VCU Environmental Science and Conservation (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Natural Resources Conservation and Research
- Public university
- Richmond, VA
- About 62 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
VCU environmental science and conservation graduates earn about what environmental science and conservation graduates earn nationally, $32,038 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,078. Several Virginia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, VCU graduates earn less than the national figure and about $5,668 less than the Virginia median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia environmental science and conservation program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia 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 66% 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 more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $249 a month, or 9.3% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
92% of graduates (70 of 76) were working in Virginia one year after graduating. Prices in the Richmond area are about 2% below the national average, so a $32,038 salary here buys what about $32,739 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
$80,380Median pay in Virginia. 15,190 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$82,230Median pay in Virginia. 2,850 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$49,430Median pay in Virginia. 1,450 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$49,960Median pay in Virginia. 380 people work in this job in Virginia. 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 VCU
Environmental Science and Conservation ranks 32nd of 47 bachelor's programs at VCU by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($84,338), Computer Engineering ($82,964), and Chemical Engineering ($79,721).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,038 one year after graduating and $53,220 five years after. The median across environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in Virginia is $39,391.
The median federal loan balance is $23,500, which ranks 3rd lowest of 5 environmental science and conservation bachelor's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $249 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 73% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other Virginia programs before deciding.
Most do. 92% (70 of 76) were working in Virginia 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 Virginia 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