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Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

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2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

8 Colleges
$28,308 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$48,625 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, natural resources and conservation was ranked #24 in the country. In fact 5,744 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for natural resources and conservation students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for natural resources and conservation majors pursuing a master's degree.

Best Rocky Mountains Region Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Natural Resources & Conservation

#1

University of Wyoming

Laramie, WY

Our analysis found University of Wyoming to be the best value school for natural resources and conservation students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Rocky Mountains Region . Located in the remote town of Laramie, UW is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW are $17,569 a year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at Utah State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value natural resources and conservation schools in the Rocky Mountains Region . USU is a very large public school located in the city of Logan.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at USU are $23,225 a year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado State University - Fort Collins. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Colorado State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Fort Collins.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Colorado State are $29,043 a year.

Colorado State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Colorado State University - Fort Collins

#4

University of Denver

Denver, CO

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Denver helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value natural resources and conservation schools in the Rocky Mountains Region . Located in the large city of Denver, DU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

DU graduate students pay an average of $53,943 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Denver Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at Western Colorado University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value natural resources and conservation schools in the Rocky Mountains Region . Located in the town of Gunnison, Western is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Western are $15,490 a year.

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University of Colorado Boulder ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the midsize city of Boulder, CU - Boulder is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at CU - Boulder are $33,953 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, CU - Boulder also is in the top 15% of our Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking.

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#7

University of Idaho

Moscow, ID

With a ranking of #7, University of Idaho did quite well on this year’s best value schools for natural resources and conservation students working on their master’s degree. Located in the town of Moscow, U of I is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at U of I are $29,148 per year.

Full Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Idaho Report

With a ranking of #8, The University of Montana did quite well on this year’s best value schools for natural resources and conservation students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Missoula, UM is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UM are $24,096 per year.

Full Natural Resources & Conservation at The University of Montana Report

Best Natural Resources & Conservation Colleges by State

Explore the best natural resources and conservation colleges for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains region.

State Degrees Awarded
Utah 40
Colorado 459
Montana 82
Idaho 78
Wyoming 8

Natural Resources & Conservation Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation 3,724
Natural Resource Management 1,073
Forestry 486
Wildlife Management 323
Fisheries Sciences 106
Natural Resources Conservation (Other) 32

Related Major Annual Graduates
Engineering 61,791
Computer & Information Sciences 60,971
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 28,851
Mathematics & Statistics 15,127
Physical Sciences 12,705

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 8 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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