Ecology & Evolution Degree — Salary, ROI & AI Risk at 64 Schools

Best Schools for Ecology & Evolution

Top 64 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	AI Risk	ROI
1	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA	61 57–60	$40,875/yr	High	12.2x
2	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	59 52–63	$35,110/yr	High	21.7x
3	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	57 52–56	$35,436/yr	High	11.6x
4	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	56 51–55	$34,838/yr	High	11.3x
5	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	55 51–54	$34,764/yr	High	10.7x
6	Bemidji State University Bemidji, MN	54 47–56	$35,521/yr	High	12.4x
7	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	53 46–55	$36,375/yr	High	11.0x
8	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA	52 46–54	$35,762/yr	High	11.0x
9	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	52 40–56	$24,143/yr	High	22.3x
10	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	50 44–50	$53,038/yr	High	1.2x
11	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	50 43–52	$35,322/yr	High	9.3x
12	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	50 45–49	$33,323/yr	High	8.0x
13	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	49 44–50	$39,491/yr	High	4.7x
14	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	49 43–51	$37,184/yr	High	7.4x
15	University of West Florida Pensacola, FL	49 42–52	$25,299/yr	High	14.5x
16	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	48 42–50	$31,923/yr	High	9.9x
17	University of Idaho Moscow, ID	48 44–48	$31,656/yr	High	8.0x
18	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC	48 40–51	$25,303/yr	High	13.6x
19	Iowa State University Ames, IA	46 39–48	$29,842/yr	High	9.8x
20	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	45 39–48	$33,682/yr	High	7.3x
21	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	45 38–47	$32,161/yr	High	7.6x
22	SUNY College at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY	45 36–52	$23,682/yr	High	13.3x
23	New York University New York, NY	44 37–46	$41,024/yr	High	1.9x
24	University of Delaware Newark, DE	44 39–45	$33,296/yr	High	4.2x
25	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	44 38–46	$32,882/yr	High	5.9x
26	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	44 38–46	$32,882/yr	High	5.9x
27	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	44 38–46	$32,882/yr	High	5.9x
28	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	44 38–46	$32,882/yr	High	5.9x
29	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	44 37–48	$31,088/yr	High	8.1x
30	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	43 37–45	$32,882/yr	High	4.9x
31	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	43 38–45	$28,856/yr	High	7.9x
32	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	42 35–46	$29,318/yr	High	7.4x
33	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	42 35–45	$29,258/yr	High	7.3x
34	University of North Texas Denton, TX	42 38–43	$28,681/yr	High	5.4x
35	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	42 35–45	$27,100/yr	High	8.1x
36	Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC	42 35–44	$26,838/yr	High	7.9x
37	Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN	42 35–46	$24,862/yr	High	9.6x
38	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	42 33–50	$22,725/yr	High	11.4x
39	Siena College Loudonville, NY	41 36–42	$37,789/yr	High	1.1x
40	Stockton University Galloway, NJ	41 35–43	$29,289/yr	High	5.4x
41	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	41 35–44	$27,770/yr	High	7.0x
42	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	41 34–43	$25,820/yr	High	7.4x
43	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	41 34–45	$25,271/yr	High	8.4x
44	University of Georgia Athens, GA	40 35–41	$25,724/yr	High	4.8x
45	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	39 32–42	$26,176/yr	High	6.0x
46	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	39 33–42	$25,810/yr	High	6.0x
47	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	37 30–42	$31,999/yr	High	2.3x
48	The University of Tampa Tampa, FL	37 30–39	$29,603/yr	High	2.4x
49	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI	37 32–37	$23,846/yr	High	2.9x
50	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	37 30–39	$22,844/yr	High	4.4x
51	Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FL	36 31–37	$31,114/yr	High	1.1x
52	University of New England Biddeford, ME	35 29–36	$29,871/yr	High	1.3x
53	University of New Haven West Haven, CT	35 29–38	$29,767/yr	High	1.9x
54	Roger Williams University Bristol, RI	35 29–38	$29,074/yr	High	2.0x
55	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	35 30–35	$18,728/yr	High	2.4x
56	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	35 30–36	$17,511/yr	High	2.7x
57	Hawaii Pacific University Honolulu, HI	34 27–38	$25,499/yr	High	2.6x
58	Stetson University DeLand, FL	33 27–34	$28,195/yr	High	0.3x
59	Florida Southern College Lakeland, FL	32 27–34	$26,616/yr	High	0.6x
60	Monmouth University West Long Branch, NJ	31 26–33	$25,004/yr	High	0.4x
61	University of Dayton Dayton, OH	30 25–32	$23,609/yr	High	0.2x
62	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	30 24–32	$23,504/yr	High	0.6x
63	Eckerd College Saint Petersburg, FL	30 24–33	$21,980/yr	High	1.0x
64	St Lawrence University Canton, NY	29 23–31	$17,443/yr	High	-0.3x

Highest Earning Ecology & Evolution Programs

Schools where Ecology & Evolution graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score	AI Risk
Princeton University	$53,038/yr	50	High
New York University	$41,024/yr	44	High
California State University-San Marcos	$40,875/yr	61	High
Rutgers University-New Brunswick	$39,491/yr	49	High
Siena College	$37,789/yr	41	High
University of Colorado Boulder	$37,184/yr	49	High
University of Maryland-College Park	$36,375/yr	53	High
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania	$35,762/yr	52	High
Bemidji State University	$35,521/yr	54	High
California State University-Long Beach	$35,436/yr	57	High

Best ROI for Ecology & Evolution

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Ecology & Evolution.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Brigham Young University	22.3x	$24,143/yr	52
California State University-Fullerton	21.7x	$35,110/yr	59
University of West Florida	14.5x	$25,299/yr	49
University of North Carolina Wilmington	13.6x	$25,303/yr	48
SUNY College at Plattsburgh	13.3x	$23,682/yr	45
Bemidji State University	12.4x	$35,521/yr	54
California State University-San Marcos	12.2x	$40,875/yr	61
California State University-Long Beach	11.6x	$35,436/yr	57
Stony Brook University	11.4x	$22,725/yr	42
California State University-Northridge	11.3x	$34,838/yr	56

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Ecology & Evolution graduates earn?

Across 64 schools, Ecology & Evolution graduates earn an average of $29,876 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $17,443 to $53,038 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Ecology & Evolution?

Ecology & Evolution is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 51% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Ecology & Evolution program?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), California State University-San Marcos ranks #1 for Ecology & Evolution with a score of 61/100 and graduate earnings of $40,875/yr.

Is a Ecology & Evolution degree worth it?

On average, Ecology & Evolution graduates earn 6.6x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.

About This Data

This page aggregates Ecology & Evolution programs across 64 schools using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034), and AI automation risk research from OpenAI and academic institutions.

The DegreeWorth Score (0–100) combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and return on investment. Each school's program page includes three AI scenarios (optimistic, base case, pessimistic) showing how automation could affect 10-year earnings.