Biotechnology isn't the most popular major in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #174 in popularity out of 395 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 63 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for biotechnology students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 4,245 degrees in biotechnology to qualified students.
The biotech program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Biotechnology rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for biotechnology schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Biotechnology Schools list to help you make the college decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Biotechnology in the United States
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the biotech degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It is difficult to beat Johns Hopkins University if you wish to pursue a degree in biotechnology. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were approximately 428 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available. Those biotechnology students who get their degree from Johns Hopkins University receive $25,875 more than the standard biotech student.
University of Pennsylvania is a good decision for students interested in a degree in biotechnology. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were approximately 33 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available.
University of California - Davis is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in biotechnology. UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. This university ranks 10th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 66 biotechnology 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 biotech program make an average of $59,156 in their early career salary.
New York University is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in biotechnology. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 25 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year.
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were roughly 15 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year.
Located in the small city of New Brunswick, Rutgers New Brunswick is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were about 56 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers New Brunswick in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the biotech program make around $56,509 in their early career salary.
Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 48 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the biotechnology degree program at North Carolina State University make $21,560 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 43 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Biotechnology degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of about $15,568 above the average income of biotechnology majors.
Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #33 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northeastern is a great university overall.
Degree recipients from the biotechnology degree program at Northeastern University earn $29,687 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the large suburb of Newark, UD is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 3 schools for overall quality in the state of Delaware.
There were roughly 18 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at UD in the most recent year we have data available.
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were approximately 22 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.
There were approximately 18 biotechnology students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
The biotech program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Biotechnology rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for biotechnology schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
