Best Value Colleges for Sustainability Studies
Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.
11
Schools Ranked
$36,246
Avg. Earnings
7.7 yrs
Best Payback
297
Graduates
How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.
| # | School | Major Earnings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH · Public | $47,260 | 7.7 yrs |
| 2 | Aquinas College Grand Rapids, MI · Private | $38,871 | 15.8 yrs |
| 3 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public | $36,745 | 19.2 yrs |
| 4 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR · Public | $39,009 | 20.5 yrs |
| 5 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR · Public | $39,009 | 21.7 yrs |
| 6 | Stockton University Galloway, NJ · Public | $25,194 | N/A |
| 7 | Montana State University Bozeman, MT · Public | $17,470 | N/A |
| 8 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO · Public | $30,771 | N/A |
| 9 | Roosevelt University Chicago, IL · Private | $26,933 | N/A |
| 10 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public | $35,060 | N/A |
| 11 | Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA · Private | $35,060 | N/A |
Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.