IU Indianapolis Environmental Science and Conservation (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Natural Resources Conservation and Research
- Public university
- Indianapolis, IN
- About 8 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
IU Indianapolis environmental science and conservation graduates earn about what environmental science and conservation graduates earn nationally, $32,469 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $29,076 in federal loans, more than at 97% of environmental science and conservation programs in the country. Several Indiana programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Indiana and national columns are the medians across all environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Indiana environmental science and conservation program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Indiana medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $308 a month, or 11.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
95% of graduates (19 of 20) were working in Indiana one year after graduating. Prices in the Indianapolis area are about 4% below the national average, so a $32,469 salary here buys what about $33,929 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
$78,770Median pay in Indiana. 5,120 people work in this job in Indiana. 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
$64,700Median pay in Indiana. 1,290 people work in this job in Indiana. 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
$49,020Median pay in Indiana. 780 people work in this job in Indiana. 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
$48,660Median pay in Indiana. 150 people work in this job in Indiana. 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 IU Indianapolis
Environmental Science and Conservation ranks 41st of 49 bachelor's programs at IU Indianapolis by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($73,122), Computer Engineering ($71,986), and Biomedical Engineering ($71,852).
Other environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs near Indianapolis
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,469 one year after graduating. The median across environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in Indiana is $34,000.
The median federal loan balance is $29,076, which ranks 4th lowest of 5 environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in Indiana. That works out to about $308 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 90% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other Indiana programs before deciding.
Most do. 95% (19 of 20) were working in Indiana one year after graduating.
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 Indiana 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