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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Marine Biology in California (With Aid)

5 Ranked Colleges
192 Degrees Awarded
$17,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 1,914 people earned their degree in marine biology, making the major the 288th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 241 marine biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 192 marine biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in marine biology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent marine biology programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the marine biology program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Marine Biology Schools

The biological oceanography 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 “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree biological oceanography students with aid.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Marine Biology in California (With Aid)

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 23 bachelors’s biological oceanography degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Marine Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCLA is $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Biological Oceanography students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Marine Biology Report

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 31 bachelors’s biological oceanography degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree biological oceanography students with aid list, CSULB has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Marine Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSULB is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree Biological Oceanography students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full CSULB Marine Biology Report

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #3 spot on the list. University of California - San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 76 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSD, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCSD is $14,232 for california bachelor’s degree biological oceanography students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Marine Biology at UCSD

#4

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #4 spot on the list. UC Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 61 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz also made our “Best Marine Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Cruz is $18,186 for California Bachelor’s Degree Biological Oceanography students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Marine Biology at University of California - Santa Cruz

#5

University of San Diego

San Diego, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of San Diego. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. University of San Diego is located in San Diego, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s biological oceanography degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree biological oceanography students with aid list, USD has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Marine Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of San Diego is $32,460 for california bachelor’s degree biological oceanography students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full USD Marine Biology Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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