Duke University Environmental Science and Conservation (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Natural Resources Conservation and Research
- Private nonprofit university
- Durham, NC
- About 54 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Duke University environmental science and conservation graduates earn less than graduates of most environmental science and conservation programs nationally, $28,121 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $11,875 in federal loans, less than at 98% of environmental science and conservation programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the North Carolina median of $28,528.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The North Carolina and national columns are the medians across all environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Duke University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $32,567 more than the North Carolina median.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina environmental science and conservation program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina 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 177% 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 $126 a month, or 5.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Durham area are about 2% below the national average, so a $28,121 salary here buys what about $28,821 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
$78,500Median pay in North Carolina. 11,320 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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
$74,130Median pay in North Carolina. 4,150 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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
$51,630Median pay in North Carolina. 1,100 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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
$48,360Median pay in North Carolina. 650 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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 Duke University
Environmental Science and Conservation ranks 22nd of 23 bachelor's programs at Duke University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($133,356), Mathematics ($121,088), and Computer Engineering ($111,145).
Other environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs near Durham
Common questions
The median graduate earns $28,121 one year after graduating and $78,003 five years after. The median across environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in North Carolina is $28,528.
The median federal loan balance is $11,875, which ranks the lowest of 7 environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in North Carolina. That works out to about $126 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 42% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several North Carolina programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
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 North Carolina 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