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Ecology & Plant Biology

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

This category focuses on the "big picture" of life on Earth—how organisms interact with each other and their physical surroundings. Coursework spans ecosystem dynamics, plant sciences, conservation genetics, and population modeling. You will spend significant time outside of the traditional classroom, engaging in fieldwork, measuring environmental variables, and learning to use tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistical software to track environmental changes.

What you'll do after college

Graduates are uniquely equipped to tackle complex environmental challenges. Many find careers as ecologists, environmental consultants, conservation scientists, or botanists. Typical employers include government agencies (like the EPA or the National Park Service), conservation nonprofits, and private consulting firms. The work ranges from assessing the environmental impact of new developments to managing protected habitats and developing sustainable agricultural practices.

Famous graduates

  • Rachel Carson — Marine biologist and conservationist whose work sparked the modern environmental movement; B.A. in Biology from Pennsylvania College for Women
  • Robin Wall Kimmerer — Botanist, ecologist, and author of ''Braiding Sweetgrass''; B.S. in Botany from SUNY-ESF

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$52,765
753
100–85%
$54,966
1,382
85–40%
$62,558
731
39–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$51,311
565
400–1200
$55,264
1,107
1200–1400
$65,532
548
1410–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings by acceptance rate and institution category

$45,233p10 $64,875p90 STEM, Business & Military Liberal Arts Public University Religious University Private University 20–30% 10–20% 0–10% SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry · $52,041 Cal Poly - Pomona · $62,047 Michigan Technological University · $48,790 Connecticut College · $61,296 St. Lawrence University · $38,412 Whitman College · $44,090 Florida Southern College · $41,600 Providence College · $64,138 Grove City College · $54,628 DePauw University · $61,166 Friends University · $51,183 Cornell College · $51,838 Drury University · $47,626 Elizabethtown College · $59,239 Blackburn College · $50,302 Calvin University · $50,848 Susquehanna University · $55,179 Warren Wilson College · $37,653 Saint Anselm College · $63,206 Greenville University · $43,370 Mars Hill University · $48,448 Bethel University · $56,149 Franklin College · $57,026 University of Montana Western · $45,048 University of Georgia · $63,864 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $64,875 University of California, Santa Barbara · $52,830 North Carolina State University · $61,172 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $55,207 University of Washington · $52,254 Purdue University · $58,498 University of Maryland, College Park · $73,384 University of California, Davis · $63,341 Stony Brook University · $59,175 Ohio State University · $48,655 Texas A&M University - College Station · $54,614 University of Connecticut · $57,510 New Mexico State University · $44,477 University of Pittsburgh · $81,485 State University of New York at Cortland · $60,239 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $56,748 Minnesota State University Moorhead · $47,755 University of Colorado Boulder · $58,008 University of California, Santa Cruz · $48,900 Augusta University · $45,658 University of Vermont · $52,470 Oklahoma State University · $60,540 Miami University - Ohio · $54,579 University of Idaho · $46,981 University of Tennessee, Martin · $50,745 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $60,525 Saginaw Valley State University · $50,119 Oregon State University · $42,947 Tennessee Technological University · $44,423 University of Nebraska, Lincoln · $61,161 San Jose State University · $62,331 University of Central Oklahoma · $53,261 University of North Texas · $51,104 East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania · $57,196 Kent State University at Kent · $48,717 Ferris State University · $55,839 Michigan State University · $54,907 University of Arizona · $46,743 Fort Lewis College · $43,114 Northern State University · $54,484 Saint Cloud State University · $48,475 University of Maine · $51,570 Ohio University · $40,359 University of California, Riverside · $52,948 Temple University · $57,790 Iowa State University · $46,740 University of Hawaii at Manoa · $45,765 Colorado State University - Fort Collins · $58,620 Northern Arizona University · $47,507 Central Michigan University · $45,233 Plymouth State University · $47,114 Utah State University · $49,840 University of Kansas · $62,775 Cal Poly - Humboldt · $47,229 University of Northern Iowa · $58,638 Southern Illinois University - Carbondale · $50,776 University of Wyoming · $53,479 University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth · $53,518 University of South Dakota · $53,698 University of Texas at El Paso · $50,150 Lake Superior State University · $47,993 Utah Valley University · $57,883 Washburn University · $55,498 Weber State University · $52,303 Western New Mexico University · $56,849 Union University · $52,161 Liberty University · $49,246 Southwestern Adventist University · $56,990 University of Dayton · $54,820 Olivet Nazarene University · $54,342 Spring Arbor University · $48,789 Brigham Young University · $73,382 Lee University · $51,633 Le Moyne College · $62,167 Loyola University Chicago · $59,082 Saint Vincent College · $48,551 Molloy University · $61,293 Seattle University · $56,984 Grace College and Theological Seminary · $43,827 University of Mount Olive · $46,737 Wingate University · $60,372 Northwest Nazarene University · $43,374 Cornerstone University · $46,511 Saint Edward's University · $51,743 Seattle Pacific University · $49,103 Saint Mary's University of Minnesota · $60,726 Lindenwood University · $49,958 Jacksonville University · $60,547 Lincoln Memorial University · $48,218 Monmouth University · $56,745 University of Denver · $56,171 University of Florida · $60,834 University of California, San Diego · $51,509 University of California, Irvine · $54,149 Colorado College · $53,887 Trinity University · $63,808 Pitzer College · $55,169 University of Southern California · $71,824 Washington University in St Louis · $62,616 Tulane University · $77,243 Northeastern University · $68,320 University of California, Berkeley · $65,991 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $55,156 Georgetown University · $76,711 Barnard College · $62,236 Haverford College · $70,991 Yale University · $85,290 Harvard University · $72,937 Princeton University · $58,461 Vanderbilt University · $70,876 New York University · $57,562 UCLA · $69,475 Colby College · $68,658 College of the Ozarks · $44,980 STEM, Business & Military: mean $54,293 Liberal Arts: mean $51,870 Public University: mean $53,711 Religious University: mean $53,897 Private University: mean $54,328 20–30%: mean $56,559 10–20%: mean $67,899 0–10%: mean $66,030 All colleges: p10 $45,233 All colleges: p90 $64,875
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Ecology & Plant Biology 153 2,866 35% / 65% 2% $55,646 95%
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 35 784 36% / 64% 2% $57,379 93%
Ecology 32 633 35% / 65% 1% $54,493 94%
Environmental Biology 36 378 38% / 62% 2% $54,127 96%
Botany 23 263 34% / 66% 1% $53,591 96%
Conservation Biology 21 216 32% / 68% 0% $52,111 96%
Evolution and Ecology 1 87 20% / 80% 0% $48,655 94%
Plant Biology 9 83 37% / 63% 0% $57,682 98%
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology 1 73 27% / 73% 15% $72,937 96%
Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity 1 52 27% / 73% 6% $63,531 100%
Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity 1 47 40% / 60% 2% $54,862 98%
Ecology and Conservation Biology 1 42 69% / 31% 0% $66,176 93%
Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution 1 41 27% / 73% 2% $51,509 96%
Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology 1 37 43% / 57% 0% $51,596 90%
Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology 1 33 30% / 70% 0% $52,830 95%
Human Ecology 1 26 4% / 96% 0% $44,423 91%
Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Sciences 1 14 36% / 64% 0% $58,900
Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology 2 11 36% / 64% 9% $64,757
Agroecology 1 9 44% / 56% 0% $67,201 95%
Ecology and Evolution 1 9 33% / 67% 0% $63,018
Conservation & Environmental Biology 1 8 12% / 88% 0% $49,246
Plant Genetics 1 7 71% / 29% 0% $56,012 96%
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology 4 6 50% / 50% 0% $62,997
Plant Biotechnology 1 4 25% / 75% 0% $64,875
Plant Pathology/Phytopathology 1 3 33% / 67% 33% $44,480
Botany/Plant Biology 1 0 $65,989