Best Forestry programs in Montana, ranked by enrollment
Teach courses in forestry and conservation science.
10 schools in Montana run programs that feed this job, graduating 254 people a year. The job pays a median of $104,220 in Montana across about 60 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Montana that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
10 programs in Montana that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Montana (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 Montana page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 03.0601In Montana → | 91 | 35.8% | 4 | $28,750 | $24,798 |
| 2 | CIP 13.1316In Montana → | 56 | 22.0% | 3 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 3 | CIP 03.0506In Montana → | 40 | 15.7% | 2 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 4 | CIP 26.1301In Montana → | 18 | 7.1% | 3 | $29,460 | $23,480 |
| 5 | CIP 03.0101In Montana → | 17 | 6.7% | 3 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
| 6 | CIP 01.1106In Montana → | 10 | 3.9% | 2 | $42,861 | $20,500 |
| 7 | CIP 03.0510In Montana → | 9 | 3.5% | 1 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 8 | Natural Resources and Conservation, Othermain feeder CIP 03.9999In Montana → | 8 | 3.1% | 1 | $34,422 | $27,000 |
| 9 | CIP 01.0308In Montana → | 3 | 1.2% | 1 | $36,083 | $17,395 |
| 10 | CIP 03.0201In Montana → | 2 | 0.8% | 2 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
Top 10 schools in Montana
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 10 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The University of Montana Missoula, MT Public · 6 feeder programs | 137 | Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management | $28,339 | 48% | — | 96% |
| 2 | Montana State University Bozeman, MT Public · 3 feeder programs | 73 | Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education | $38,576 | 57% | — | 82% |
| 3 | Salish Kootenai College Pablo, MT Public · 3 feeder programs | 13 | Forest Resources Production and Management | — | 28% | — | — |
| 4 | The University of Montana - Western Dillon, MT Public · 3 feeder programs | 11 | Ecology | — | 51% | — | 100% |
| 5 | Miles Community College Miles City, MT Public · 2 feeder programs | 9 | Range Science and Management | — | 62% | — | — |
| 6 | Little Big Horn College Crow Agency, MT Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Natural Resources/Conservation, General | — | 11% | — | — |
| 7 | Aaniiih Nakoda College Harlem, MT Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Ecology | — | 34% | — | — |
| 8 | Flathead Valley Community College Kalispell, MT Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Forest Management/Forest Resources Management | — | 29% | — | — |
| 9 | Montana State University Billings Billings, MT Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education | $39,422 | 30% | — | — |
| 10 | Stone Child College Box Elder, MT Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Natural Resources/Conservation, General | — | 34% | — | — |
All 10 schools in Montana
Every school in Montana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Montana | Missoula | Public | 137 | 6 |
| Montana State University | Bozeman | Public | 73 | 3 |
| Salish Kootenai College | Pablo | Public | 13 | 3 |
| The University of Montana - Western | Dillon | Public | 11 | 3 |
| Miles Community College | Miles City | Public | 9 | 2 |
| Little Big Horn College | Crow Agency | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Aaniiih Nakoda College | Harlem | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Flathead Valley Community College | Kalispell | Public | 2 | 1 |
| Montana State University Billings | Billings | Public | 1 | 1 |
| Stone Child College | Box Elder | Public | 1 | 1 |
What forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary earn in Montana
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $101,420. Montana pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Montana employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
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 Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary page.
How to become a Forestry
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 Montana
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 18 majors mapped to Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary18 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0308Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture
- 01.1106Range Science and Management
- 03.0101Natural Resources/Conservation, General
- 03.0201Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, General
- 03.0205Water, Wetlands, and Marine Resources Management
- 03.0206Land Use Planning and Management/Development
- 03.0299Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, Other
- 03.0501Forestry, General
- 03.0502Forest Sciences and Biology
- 03.0506Forest Management/Forest Resources Management
- 03.0508Urban Forestry
- 03.0509Wood Science and Wood Products/Pulp and Paper Technology/Technician
- 03.0510Forest Resources Production and Management
- 03.0599Forestry, Other
- 03.0601Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management
- 03.9999Natural Resources and Conservation, Other
- 13.1316Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
- 26.1301Ecology
Common questions
Answers for people weighing forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary programs in Montana.
What degree do you need to become a Forestry?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management, which awarded 91 degrees in Montana in 2024-25, 35.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Forestry?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 10 programs to this occupation. The largest are Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Forestry, Ecology, plus 5 more. Together they graduate about 254 people a year in Montana.
How much do forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary earn in Montana?+
The median is $104,220 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.8% above the U.S. median of $101,420. 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 forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +4.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Montana?+
10 institutions in Montana reported graduates from at least one of the 10 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 forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Forestry Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1043.
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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