Colgate University Environmental Science and Conservation (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Natural Resources Conservation and Research
- Private nonprofit university
- Hamilton, NY
- About 38 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Colgate University environmental science and conservation graduates earn more than graduates of most environmental science and conservation programs nationally, $41,870 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $17,000 in federal loans, less than at 87% of environmental science and conservation programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying environmental science and conservation degrees in New York.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Colgate University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $19,133 more than the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York environmental science and conservation program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 88% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $180 a month, or 5.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Syracuse area are about 4% below the national average, so a $41,870 salary here buys what about $43,732 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to environmental science and conservation, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Compliance Officers
$90,080Median pay in New York. 23,500 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
$82,160Median pay in New York. 3,700 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health
$62,400Median pay in New York. 1,960 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Forest and Conservation Technicians
$58,030Median pay in New York. 190 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About Colgate University
Environmental Science and Conservation ranks 9th of 10 bachelor's programs at Colgate University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($79,929), Economics ($77,274), and Political Science ($56,064).
Other environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs near Hamilton
Common questions
The median graduate earns $41,870 one year after graduating and $78,918 five years after. The median across environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in New York is $31,223.
The median federal loan balance is $17,000, which ranks 3rd lowest of 14 environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $180 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 41% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of New York comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the environmental science and conservation program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024