2023 Best Value Colleges for Marine Biology in the Far Western US Region
14
Ranked Colleges
429
Degrees Awarded
$17,100
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Marine Biology is the 298th most popular major in the country with 1,835 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Far Western US region, there were 429 marine biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking analyzed 14 colleges that offered 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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region biological oceanography students.
Top 14 Best Value Colleges for Marine Biology in the Far Western US Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 25 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
CSULB also made our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $10,054 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Marine Biology at California State University - Long Beach
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region. San Jose State University is a public institution located in San Jose, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region biological oceanography students list, San Jose State has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State University is $16,542 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Marine Biology at San Jose State
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region biological oceanography students list, UCSB has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $16,252 for far western us region biological oceanography students per year to attend UCSB.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Marine Biology at UCSB
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Washington University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region. Located in Bellingham, Washington, this fairly large public school awarded 20 degrees to qualified ’s biological oceanography students in 2020-2021.
WWU also took the #10 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $17,070 for far western us region biological oceanography students per year to attend Western Washington University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Marine Biology at Western Washington University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Hawaii at Hilo. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region list. This small school is located in Hilo, Hawaii, and it awarded 27 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
UH Hilo not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $13,503 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students per year to attend University of Hawaii at Hilo.
Read more about Marine Biology at UH Hilo
With a ranking of #6, University of Hawaii at Manoa did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, this fairly large public school awarded 53 degrees to qualified ’s biological oceanography students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region biological oceanography students list, UH Manoa has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Hawaii at Manoa is $14,687 for far western us region biological oceanography students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Marine Biology at UH Manoa
University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #7. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is located in Seattle, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s biological oceanography degrees to qualified students.
UW Seattle not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $12,017 for far western us region biological oceanography students per year to attend UW Seattle.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Marine Biology at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
With a ranking of #8, University of Alaska Fairbanks did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Fairbanks, Alaska, and it awarded 5 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
UAF did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Alaska Fairbanks is $10,510 for far western us region biological oceanography students.
Full University of Alaska Fairbanks Marine Biology Report
With a ranking of #9, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school handed out 121 diplomas to qualified ’s biological oceanography students in 2020-2021.
UCSD not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $15,240 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students per year to attend University of California - San Diego.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Marine Biology at UCSD
Hawaii Pacific University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Hawaii Pacific University is a small school located in Honolulu, Hawaii that handed out 28 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region biological oceanography students list, Hawaii Pacific University has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $29,484 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students per year to attend Hawaii Pacific University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Marine Biology at Hawaii Pacific University
University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #11. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biological oceanography degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
UCLA also took the #3 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Los Angeles is $15,023 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Marine Biology Report
With a ranking of #12, University of Oregon did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Eugene, Oregon, this large public school handed out 17 degrees to qualified ’s biological oceanography students in 2020-2021.
UO also made our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $18,047 for far western us region biological oceanography students per year to attend UO.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Marine Biology at University of Oregon
University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. University of California - Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 72 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Santa Cruz not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Santa Cruz is $17,930 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 - Santa Cruz Marine Biology Report
With a ranking of #14, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region list. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 2 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $32,569 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students per year to attend University of Southern California.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Southern California 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
- *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.
Credits
