UC Santa Barbara Environmental Science and Conservation (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Natural Resources Conservation and Research
- Public university
- Santa Barbara, CA
- About 338 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UC Santa Barbara environmental science and conservation graduates earn about what environmental science and conservation graduates earn nationally, $33,759 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,533 in federal loans, less than at 89% of environmental science and conservation programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying environmental science and conservation degrees in California.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UC Santa Barbara graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California environmental science and conservation program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California 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 98% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $4,370 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $175 a month, or 6.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 75 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $34,123.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
91% of graduates (230 of 253) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Santa Maria area are about 9% above the national average, so a $33,759 salary here buys what about $31,029 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
$96,980Median pay in California. 49,880 people work in this job in California. 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
$106,510Median pay in California. 12,490 people work in this job in California. 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
$61,220Median pay in California. 6,010 people work in this job in California. 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
$58,120Median pay in California. 6,640 people work in this job in California. 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 UC Santa Barbara
Environmental Science and Conservation ranks 23rd of 36 bachelor's programs at UC Santa Barbara by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($107,776), Computer Engineering ($91,387), and Mechanical Engineering ($81,108).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $33,759 one year after graduating and $66,752 five years after. The median across environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in California is $35,197.
The median federal loan balance is $16,533, which ranks 11th lowest of 21 environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $175 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 49% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay.
Most do. 91% (230 of 253) were working in California 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 California 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