Rankings by major · 343 schools scored

Best colleges for environmental science

Every school we cover is scored 0–100 for environmental science. The score blends how graduates in the major do four years out against the national norm for the same major, the strength of the student body, how many undergraduate courses the department lists, and the size of the program. Small programs (under five graduates a year) are capped. 80 and up is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid.

The top environmental science schools: Duke University, Brown University, University of Chicago.

Top 100 colleges for environmental science
Rank	School	Score (0–100)	Tier	Graduates per year in the major	Share of the class	Pay vs. national, same major	Acceptance rate
1	Duke University Durham, NC	94	Standout	60	3.2%	1.33×	5%
2	Brown University Providence, RI	93	Standout	57	3.4%	–	5%
2	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	93	Standout	57	3.3%	–	4%
4	Yale University New Haven, CT	91	Standout	35	2.5%	–	5%
4	Stanford University Stanford, CA	91	Standout	32	2%	–	4%
6	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	90	Standout	93	2.5%	1.24×	9%
6	Amherst College Amherst, MA	90	Standout	27	5.3%	–	9%
6	Carleton College Northfield, MN	90	Standout	23	4.8%	–	20%
9	Tufts University Medford, MA	89	Standout	66	4.5%	1.41×	11%
9	Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO	89	Standout	38	2.1%	–	12%
9	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	89	Standout	30	6.8%	–	7%
9	Williams College Williamstown, MA	89	Standout	26	5.1%	–	9%
13	Bates College Lewiston, ME	88	Standout	56	11.8%	–	13%
13	Columbia University New York, NY	88	Standout	25	1.1%	–	5%
13	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	88	Standout	25	4.4%	–	14%
13	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	88	Standout	23	2.2%	1.22×	6%
17	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	87	Standout	502	5.7%	1.43×	11%
17	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	87	Standout	188	2.3%	1.14×	16%
17	University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	87	Standout	131	2.7%	1.19×	17%
17	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	87	Standout	47	6.3%	1.29×	14%
17	Pomona College Claremont, CA	87	Standout	20	5.5%	–	7%
22	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	86	Standout	39	1.7%	1.51×	16%
22	Wesleyan University Middletown, CT	86	Standout	33	4.1%	–	16%
22	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	86	Standout	19	1.3%	–	8%
25	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	85	Standout	47	0.9%	1.43×	10%
25	United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD	85	Standout	44	3.9%	–	9%
25	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	85	Standout	32	1.6%	–	7%
28	University of Washington Seattle, WA	84	Standout	309	3.6%	1.07×	39%
28	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	84	Standout	66	2.3%	–	19%
28	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	84	Standout	26	5.3%	–	14%
28	Haverford College Haverford, PA	84	Standout	17	5.6%	–	12%
32	University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	83	Standout	120	1.3%	1.37×	9%
32	Northeastern University Boston, MA	83	Standout	71	1.6%	1.28×	5%
32	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	83	Standout	28	1%	–	5%
32	Barnard College New York, NY	83	Standout	24	3.3%	–	9%
36	Colby College Waterville, ME	82	Standout	52	9.8%	1.01×	7%
36	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	82	Standout	28	4.3%	–	19%
36	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	82	Standout	26	5.9%	–	14%
36	Davidson College Davidson, NC	82	Standout	22	4.7%	–	13%
40	North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC	81	Standout	255	3.9%	1.06×	42%
40	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	81	Standout	27	4.6%	–	26%
40	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	81	Standout	25	2%	1.21×	29%
40	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	81	Standout	23	1.5%	–	34%
40	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	81	Standout	16	3.8%	–	7%
40	Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA	81	Standout	15	5.1%	–	29%
46	University of California, Davis Davis, CA	80	Standout	352	4%	1.16×	44%
46	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	80	Standout	59	9%	0.97×	11%
46	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	80	Standout	33	3.7%	1.22×	29%
46	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	80	Standout	23	2.7%	1.34×	40%
50	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	79	Strong	68	1.5%	1.06×	17%
50	Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY	79	Strong	49	10.6%	1.13×	64%
50	The University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX	79	Strong	43	0.4%	1.39×	27%
50	Emory University Atlanta, GA	79	Strong	41	1.9%	1.18×	10%
50	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	79	Strong	28	5.8%	1.08×	45%
55	University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	78	Strong	392	6.2%	1.15×	38%
55	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	78	Strong	358	2.7%	1.08×	52%
55	The Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA	78	Strong	188	1.8%	1.18×	61%
55	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	78	Strong	46	3.3%	1.32×	48%
55	George Washington University Washington, DC	78	Strong	38	1.3%	1.20×	47%
55	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	78	Strong	22	1.7%	–	35%
55	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	78	Strong	20	1%	–	42%
55	Lafayette College Easton, PA	78	Strong	19	2.7%	–	31%
63	Boston University Boston, MA	77	Strong	32	0.7%	–	13%
63	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	77	Strong	22	1%	–	11%
65	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	76	Strong	230	2.6%	1.10×	85%
65	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	76	Strong	179	2.3%	1.03×	80%
65	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	76	Strong	118	2.2%	1.06×	54%
65	Rutgers University–New Brunswick Piscataway, NJ	76	Strong	107	1.3%	1.13×	58%
65	University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	76	Strong	88	1%	1.26×	29%
65	American University Washington, DC	76	Strong	26	1.5%	1.16×	62%
65	Villanova University Villanova, PA	76	Strong	20	1.1%	1.22×	28%
65	Scripps College Claremont, CA	76	Strong	18	7.9%	–	38%
73	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	75	Strong	226	3.3%	1.14×	78%
73	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	75	Strong	222	3.1%	1.07×	55%
73	University of Delaware Newark, DE	75	Strong	97	2.2%	1.03×	71%
73	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA	75	Strong	32	6.3%	0.99×	42%
73	Smith College Northampton, MA	75	Strong	29	4.9%	0.88×	21%
73	Denison University Granville, OH	75	Strong	19	3.5%	–	17%
73	United States Military Academy at West Point West Point, NY	75	Strong	15	1.4%	–	12%
80	University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI	74	Strong	222	3%	0.96×	45%
80	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	74	Strong	48	2.3%	0.87×	14%
80	University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD	74	Strong	47	0.6%	1.08×	45%
80	Pitzer College Claremont, CA	74	Strong	41	16.5%	–	27%
80	The University of the South Sewanee, TN	74	Strong	31	7.8%	–	57%
85	Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA	73	Strong	21	0.5%	–	13%
85	Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, PA	73	Strong	20	3.7%	–	28%
87	The Ohio State University Columbus, OH	72	Strong	208	1.8%	1.02×	51%
87	The University of Oklahoma Norman, OK	72	Strong	52	1.1%	1.30×	77%
87	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	72	Strong	39	1.1%	–	46%
87	Trinity College Hartford, CT	72	Strong	15	2.9%	–	30%
87	Wake Forest University Winston Salem, NC	72	Strong	15	1.2%	–	22%
92	University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA	71	Strong	82	1.7%	0.95×	59%
92	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	71	Strong	71	1.4%	1.07×	80%
92	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY	71	Strong	34	5.9%	0.94×	24%
95	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	70	Strong	167	1.7%	0.99×	20%
95	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	70	Strong	93	1.1%	1.02×	42%
95	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	70	Strong	60	9.2%	0.85×	34%
95	University of Denver Denver, CO	70	Strong	27	2%	–	85%
99	Purdue University–Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	69	Strong	144	1.7%	1.01×	50%
99	University of New Hampshire Durham, NH	69	Strong	123	4.5%	1.05×	88%

243 more schools are on the full environmental science ranking.

How this ranking works

Updated October 13, 2026. Sources: early-career pay for graduates of each program, by field of study (College Scorecard), graduates per year in the major (IPEDS), undergraduate courses listed in each department's current catalog, and the student body's test scores. Inputs that are missing for a school are dropped and the rest reweighted; programs with fewer than five graduates a year are capped at 30. Scores are relative to the other schools covered, from 0 to 100.

To cite: prefrosh.ai, "Best colleges for environmental science," updated October 13, 2026, https://prefrosh.ai/majors/environmental-science. For a specific student's chances at these schools, use Chance me, which reads odds from the student's own high school's admissions chart.

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Best colleges for environmental science

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