{
  "major": "Wildlife Biology & Management",
  "slug": "wildlife-biology",
  "field": "Physical & Earth Sciences",
  "as_of": "2026",
  "url": "https://collegeranked.com/best-wildlife-biology-schools/",
  "source": "U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2026 release); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
  "metric_definitions": {
    "median_earnings": "Median earnings one year after graduation (Scorecard)",
    "net_price": "Average annual cost of attendance after grant aid. For PUBLIC schools this reflects IN-STATE cost; out-of-state students pay more.",
    "roi_10yr_usd": "Ten years of earnings minus four years of net price",
    "score": "CollegeRanked Score (0-100) — the composite that sets rank order; see /methodology/#score",
    "public": "true = public university (net_price is in-state basis); false = private (residency-neutral)"
  },
  "total_colleges_with_reported_data": 37,
  "shown": 37,
  "ranking": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "school": "Stephen F Austin State University",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 43282,
      "net_price": 14260,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 375780,
      "score": 45,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "school": "Valley City State University",
      "state": "ND",
      "median_earnings": 44253,
      "net_price": 11890,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 394970,
      "score": 43,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "school": "Brigham Young University-Idaho",
      "state": "ID",
      "median_earnings": 39896,
      "net_price": 8221,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 366076,
      "score": 41,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "school": "New Mexico State University-Main Campus",
      "state": "NM",
      "median_earnings": 33603,
      "net_price": 8889,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 300474,
      "score": 37,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "school": "South Dakota State University",
      "state": "SD",
      "median_earnings": 39483,
      "net_price": 19841,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 315466,
      "score": 30,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "school": "Bemidji State University",
      "state": "MN",
      "median_earnings": 35806,
      "net_price": 15261,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 297016,
      "score": 28,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "school": "Arkansas Tech University",
      "state": "AR",
      "median_earnings": 28652,
      "net_price": 12970,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 234640,
      "score": 28,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "school": "Northwest Missouri State University",
      "state": "MO",
      "median_earnings": 36758,
      "net_price": 16244,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 302604,
      "score": 26,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "school": "University of Idaho",
      "state": "ID",
      "median_earnings": 31022,
      "net_price": 14831,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 250896,
      "score": 26,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "school": "Murray State University",
      "state": "KY",
      "median_earnings": 28751,
      "net_price": 9096,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 251126,
      "score": 26,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "school": "University of Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 23715,
      "net_price": 6541,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 210986,
      "score": 26,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "school": "Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 35979,
      "net_price": 26683,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 253058,
      "score": 25,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "school": "University of Nevada-Reno",
      "state": "NV",
      "median_earnings": 33351,
      "net_price": 15927,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 269802,
      "score": 25,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "school": "Missouri Western State University",
      "state": "MO",
      "median_earnings": 32199,
      "net_price": 13251,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 268986,
      "score": 25,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "school": "The University of Tennessee-Knoxville",
      "state": "TN",
      "median_earnings": 30924,
      "net_price": 18976,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 233336,
      "score": 25,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "school": "Mississippi State University",
      "state": "MS",
      "median_earnings": 30247,
      "net_price": 17595,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 232090,
      "score": 25,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "school": "Tennessee Technological University",
      "state": "TN",
      "median_earnings": 29936,
      "net_price": 14246,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 242376,
      "score": 25,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "school": "Eastern Kentucky University",
      "state": "KY",
      "median_earnings": 25492,
      "net_price": 11040,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 210760,
      "score": 25,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "school": "West Virginia University",
      "state": "WV",
      "median_earnings": 29470,
      "net_price": 15634,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 232164,
      "score": 23,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "school": "University of California-Davis",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 29896,
      "net_price": 14741,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 239996,
      "score": 21,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "school": "University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point",
      "state": "WI",
      "median_earnings": 27273,
      "net_price": 14559,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 214494,
      "score": 21,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "school": "Auburn University",
      "state": "AL",
      "median_earnings": 28748,
      "net_price": 24323,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 190188,
      "score": 20,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 23,
      "school": "California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 26325,
      "net_price": 13171,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 210566,
      "score": 20,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 24,
      "school": "Utah State University",
      "state": "UT",
      "median_earnings": 27996,
      "net_price": 14936,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 220216,
      "score": 19,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 25,
      "school": "University of Georgia",
      "state": "GA",
      "median_earnings": 22354,
      "net_price": 13936,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 167796,
      "score": 19,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 26,
      "school": "The University of Montana",
      "state": "MT",
      "median_earnings": 28339,
      "net_price": 16784,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 216254,
      "score": 18,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 27,
      "school": "Michigan State University",
      "state": "MI",
      "median_earnings": 27762,
      "net_price": 19680,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 198900,
      "score": 18,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 28,
      "school": "University of Maine",
      "state": "ME",
      "median_earnings": 27636,
      "net_price": 17510,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 206320,
      "score": 17,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 29,
      "school": "Missouri State University-Springfield",
      "state": "MO",
      "median_earnings": 26549,
      "net_price": 17613,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 195038,
      "score": 17,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 30,
      "school": "University of Delaware",
      "state": "DE",
      "median_earnings": 22411,
      "net_price": 17799,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 152914,
      "score": 17,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 31,
      "school": "Unity Environmental University",
      "state": "ME",
      "median_earnings": 29312,
      "net_price": 19104,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 216704,
      "score": 15,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 32,
      "school": "University of Rhode Island",
      "state": "RI",
      "median_earnings": 25523,
      "net_price": 21440,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 169470,
      "score": 15,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 33,
      "school": "East Texas A&M University",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 20295,
      "net_price": 11841,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 155586,
      "score": 15,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 34,
      "school": "University of New Hampshire-Main Campus",
      "state": "NH",
      "median_earnings": 27698,
      "net_price": 23805,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 181760,
      "score": 14,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 35,
      "school": "Delaware Valley University",
      "state": "PA",
      "median_earnings": 28178,
      "net_price": 28278,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 168668,
      "score": 13,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 36,
      "school": "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University",
      "state": "VA",
      "median_earnings": 25563,
      "net_price": 24953,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 155818,
      "score": 13,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 37,
      "school": "Otterbein University",
      "state": "OH",
      "median_earnings": 19801,
      "net_price": 19237,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 121062,
      "score": 13,
      "public": false
    }
  ]
}