.
Is Environmental Studies the right fit, or should I look at a related major?
The core difference between Environmental Studies and Environmental Science is disciplinary breadth versus scientific depth. Environmental Science is the more quantitatively grounded program — chemistry, biology, and earth science form its backbone, and careers like environmental scientist and compliance officer are reached via that technical foundation. Environmental Studies reaches the same career destinations through a broader mix that includes policy, law, economics, and social analysis alongside science. If you want to understand how environmental regulations get made and implemented, or how communities respond to environmental pressures, Studies is the more natural fit. If you want to do the laboratory and field science work, Science is more direct. Sustainability Studies (1,590 completions) is a smaller option with more overlap into business and planning. Geography and Environmental Studies (608 completions) adds spatial analysis and is useful if GIS-based work interests you.
What's a realistic earnings picture after an Environmental Studies degree?
Five-year median earnings for this major run about $55,462 across degree levels, with bachelor's completers at roughly $55,777. That is a middle-tier result — meaningful but not exceptional, sitting well below engineering or computer science programs but above many social science and humanities fields. The environmental scientist occupation posts an $80,060 median wage and compliance officers $78,420, but those figures reflect experienced workers. Entry-level salaries in environmental consulting, government agencies, or nonprofit environmental work typically start in the $38,000–$52,000 range depending on sector and location, often lower for mission-driven organizations. If ROI is your primary decision variable, Environmental Studies is an honest choice but not the strongest one in this earnings tier — it makes most sense if the subject area itself is what pulls you there.