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2024 Best General Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region

88 Colleges in the Far Western US Region
17,964 Biology Degrees Awarded
$28,914 Avg Early-Career Salary
General Biology is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #5 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 88 schools in the Far Western US Region to determine which ones were the best for general biology students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 17,964 degrees in general biology during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Biology School

Best General Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region Your choice of general biology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for general biology schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your General Biology Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Biology
Bachelor's Degrees in Biology
Master's Degrees in Biology
Doctor's Degrees in Biology

The biology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best General Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for General Biology in the Far Western US Region

The schools below may not offer all types of biology degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

13 Top Far Western US Region Schools in Biology

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Biology Degrees Awarded
10.5% Growth in Graduates

Stanford University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in general biology. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 114 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from Stanford University earn $7,808 more than the typical biology graduate.

More information about a degree in general biology from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
532 Biology Degrees Awarded
$24,167 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you wish to pursue a degree in general biology. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 532 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, biology degree recipients generally earn an average of $24,167 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Los Angeles

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
248 Biology Degrees Awarded
2.4% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Berkeley is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in general biology. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 248 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. General Biology degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley receive an earnings boost of about $7,380 over the typical earnings of general biology graduates.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Berkeley

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Biology Degrees Awarded
8.1% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a degree in general biology. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 86 general biology students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program state that they receive average early career wages of $24,988.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of Southern California

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
469 Biology Degrees Awarded
$36,039 Median Starting Salary

UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were approximately 469 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. General Biology degree recipients from University of California - San Diego earn a boost of around $7,125 over the average earnings of general biology graduates.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - San Diego

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
182 Biology Degrees Awarded
3.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.

There were roughly 182 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. General Biology degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus receive an earnings boost of around $3,448 over the typical income of general biology graduates.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
377 Biology Degrees Awarded
2.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were approximately 377 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program state that they receive average early career income of $30,350.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Santa Barbara

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
364 Biology Degrees Awarded
6.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were about 364 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the biology program make an average of $28,791 for their early career.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Davis

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
402 Biology Degrees Awarded
6.5% Growth in Graduates

SFSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Francisco. This university ranks 35th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 402 general biology students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year. General Biology degree recipients from San Francisco State University get an earnings boost of about $9,989 over the average income of general biology majors.

More information about a degree in general biology from San Francisco State University

10
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 Biology Degrees Awarded
$36,629 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 67 general biology students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available. Those general biology students who get their degree from Santa Clara University receive $7,715 more than the typical biology student.

More information about a degree in general biology from Santa Clara University

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
309 Biology Degrees Awarded
$33,006 Median Starting Salary

SDSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Diego. This university ranks 22nd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 309 general biology students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. General Biology degree recipients from San Diego State University receive an earnings boost of about $4,092 over the average income of general biology majors.

More information about a degree in general biology from San Diego State University

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
276 Biology Degrees Awarded
19.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the distant town of Pullman, Wazzu is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 51 colleges for overall quality in the state of Washington.

There were roughly 276 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Wazzu in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program report average early career wages of $29,289.

More information about a degree in general biology from Washington State University

13
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
204 Biology Degrees Awarded
$29,134 Median Starting Salary

UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the city of Santa Cruz. A Best Colleges rank of #102 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Santa Cruz is a great university overall.

There were about 204 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, biology degree recipients generally earn about $29,134 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Santa Cruz

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for General Biology students in the Far Western US Region that almost earned our Best General Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region award.

Rank College Location
14 University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA
15 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
16 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
17 Occidental College Los Angeles, CA
18 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
19 University of California - Merced Merced, CA
20 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
21 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
22 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA

Best General Biology Colleges by State

Explore the best general biology colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
California 330 14,026
Washington 300 1,675
Oregon 266 969
Nevada 192 561
Hawaii 164 253
Alaska 119 98

View All Rankings >

General Biology is one of 14 different types of Biological & Biomedical Sciences programs to choose from.

Biology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Biology Studies 17,425
General Biomedical Sciences 539

View All Biology Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 2,836
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 2,654
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 1,801
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 1,273
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 1,092
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 829
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 783
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 440
Biotechnology 391
Zoology 340

View All Biology Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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