Best Environmental Science Teacher, Postsecondary programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment
Teach courses in environmental science.
15 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 337 people a year. The job pays a median of $79,570 in Iowa across about 40 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Iowa that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Iowa that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Iowa (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Iowa page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 03.0104In Iowa → | 163 | 48.4% | 10 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
| 2 | CIP 30.3301In Iowa → | 82 | 24.3% | 3 | $37,223 | $20,968 |
| 3 | CIP 03.0103In Iowa → | 57 | 16.9% | 6 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
| 4 | CIP 13.1316In Iowa → | 22 | 6.5% | 4 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 5 | CIP 26.1310In Iowa → | 13 | 3.9% | 2 | $29,460 | $23,480 |
Top 15 schools in Iowa
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 15 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 4 feeder programs | 144 | Sustainability Studies | $34,699 | 75% | — | 84% |
| 2 | Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 4 feeder programs | 86 | Environmental Science | $37,890 | 75% | — | 89% |
| 3 | Drake University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 23 | Environmental Science | — | 74% | $28,855 | 64% |
| 4 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Environmental Science | — | 68% | — | 93% |
| 5 | Luther College Decorah, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Environmental Studies | $19,239 | 71% | $22,827 | 72% |
| 6 | Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 9 | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | — | 62% | $23,073 | 80% |
| 7 | Iowa Lakes Community College Estherville, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Environmental Studies | — | 50% | — | — |
| 8 | University of Dubuque Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Environmental Science | — | 40% | $21,324 | 89% |
| 9 | Simpson College Indianola, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Environmental Science | — | 63% | $20,710 | 86% |
| 10 | Central College Pella, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Environmental Studies | — | 66% | $19,732 | 86% |
| 11 | Wartburg College Waverly, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Environmental Science | — | 64% | $20,228 | 76% |
| 12 | Dordt University Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Environmental Science | — | 70% | $24,569 | 68% |
| 13 | Maharishi International University Fairfield, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Sustainability Studies | — | 50% | $19,927 | 96% |
| 14 | Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Environmental Science | — | 66% | $18,153 | 64% |
| 15 | Morningside University Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education | $45,552 | 50% | $22,816 | 71% |
All 15 schools in Iowa
Every school in Iowa with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Iowa | Iowa City | Public | 144 | 4 |
| Iowa State University | Ames | Public | 86 | 4 |
| Drake University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 23 | 3 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | Public | 20 | 1 |
| Luther College | Decorah | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 1 |
| Cornell College | Mount Vernon | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 2 |
| Iowa Lakes Community College | Estherville | Public | 8 | 1 |
| University of Dubuque | Dubuque | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 2 |
| Simpson College | Indianola | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Central College | Pella | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Wartburg College | Waverly | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Dordt University | Sioux Center | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Maharishi International University | Fairfield | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Coe College | Cedar Rapids | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Morningside University | Sioux City | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What environmental science teachers, postsecondary earn in Iowa
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $94,980. Iowa pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary page.
How to become a Environmental Science Teacher, Postsecondary
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Iowa
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 11 majors mapped to Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary11 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0103Environmental Studies
- 03.0104Environmental Science
- 13.1316Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
- 26.1307Conservation Biology
- 26.1310Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- 26.1399Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology, Other
- 30.3301Sustainability Studies
- 30.4101Environmental Geosciences
- 30.4301Geobiology
- 30.4401Geography and Environmental Studies
- 40.0509Environmental Chemistry
Common questions
Answers for people weighing environmental science teachers, postsecondary programs in Iowa.
What degree do you need to become an Environmental Science Teacher, Postsecondary?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Environmental Science, which awarded 163 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 48.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Environmental Science Teacher, Postsecondary?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Sustainability Studies, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Ecology. Together they graduate about 337 people a year in Iowa.
How much do environmental science teachers, postsecondary earn in Iowa?+
The median is $79,570 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 16.2% below the U.S. median of $94,980. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for environmental science teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +2.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Iowa?+
15 institutions in Iowa reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do environmental science teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Environmental Sciences Professor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1053.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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