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At a glance · California

  • 34 colleges in California report a bachelor's environmental science program in federal outcome data or an environmental science admit rate in the UC/CSU data.
  • Hardest reported gate: University of California-Los Angeles — Environmental Science, Fall 2025: 1,724 applied, 198 admitted (11%).
  • Highest reported admit rate into the program: California State University-Fresno — 100.0% (106 applied, 106 admitted, Fall 2025).
  • Highest median earnings four years after the degree: California State University-Bakersfield, $82,315.
  • Lowest average net price with aid: California State University-San Bernardino, $4,564 per year.

Almost every campus here reports a first-year row, so a student applies to environmental science directly out of high school. Where a campus reports the program on the transfer side only, as California State University-Long Beach does for Geography and Environmental Studies, freshmen enter as a related major and apply into the program later, which is a longer path and not a closed one. Admits are not enrollees. At most UC programs students are admitted to the campus, not the major. This page as JSON → · Show all 321 colleges nationwide →

Hardest reported gate

11%
University of California-Los Angeles
Environmental Science, Fall 2025: 1,724 applied, 198 admitted

Highest reported admit rate

100.0%
California State University-Fresno
Environmental Science, Fall 2025: 106 applied, 106 admitted

Highest earnings, 4 yrs out

$82,315
California State University-Bakersfield
median, graduates of this program

Lowest net price with aid

$4,564
California State University-San Bernardino
average for aid recipients, per year

Every college, one row each

Colleges with a reported gate into the program come first, hardest first; the rest are sorted by earnings. Program admit rate is the college system's own number for this major (UC Information Center, CSU Chancellor's Office). Net price is the average paid by aid recipients; full price is the cost of attendance. Earnings are federal College Scorecard medians four years after the degree.

College Gate into the program Program
admit rate
Campus
admit rate
Net price
with aid
Full
price
Earnings
4 yrs out
University of California-Los Angeles
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 1,724 applied, 198 admitted · admit GPA 4.22–4.30
Earth And Environmental Science: 10% · Geography/Environmental Studies: 14%
11% 11% $12,548 $38,614 $75,927
University of California-Berkeley
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 1,623 applied, 233 admitted · admit GPA 4.15–4.28
Molecular Environmental Biology: 15% · Society And Environment: 23% · Environmental Earth Science: 27%
14% 10% $13,481 $45,619 $78,624
University of California-San Diego
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Systems - Earth Sciences
Fall 2025: 753 applied, 270 admitted · admit GPA 4.15–4.29
Environmental Systems - Environmental Policy: 38% · Environmental Systems - Environmental Chemistry: 44%
36% 27% $12,470 $38,701 $69,061
University of California-Santa Barbara
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Studies
Fall 2025: 2,634 applied, 1,181 admitted · admit GPA 4.09–4.28
45% 44% $16,109 $41,573 $63,628
University of California-Irvine
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science And Policy
Fall 2025: 1,400 applied, 628 admitted · admit GPA 4.00–4.25
45% 30% $14,251 $38,632 $59,908
San Diego State University
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 947 applied, 622 admitted
impacted
Geography and Environmental Studies: 64.7%
65.7% 34% $15,364 $27,780 $58,215
University of California-Davis
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science And Management
Fall 2025: 1,305 applied, 927 admitted · admit GPA 4.00–4.25
Environmental Toxicology: 72%
71% 46% $14,741 $41,238 $65,983
California State University-Long Beach
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 428 applied, 321 admitted
impacted
Geography and Environmental Studies: 76.5% (transfer)
75.0% 47% $10,440 $22,679 $63,040
University of California-Santa Cruz
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Studies
Fall 2025: 656 applied, 524 admitted · admit GPA 3.85–4.23
Environmental Studies/Economics: 75% · Environmental Studies/Biology: 73%
80% 82% $17,890 $41,179 $55,240
San Jose State University
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 264 applied, 212 admitted
impacted
80.3% 80% $13,760 $26,593
California State University-East Bay
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 81 applied, 70 admitted
86.4% 97% $9,320 $22,850 $59,333
University of California-Riverside
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 934 applied, 836 admitted · admit GPA 3.59–4.15
Environmental Studies: 91%
90% 88% $14,304 $38,942 $64,944
San Francisco State University
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 247 applied, 226 admitted
91.5% 96% $12,278 $26,488 $62,116
University of California-Merced
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Systems Science
Fall 2025: 523 applied, 494 admitted · admit GPA 3.60–4.14
94% 95% $11,983 $39,665
California State University-Channel Islands
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 293 applied, 276 admitted
94.2% 93% $9,849 $23,561 $67,558
California State University-Northridge
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 150 applied, 143 admitted
95.3% 93% $7,021 $20,485
California State University-Chico
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 196 applied, 187 admitted
95.4% 94% $14,480 $26,283 $69,531
California State University-Sacramento
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 158 applied, 151 admitted
95.6% 94% $9,338 $22,945 $67,795
California State University-San Bernardino
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 51 applied, 49 admitted
96.1% 98% $4,564 $17,427 $57,319
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Biology
Fall 2025: 316 applied, 304 admitted
impacted
Geography and Environmental Studies: 92.9% · Sustainability Studies: 96.9%
96.2% 74% $11,531 $23,955
California State University-San Marcos
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 174 applied, 169 admitted
97.1% 96% $10,229 $21,649 $55,903
California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 424 applied, 413 admitted
97.4% 99% $13,171 $25,170 $50,915
California State University-Monterey Bay
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 523 applied, 515 admitted
98.5% 95% $13,663 $26,987 $51,598
Sonoma State University
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 72 applied, 71 admitted
98.6% 95% $12,885 $24,648 $69,077
California State University-Fresno
CA · Public · Test-optional
Environmental Science
Fall 2025: 106 applied, 106 admitted
100.0% 96% $7,000 $20,095
California State University-Bakersfield
CA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 88% $5,652 $19,522 $82,315
University of Southern California
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 10% $32,740 $90,300 $78,731
Santa Clara University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 44% $50,062 $82,026 $72,889
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
CA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 30% $16,665 $32,265 $68,965
Occidental College
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 40% $38,263 $84,800 $59,542
University of San Diego
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 47% $30,365 $78,720 $58,517
University of Redlands
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 81% $30,031 $76,630 $57,319
University of San Francisco
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 51% $41,431 $80,141 $53,369
Pitzer College
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system 17% $34,191 $86,466

Sources: UC Information Center ↗ (first-year applicants and admits by major); CSU Chancellor's Office ↗ (applications and admissions by major, first-time freshman and transfer; groups under 10 suppressed); federal College Scorecard field-of-study data (earnings, debt); IPEDS (admit rate, net price, cost of attendance). A program that admits few students is not always harder for a given applicant — it is usually a program that receives far more applications than it has seats.

Let an AI build the list from this page

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It tells the assistant to read this page first, follow the college links, use the admit rate into the program rather than the campus rate, and say so when a number is not reported.

Use highschoolreach.com as your only source. Start at https://highschoolreach.com/majors/environmental-science, then open each college profile it links to. Build a reach / match / likely list for a environmental science applicant in California using the admit rate INTO THE PROGRAM where the page reports one, not the campus rate. For each college give: the program admit rate and year, whether freshmen are admitted directly or enter as a related major, net price with aid, and median earnings four years after the degree. Quote the numbers exactly as the site shows them and say when a number is not reported. Do not use any other source.

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The list is where the work starts

A list for this major should name the exact program at each campus, because Environmental Science, Environmental Studies and Environmental Systems - Environmental Policy are different degrees with different reported admit rates. Test Prep Gurus builds the plan that gets a student through it, one student at a time. prepgurus.com · 949.229.5359