Best degree programs for Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary, ranked by enrollment
18 college programs and 493 schools train Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $101,420 median wage, 1,520 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
18 college programs at 493 schools train forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary, graduating 13,365 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Natural Resources/Conservation, General. The job pays a median of $101,420 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary
Teach courses in forestry and conservation science. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
18 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 03.0101 | 3,142 | 23.5% | 130 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
| 2 | CIP 03.0601 | 2,509 | 18.8% | 88 | $28,750 | $24,798 |
| 3 | CIP 03.0201 | 1,612 | 12.1% | 72 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 4 | CIP 03.0501 | 1,235 | 9.2% | 43 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 5 | CIP 26.1301 | 1,166 | 8.7% | 67 | $29,460 | $23,480 |
| 6 | CIP 13.1316 | 1,021 | 7.6% | 160 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 7 | CIP 01.0308 | 767 | 5.7% | 77 | $36,083 | $17,395 |
| 8 | CIP 03.0502 | 367 | 2.7% | 20 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 9 | CIP 03.0299 | 315 | 2.4% | 21 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 10 | CIP 03.0205 | 293 | 2.2% | 32 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 11 | CIP 03.0506 | 287 | 2.1% | 17 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 12 | CIP 01.1106 | 137 | 1.0% | 19 | $42,861 | $20,500 |
| 13 | Natural Resources and Conservation, Othermain feeder CIP 03.9999 | 121 | 0.9% | 12 | $34,422 | $27,000 |
| 14 | CIP 03.0508 | 92 | 0.7% | 12 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 15 | CIP 03.0599 | 89 | 0.7% | 9 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 16 | CIP 03.0206 | 81 | 0.6% | 14 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 17 | CIP 03.0509 | 80 | 0.6% | 6 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 18 | CIP 03.0510 | 51 | 0.4% | 7 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $61,730 | 110 | 0.63× | 31 | 1,359 |
| Michigan | $138,130 | 60 | 1.36× | 17 | 535 |
| Oregon | $126,930 | 210 | 10.76× | 7 | 517 |
| North Carolina | $108,430 | 90 | 1.86× | 16 | 497 |
| Wisconsin | $98,410 | 40 | 1.45× | 17 | 459 |
| Georgia | $94,310 | 40 | 0.93× | 13 | 390 |
| Virginia | $132,820 | 60 | 1.54× | 7 | 360 |
| West Virginia | $84,450 | 40 | 5.56× | 5 | 318 |
| Minnesota | $82,670 | 180 | 6.10× | 14 | 311 |
| Arizona | $115,730 | 60 | 1.80× | 5 | 308 |
| Maine | $82,280 | 50 | 7.50× | 5 | 278 |
| Montana | $104,220 | 60 | 12.64× | 10 | 254 |
| Washington | $104,490 | 40 | 1.18× | 15 | 206 |
| Missouri | $79,820 | 70 | 2.31× | 11 | 188 |
| Alabamamoderate | $80,380 | 80 | 4.11× | 3 | 180 |
| Indiana | $102,330 | 40 | 1.32× | 6 | 145 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics, such as forest resource policy, forest pathology, and mapping.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Supervise students' laboratory or field work.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
Skills
- Learning Strategies4.1
- Reading Comprehension4.1
- Writing4.1
- Active Learning4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Monitoring3.9
Knowledge areas
- English Language4.8
- Education and Training4.8
- Mathematics4.3
- Biology4.0
- Computers and Electronics3.9
- Geography3.5
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.8
- Written Comprehension4.3
- Written Expression4.1
- Oral Comprehension4.1
- Speech Clarity3.9
- Inductive Reasoning3.8
Core activities
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.8
- Getting Information4.8
- Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others4.8
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.6
- Thinking Creatively4.6
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.5
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
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.
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
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
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 Natural Resources/Conservation, General, which awarded 3,142 degrees in 2024-25, 23.5% 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 18 programs to this occupation. The largest are Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management, Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, Forestry, plus 5 more. Together they graduate about 13,365 people a year.
How much do forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary earn?+
The median is $101,420 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $50,100 at the 10th percentile to $148,920 at the 90th. 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?+
493 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 18 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
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card