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Environmental science professor education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an environmental science professor. Environmental science professors usually study environmental science, biology, or environmental engineering. 49% of environmental science professors hold a bachelor's degree, and 31% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 40 real environmental science professor resumes to see exactly what environmental science professor education sections show.

The most common colleges for environmental science professors are the Antioch University New England and the Antioch University New England.

There are also many online environmental science professor courses to help get the education required to be an environmental science professor.

What education do you need to become an environmental science professor?

What degree do you need to be an environmental science professor?

The most common degree for environmental science professors is bachelor's degree, with 49% of environmental science professors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 31% and master's degree degree at 9%.
  • Bachelor's, 49%
  • Master's, 31%
  • Doctorate, 9%
  • Associate, 9%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become an environmental science professor?

You should major in environmental science to become an environmental science professor. 26% of environmental science professors major in environmental science. Other common majors for an environmental science professor include biology and environmental engineering.

Most common colleges for environmental science professors

Environmental science professors often get their degrees at Antioch University New England, Allegheny College, and Manhattan College. Here are the most common colleges for environmental science professors in the US based on their resumes.
Environmental science professor common collegePercentages
Antioch University New England9.09%
Allegheny College9.09%
Manhattan College4.55%
Kansas State University4.55%
Texas Southern University4.55%

Best majors for environmental science professors

Best colleges for environmental science professors

The best colleges for environmental science professors are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

An environmental science professor with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for environmental science professors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become environmental science professors.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

5. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

6. University of California - Davis

Davis, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,402

Enrollment

30,698

7. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

8. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

9. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,382

Enrollment

5,597

10. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

20 best online courses for environmental science professors

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1. Environmental Science

coursera

The Introduction to Environmental Science course explores the field of environmental science and encourages participants to understand how environmental scientists think. It addresses some important questions such as: 1. What is the difference between environmental science and environmental studies? 2. How do both differ from environmentalism? 3. Why is energy so important in environmental science? 4. What do you mean by biodiversity? You will also explore what global cycles are and how they...

2. Introduction to Environmental Science

coursera

To understand current environmental problems, we need to consider physical, biological & chemical processes that are often the basis of those problems. This course will give you the skills necessary to address the environmental issues we are facing today by examining scientific principles and the application of those principles to natural systems. This course surveys some of the many environmental science topics at an introductory level, ultimately considering the sustainability of human...

3. ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management system

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4.4
(4,224)

Understand the requirements for an environmental management system according to ISO 14001:2015...

4. Air Dispersion Modeling for Environmental Management

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4.4
(267)

Environmental management with AERMOD Air Pollution Model by EPA...

5. Women in environmental biology

coursera

Have you ever wondered how humans relate to other living beings and what do you need to know to be able to understand current environmental problems? Do you know that many of these researches and knowledge have been described by women? This course gives answers to these questions and it is addressed to anyone interested in the relationship between humans and other living beings, as well as all those concerned about the global change situation that the planet is suffering. We will learn key...

6. Geospatial and Environmental Analysis

coursera

Apply your GIS knowledge in this course on geospatial analysis, focusing on analysis tools, 3D data, working with rasters, projections, and environment variables. Through all four weeks of this course, we'll work through a project together - something unique to this course - from project conception, through data retrieval, initial data management and processing, and finally to our analysis products. In this class you will learn the fundamentals of geospatial and environmental analysis during...

7. Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development

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4.2
(954)

Environmental Issues...

8. The A to Z of ESG - Environmental & Social Governance

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4.2
(1,318)

A Perspective for Businesses on How to Manage ESG - Why it matters to Financial Performance and to the Economy...

9. Human Health Risks, Health Equity, and Environmental Justice

coursera

The fourth and final course of the Impacts of the Environment on Global Public Health specialization will cover two topics. The first is environmental justice – that is, avoiding an inequitable distribution of environmental health threats in our population, and ensuring a healthy and safe environment and health equity for all. The second is risk assessment and management, a framework that can be utilized to assess and quantify human health risks, and to identify appropriate approaches to...

10. Natural Attenuation of Groundwater Contaminants: New Paradigms, Technologies, and Applications

coursera

Cleaning up the large number of groundwater contamination sites is a significant and complex environmental challenge. The environmental industry is continuously looking for remediation methods that are both effective and cost-efficient. Over the past 10 years there have been amazing, important developments in our understanding of key attenuation processes and technologies for evaluating natural attenuation processes, and a changing institutional perspective on when and where Monitored Natural...

11. Environmental sustainability in Maritime transport Industry

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4.7
(312)

A course dedicated to Marine life and Marine Ecosystem...

12. Certified Global ESG Professional (Associate Level)

udemy
4.3
(773)

Learn Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Fundamentals, ESG Factors , Reporting and Valuation of ESG & Initiatives...

13. Analyzing Macro-Environmental Factors Using Creately

coursera

By the end of this 2 hour-long guided project, you will be fluent in identifying and analyzing business markets and how to discover their attractiveness to new products and services. This project is designed to engage and harness your visionary and exploratory abilities. You will be using proven models in competitive strategy and the program Creately to explore and analyze these models. This is an important step for individuals or companies wanting to explore new markets for products or...

14. South Asian Religions & Ecology

coursera

At first glance the fields of religion and ecology may seem and unlikely pairing, but a deeper consideration reveals the two have a great deal to contribute to one another and are indeed inextricably linked. Religions recognize the unity and interdependence of humans with nature. Ecological sciences affirm this deep interconnection with the natural world. This partnership can inspire work for the wellbeing of the Earth community There is a need for broader literacy and deeper knowledge of the...

15. Complete Data Science Training with Python for Data Analysis

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4.5
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Beginners python data analytics : Data science introduction : Learn data science : Python data analysis methods tutorial...

16. Computer Science 101 - Computers & Programming for Beginners

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4.4
(1,518)

Understand the basic concepts behind Computers, Computer Science, Programming and Programming Languages...

17. East Asian Religions & Ecology

coursera

At first glance the fields of religion and ecology may seem and unlikely pairing, but a deeper consideration reveals the two have a great deal to contribute to one another and are indeed inextricably linked. Religions recognize the unity and interdependence of humans with nature. Ecological sciences affirm this deep interconnection with the natural world. This partnership can inspire work for the wellbeing of the Earth community There is a need for broader literacy and deeper knowledge of the...

18. Indigenous Religions & Ecology

coursera

At first glance the fields of religion and ecology may seem and unlikely pairing, but a deeper consideration reveals the two have a great deal to contribute to one another and are indeed inextricably linked. Religions recognize the unity and interdependence of humans with nature. Ecological sciences affirm this deep interconnection with the natural world. This partnership can inspire work for the wellbeing of the Earth community There is a need for broader literacy and deeper knowledge of the...

19. R Programming Hands-on Specialization for Data Science (Lv1)

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4.5
(539)

An in-depth course on R language with real-world Data Science examples to supercharge your R data analysis skills...

20. The Data Science Course: Complete Data Science Bootcamp 2023

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4.6
(130,823)

Complete Data Science Training: Mathematics, Statistics, Python, Advanced Statistics in Python, Machine & Deep Learning...

Top 10 most affordable universities for environmental science professors

The most affordable schools for environmental science professors are University of Florida, california state university - long beach, and brooklyn college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for environmental science professors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for environmental science professors.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

3. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

4. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

5. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

6. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

7. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

8. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Cost of attendance

25,527

10. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for environmental science professors

The hardest universities for environmental science professors to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for environmental science professors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for environmental science professors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

6. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

7. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

8. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

10. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for environmental science professors

The easiest schools for environmental science professors to get into are Wayland Baptist University, saint joseph's college of maine, and fresno pacific university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an environmental science professor without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for environmental science professors.

1. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

2. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

3. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

4. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

5. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

6. Thomas More University

Crestview Hills, KY • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,099

7. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

8. Iona College

New Rochelle, NY • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,089

9. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

10. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

Average environmental science professor salary by education level

According to our data, environmental science professors with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $72,099 annually. Environmental science professors with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $60,023.
Environmental science professor education levelEnvironmental science professor salary
Master's Degree$60,023
Doctorate Degree$72,099

Environmental science professor education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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