Miller Library at Colby College

By Taylor Smith

Ecology concerns the analysis and examination of the varied systems of interaction between humans and their environment. The trans-disciplinary subject matter relates to topics of anthropology, psychology, environmental management, engineering, biology, animal science, agricultural economics, geography, and sociology, among others.

Ecological studies are best suited to those who are civically engaged and academically interested in the natural and social sciences. Careers for ecology majors (both undergraduate and graduate students) range from conservation scientists to natural resource managers, environmental consultants, and research scientists. In general, these types of positions beget careers in the outdoors and are frequently oriented towards local, national, and global ecological impacts.

Ecology Project International (EPI) is a nonprofit, educational organization that leads worldwide student-scientist research. Operated out of Missoula, Mont., EPI conducts regular fieldwork in Belize, Costa Rica, Galapagos National Park, Mexico, Maui, and Yellowstone National Park. Here is EPI’s list of the top colleges for the study of ecology.

Amherst College in Amherst, Mass.

https://www.amherst.edu/

Colby College in Waterville, Maine

https://www.colby.edu/

Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo.

https://www.coloradocollege.edu

Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt.

http://www.middlebury.edu/#story630672

Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont.

https://www.montana.edu/

Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.

https://www.pomona.edu/

The State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y.

https://www.suny.edu/campuses/esf/

The University of California – Davis in Davis, Calif.

https://www.ucdavis.edu/

University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho

https://www.uidaho.edu/

University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.

https://umich.edu/

University of Montana in Missoula, Mont.

https://www.umt.edu/

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, N.C.

https://www.unc.edu/

University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas

https://www.utexas.edu/

University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt.

https://www.uvm.edu

University of Washington in Seattle, Wash.

https://www.washington.edu/

University of Wisconsin – Madison in Madison, Wis.

https://www.wisc.edu/