Environmental Science: Program Overview, Universities, Careers & Salaries
Program Overview
Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to understanding the complex interactions between living organisms and their physical surroundings. It equips students with the analytical and technical skills needed to investigate, manage, and mitigate pressing environmental challenges. By integrating core scientific principles with real-world applications, this program prepares learners to address issues affecting ecosystems, climate, and human sustainability.
- Biology: Explores the structure, function, and interactions of living organisms within ecosystems, emphasizing biodiversity and ecological resilience.
- Chemistry: Focuses on the composition, properties, and reactions of substances, particularly those involved in pollution and environmental contamination.
- Physics: Applies principles of energy, motion, and forces to understand environmental processes such as atmospheric circulation and water flow.
- Geosciences: Investigates Earth’s materials, structures, and dynamic systems, including soils, rocks, and landforms, to assess environmental change and natural hazards.
- Climatology: Studies long-term atmospheric patterns and climate systems, with emphasis on global warming, weather extremes, and climate modeling.
- Statistics: Provides tools for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting environmental data to support evidence-based decision-making.
- Mathematical Modeling: Uses equations and simulations to predict environmental phenomena, such as pollutant dispersion or population dynamics.
Environmental Science Graduate Trends (2010-2024)
Environmental Science Career Pathways & Salary Outlook
The following table presents salary data for occupations typically aligned with Environmental Science degrees, including Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health and Compliance Officers. These career paths represent common employment outcomes but are not guaranteed for all graduates. Salary ranges vary by location, employer, experience level, and specific role requirements. Nationally, these occupations employ approximately 560,300 professionals.
National Average Salaries
| Occupation | Median Salary | Salary Range | Total Employment | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary 25-1053 | $87,710 | $50,670 - $164,290 | 7,130 | N/A |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health 19-2041 | $80,060 | $50,130 - $134,830 | 84,930 | $38.49 |
| Compliance Officers 13-1041 | $78,420 | $46,230 - $130,030 | 397,770 | $37.70 |
| Forest and Conservation Technicians 19-4071 | $54,310 | $36,190 - $80,790 | 31,080 | $26.11 |
| Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health 19-4042 | $49,490 | $36,130 - $85,630 | 39,390 | $23.79 |
Environmental Science Salary Map by State
Geographic location significantly impacts earning potential for these careers. Average salaries range from $56,023 in Kansas to $94,623 in District of Columbia—a 69% difference. The highest-paying states include District of Columbia, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Nationwide, these occupations employ over 560,300 professionals across all states. Explore the interactive map below to compare regional compensation and identify optimal markets for your career goals.
Average Salary Range:
Top Universities for Environmental Science by Graduate Enrollment
Below are the top 100 institutions offering Environmental Science programs for the 2023-2024 academic year (the most recent data reported as of 2025), ranked by the number of graduates. The highest graduate enrollment in Environmental Science is found at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) (554 graduates), American Public University System (APUS) (301 graduates), Oregon State University (OSU) (178 graduates), University of South Florida (USF) (168 graduates), and University of Washington (UW), Seattle Campus (136 graduates). Combined, these colleges produced 6,739 graduates across all degree levels. Program availability varies by award level, including Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees at participating universities and schools.
| College Name | Award Levels | Graduates | Location | Control | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) |
Bachelor's
|
554 | Manchester, New Hampshire | Private | snhu.edu |
| American Public University System (APUS) |
Bachelor's
|
301 | Charles Town, West Virginia | Private | apus.edu |
| Oregon State University (OSU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
178 | Corvallis, Oregon | Public | oregonstate.edu |
| University of South Florida (USF) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
168 | Tampa, Florida | Public | usf.edu |
| University of Washington (UW) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
136 | Seattle, Washington | Public | washington.edu |
| University of California (UCD) |
Bachelor's
|
133 | Davis, California | Public | ucdavis.edu |
| University of California (UCLA) |
Bachelor's
Doctorate (Research)
|
130 | Los Angeles, California | Public | ucla.edu |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
129 | Wilmington, North Carolina | Public | uncw.edu |
| Ohio State University |
Bachelor's
|
127 | Columbus, Ohio | Public | osu.edu |
| Florida State University (FSU) |
Bachelor's
|
120 | Tallahassee, Florida | Public | fsu.edu |
| Western Washington University (WWU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
118 | Bellingham, Washington | Public | wwu.edu |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
113 | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Public | unc.edu |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
111 | Champaign, Illinois | Public | illinois.edu |
| Unity Environmental University |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
108 | New Gloucester, Maine | Private | unity.edu |
| University of Vermont (UVM) |
Bachelor's
|
105 | Burlington, Vermont | Public | uvm.edu |
| Cornell University |
Bachelor's
|
104 | Ithaca, New York | Private | cornell.edu |
| North Carolina State University (NC State) |
Bachelor's
Postbac Cert.
Master's
|
100 | Raleigh, North Carolina | Public | ncsu.edu |
| University of Virginia (UVA) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
99 | Charlottesville, Virginia | Public | virginia.edu |
| The University of Texas (UTSA) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
94 | San Antonio, Texas | Public | utsa.edu |
| California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly Humboldt) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
93 | Arcata, California | Public | humboldt.edu |
| Montana State University (MSU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
90 | Bozeman, Montana | Public | montana.edu |
| University of California (UCB) |
Bachelor's
|
89 | Berkeley, California | Public | berkeley.edu |
| University of Massachusetts |
Bachelor's
|
85 | Amherst, Massachusetts | Public | umass.edu |
| The University of Tennessee (UTC) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
83 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | Public | utc.edu |
| University of California (UCSB) |
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
82 | Santa Barbara, California | Public | ucsb.edu |
| University of Minnesota (UMN) |
Bachelor's
|
82 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Public | twin-cities.umn.edu |
| Iowa State University (ISU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
81 | Ames, Iowa | Public | iastate.edu |
| Loyola University Chicago (LUC) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
75 | Chicago, Illinois | Private | luc.edu |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
75 | Madison, Wisconsin | Public | wisc.edu |
| California State University |
Bachelor's
|
73 | Sacramento, California | Public | csus.edu |
| University of Idaho (U of I) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
72 | Moscow, Idaho | Public | uidaho.edu |
| University of Maine (UMaine) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
70 | Orono, Maine | Public | umaine.edu |
| Indiana University (IUB) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
66 | Bloomington, Indiana | Public | indiana.edu |
| Binghamton University |
Bachelor's
|
65 | Vestal, New York | Public | binghamton.edu |
| University of Arizona |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
63 | Tucson, Arizona | Public | arizona.edu |
| San Jose State University (SJSU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
62 | San Jose, California | Public | sjsu.edu |
| Texas State University (TXST) |
Bachelor's
Postbac Cert.
Master's
|
60 | San Marcos, Texas | Public | txst.edu |
| University of California (UCR) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
59 | Riverside, California | Public | ucr.edu |
| University of Massachusetts |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
59 | Boston, Massachusetts | Public | umb.edu |
| George Mason University |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
59 | Fairfax, Virginia | Public | www2.gmu.edu |
| University of Southern California (USC) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
57 | Los Angeles, California | Private | usc.edu |
| University of Oregon (UO) |
Bachelor's
Doctorate (Research)
|
57 | Eugene, Oregon | Public | uoregon.edu |
| Texas A & M University |
Bachelor's
|
57 | College Station, Texas | Public | tamu.edu |
| SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
56 | Syracuse, New York | Public | esf.edu |
| Texas A & M University (TAMU‑CC) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
54 | Corpus Christi, Texas | Public | tamucc.edu |
| California State University (CSULB) |
Bachelor's
|
53 | Long Beach, California | Public | csulb.edu |
| University of Maryland (UMCP) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
51 | College Park, Maryland | Public | umd.edu |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) |
Bachelor's
|
49 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Public | uwm.edu |
| University of Arkansas (U of A) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
47 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | Public | uark.edu |
| University of Florida (UF) |
Bachelor's
|
47 | Gainesville, Florida | Public | ufl.edu |
| The University of Alabama (UA) |
Bachelor's
|
46 | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | Public | ua.edu |
| University of Nevada (UNR) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
46 | Reno, Nevada | Public | unr.edu |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) |
Bachelor's
|
46 | Blacksburg, Virginia | Public | vt.edu |
| The University of Montana (UM) |
Bachelor's
|
44 | Missoula, Montana | Public | umt.edu |
| California State University |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
42 | Chico, California | Public | csuchico.edu |
| University of San Diego (USD) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
42 | San Diego, California | Private | sandiego.edu |
| University of West Florida (UWF) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
42 | Pensacola, Florida | Public | uwf.edu |
| Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College (LSU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Post-Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
42 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Public | lsu.edu |
| University of Missouri (Mizzou) |
Other Award
|
41 | Columbia, Missouri | Public | missouri.edu |
| Northern Arizona University (NAU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
40 | Flagstaff, Arizona | Public | nau.edu |
| Clark University |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
39 | Worcester, Massachusetts | Private | clarku.edu |
| Rutgers University |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
39 | New Brunswick, New Jersey | Public | newbrunswick.rutgers.edu |
| University of Oklahoma (OU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
38 | Norman, Oklahoma | Public | ou.edu |
| Portland State University (PSU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
38 | Portland, Oregon | Public | pdx.edu |
| Florida Atlantic University (FAU) |
Postbac Cert.
Master's
Other Award
|
37 | Boca Raton, Florida | Public | fau.edu |
| Northeastern University (NU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
37 | Boston, Massachusetts | Private | northeastern.edu |
| California State University (CSUCI) |
Bachelor's
|
37 | Camarillo, California | Public | csuci.edu |
| University of Delaware (UD) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
36 | Newark, Delaware | Public | udel.edu |
| University of Maryland (UMBC) |
Bachelor's
|
36 | Baltimore, Maryland | Public | umbc.edu |
| Colorado College |
Bachelor's
|
35 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Private | coloradocollege.edu |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) |
Bachelor's
|
35 | Edinburg, Texas | Public | utrgv.edu |
| California State University (CSUMB) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
35 | Seaside, California | Public | csumb.edu |
| University of Redlands |
Bachelor's
|
34 | Redlands, California | Private | redlands.edu |
| Yale University |
Master's
|
34 | New Haven, Connecticut | Private | yale.edu |
| Nova Southeastern University (NSU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
34 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Private | nova.edu |
| Appalachian State University (App State) |
Bachelor's
|
34 | Boone, North Carolina | Public | appstate.edu |
| San Diego State University (SDSU) |
Bachelor's
|
33 | San Diego, California | Public | sdsu.edu |
| Colby College |
Bachelor's
|
33 | Waterville, Maine | Private | colby.edu |
| Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) |
Bachelor's
|
33 | Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts | Public | maritime.edu |
| Pitzer College (PZ) |
Bachelor's
|
32 | Claremont, California | Private | pitzer.edu |
| Southern Illinois University (SIUE) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
32 | Edwardsville, Illinois | Public | siue.edu |
| Boston University (BU) |
Bachelor's
|
32 | Boston, Massachusetts | Private | bu.edu |
| University of Rhode Island (URI) |
Bachelor's
|
32 | Kingston, Rhode Island | Public | web.uri.edu |
| Kennesaw State University (KSU) |
Bachelor's
|
32 | Kennesaw, Georgia | Public | kennesaw.edu |
| Flagler College (Flagler) |
Bachelor's
|
31 | Saint Augustine, Florida | Private | flagler.edu |
| University of Hawaii (UHH) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
31 | Hilo, Hawaii | Public | hilo.hawaii.edu |
| University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) |
Master's
|
31 | Springfield, Illinois | Public | uis.edu |
| Westfield State University (WSU) |
Bachelor's
|
31 | Westfield, Massachusetts | Public | westfield.ma.edu |
| Oklahoma State University (OSU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
31 | Stillwater, Oklahoma | Public | okstate.edu |
| University of Wisconsin |
Bachelor's
|
31 | Whitewater, Wisconsin | Public | uww.edu |
| University of South Carolina (USC) |
Bachelor's
|
30 | Columbia, South Carolina | Public | sc.edu |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) |
Bachelor's
|
29 | Denver, Colorado | Public | msudenver.edu |
| University of Iowa |
Bachelor's
|
29 | Iowa City, Iowa | Public | uiowa.edu |
| Northern Michigan University (NMU) |
Bachelor's
|
29 | Marquette, Michigan | Public | nmu.edu |
| University of Minnesota (UMD) |
Bachelor's
|
29 | Duluth, Minnesota | Public | d.umn.edu |
| Villanova University |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
29 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | Private | villanova.edu |
| American University (AU) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
28 | Washington, District of Columbia | Private | american.edu |
| Baylor University |
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctorate (Research)
|
28 | Waco, Texas | Private | baylor.edu |
| University of Houston (UHCL) |
Bachelor's
Master's
|
28 | Houston, Texas | Public | uhcl.edu |
| Broward College (BC) |
Associate's
Other Award
|
27 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Public | broward.edu |
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to the most common questions about Environmental Science programs
How much can I earn with a Environmental Science degree?
Salaries for Environmental Science graduates vary by role and location. Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary earn a median of $87,710 annually, while Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health earn around $80,060. Geographic location significantly impacts earnings—professionals in District of Columbia average $94,623 compared to $56,023 in Kansas. Approximately 560,300 professionals work in related occupations nationwide.
Salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS program, May 2024. Earnings vary by experience, employer, and market conditions.
Which universities have the largest Environmental Science programs?
Currently 619 accredited institutions offer Environmental Science degrees across the U.S. Programs with the highest enrollment include Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) (554 graduates), American Public University System (APUS) (301 graduates), and Oregon State University (OSU) (178 graduates).
Program size doesn't necessarily indicate quality—consider factors like faculty expertise, production opportunities, location, and available degree levels when choosing a school.
Data based on IPEDS program completions for 2023-2024 academic year. Numbers reflect programs where students graduated.
Is enrollment in Environmental Science growing or declining?
Graduate numbers have increased over the past decade, rising from 4,231 in 2010 to 10,679 in 2023-24. This represents a 152% increase overall from 2010.
The field remains specialized with steady interest, though opportunities are most concentrated in major metropolitan areas with active arts scenes like New York, California, and Illinois.
Graduate enrollment data from IPEDS, 2010-2024 academic years. Trends reflect reported completions at participating institutions.
What career paths are available with a Environmental Science degree?
This degree prepares you for roles such as Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health, and Compliance Officers. Related occupations employ approximately 560,300 professionals nationwide.
Skills in project management, creative leadership, and collaboration also transfer to event planning, arts administration, marketing, and corporate training roles. Many professionals work freelance or on a project basis across theatre, film, and live events.
Career pathways mapped using CIP-SOC crosswalk from the National Center for Education Statistics. Employment data from BLS OEWS May 2024.
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