Sustainability Studies Degrees (2026 stats)

Last updated: April 29, 2026 Source: College Scorecard

TL;DR

Sustainability Studies maps to BLS occupations averaging about $135,756, with roughly 2,930 workers nationwide in those roles. About 4,374 degrees completed in recent IPEDS counts; median program completion runs near 59%.

Key Statistics

4,374
Total Degrees Awarded (2023)
$9,859
Median In-State Public Tuition
$42,098
Median Out-of-State Private Tuition
$135,756
Avg. Wage (related occupations)
2,930
Workers (related occupations)
59.4%
Median Graduation Rate (4-yr schools)
5
Bachelor's Completions (IPEDS 2023)

Sustainability Studies: what the data shows

Common questions about sustainability studies degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a sustainability studies degree?

A Sustainability Studies program is classified under NCES CIP 00.3033 in the 00.0030 field family (00.30).

IPEDS counted 4,374 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.

Types of sustainability studies degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 00.30 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

How long does it take to get a sustainability studies degree?

Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.3033 in our file:

  • 5 Bachelor's (6.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
  • 71 Master's (92.2% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
  • 1 Doctorate (1.3% of IPEDS total)—varies by program

Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.

What do you learn in sustainability studies?

O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Instructing, Speaking, Active Learning, Active Listening, Learning Strategies, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.

What degree do you need?

For Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).

O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.

What jobs can you get with a sustainability studies degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Sustainability Studies to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

OccupationU.S. employmentMedian annual wage
Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary11,430$84,290
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary12,680$75,890

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a sustainability studies degree worth it?

Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,859 and median net price is $18,972.

We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Sustainability Studies and the types of students that study this field.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$9,859 Median In-State Public

$42,098 Median Out of State Private

Tuition costs for Sustainability Studies majors are, on average, $9,859 for in-state public colleges, and $42,098 for out of state private colleges.

Tuition costs comparison for Sustainability Studies programs.

Degrees Awarded Over Time

4,374 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Sustainability Studies from 2015 to 2023.

Historical trend of degrees awarded in Sustainability Studies.

Top 5 Schools by Enrollment

# School State Enrollment
1 University of Phoenix-Arizona AZ 76,996
2 Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ 64,398
3 Arizona State University Digital Immersion AZ 49,000
4 Ohio State University-Main Campus OH 44,617
5 The University of Texas at Austin TX 42,100

Schools with the largest enrollment offering Sustainability Studies programs.

Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition

# School State Tuition
1 Central New Mexico Community College NM $1,934
2 Glendale Community College AZ $2,358
3 GateWay Community College AZ $2,358
4 Mesa Community College AZ $2,358
5 Phoenix College AZ $2,358

Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Sustainability Studies programs.

Top 5 Lowest Net Price

# School State Net Price
1 CUNY Brooklyn College NY $2,943
2 Seminole State College of Florida FL $3,119
3 Central New Mexico Community College NM $3,454
4 CUNY City College NY $3,486
5 Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College ND $3,669

Schools with the lowest average net price for Sustainability Studies programs.

Graduation Rates

59.36% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)

57.43% Average Graduation Rate

144 Institutions Reporting

43.88% - 71.16% Interquartile Range

Graduation/completion rates for Sustainability Studies programs across institutions.

Related specializations

Other NCES program codes in the 00.30 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.

Degree Levels (IPEDS)

Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.3033 in the survey year used in our extract (77 total across levels below).

  • 5 Bachelor's (6.5% of IPEDS total)
  • 71 Master's (92.2% of IPEDS total)
  • 1 Doctorate (1.3% of IPEDS total)

Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.

Careers & Jobs

Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.

Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $135,756. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Sustainability Studies graduates alone.

Related occupations (BLS OEWS)

Occupation Mean annual wage U.S. employment
Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary$129,63011,430
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary$141,27812,680

Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.

Employment

Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$137,183 Average Wage in Workforce

The average salary for Sustainability Studies majors is $137,183.

Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Sustainability Studies majors.

Occupations by Share

2,930 2023 Workforce

The number of Sustainability Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing.

Various jobs filled by those with a major in Sustainability Studies by share of the total number of graduates.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Sustainability Studies in the United States.

Workforce Age

N/A Average Age in 2023

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Sustainability Studies.

Age distribution for Sustainability Studies degree holders in the workforce.

Gender Distribution

Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Gender distribution of Sustainability Studies degree recipients.

Race and Ethnicity Distribution

Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Racial and ethnic distribution of Sustainability Studies degree recipients.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Sustainability Studies are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Distribution of degree types awarded in Sustainability Studies.

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Sustainability Studies field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Required Skills

Sustainability Studies majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.

Rating of how necessary various skills are for Sustainability Studies majors.

Skills Bar Chart

This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.

Skill importance ratings for Sustainability Studies majors.

About

Sustainability Studies

In 2023, 4,374 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Sustainability Studies.

CIP Code

00.3033 - Sustainability Studies

What the data shows

Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $135,756. The largest mapped role by headcount is Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (11,430 U.S. jobs in OEWS).

Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,859 in-state at public colleges and $42,098 at private institutions for programs in this field.

Data Sources

This page uses data from the following sources:

  • College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
    • Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
    • Data years: 2015-2024
    • Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
    • Employment and wage data by occupation
    • Latest data: May 2024
    • Source: bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
    • Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
    • Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
    • Source: onetcenter.org
  • IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
    • Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
    • Data years: 2015-2024
    • Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
  • Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
    • Demographic and workforce data
    • Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
    • Source: census.gov/acs

Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.

Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.

Methodology

Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.

All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.