Michigan Tech among Top 10 Universities Teaching Natural Resources Conservation

College Factual, a website member of USA Today’s College Partner Network, has ranked Michigan Technological University in the top 10 in the nation for bachelor’s degree programs in the general area of natural resources and conservation and 5^th in the nation for its forestry programs within natural resources and conservation.

College Factual lists four undergraduate degrees in three areas within the field of natural resources and conservation at Michigan Tech. The areas are natural resources conservation, forestry and wildlife management.

Natural Resources, Forestry, Wildlife Management

Across all of these specializations, Michigan Tech awarded 39 undergraduate degrees in 2013 – 2014, according to the College Factual report. Of these, 11 were in natural resources conservation, 19 were in forestry and nine were in wildlife management.

Terry Sharik, dean of Tech’s School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES), said: “I am very pleased that an independent body has ranked our natural resources and conservation programs among the top 10 in the country.  It’s a tribute to all those in SFRES and Michigan Tech as a whole, who make this a great place to be a student, and it’s also a tribute to our students who have a strong work ethic and represent us well in the workplace.”

Outcomes of Education

Most college rankings are based on surveys of deans, faculty and students. College Factual says its rankings are based on more objective data, including outcomes-based metrics, which College Factual defines as: “Can students in these programs actually make a living after graduation?” In Michigan Tech’s case, the website determined that they can.

Salary data was based in part on information provided by Payscale.com, a website that reported in 2014 that Michigan Tech graduates rank third in the nation for average starting salaries for public research university graduates.  

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.