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2024 Best General Biology Master's Degree Schools

330 Colleges in the United States
6,968 Master's Degrees
$38,743 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #31 in popularity, general biology is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 330 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best General Biology Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 6,968 master's degrees in general biology to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great General Biology School for Your Master's Degree

Best General Biology Master's Degree Schools The biology master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality biology program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general biology students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Biology Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best General Biology Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study General Biology in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in general biology. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in Biology

1
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
34 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in general biology has to take a look at Harvard University. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general biology from Harvard University

2
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
6 Annual Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is a wonderful option for students pursuing a master's degree in general biology. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in general biology from University of Pennsylvania

3
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
21 Annual Graduates

Stanford University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in general biology. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in general biology from Stanford University

4
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in general biology needs to check out New York University. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.

Master's recipients from the general biology program at New York University make $15,010 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in general biology from New York University

5
20 Annual Graduates

Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in general biology from Columbia University in the City of New York

6
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA

Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the biology program state that they receive average early career wages of $38,180.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Tufts University

7
2 Annual Graduates

MIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.More information about a master’s in general biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

8

Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

General Biology master's degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University receive an earnings boost of about $96,860 above the typical income of general biology graduates.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Johns Hopkins University

9

WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Those general biology students who get their master's degree from Washington University in St Louis receive $15,172 more than the standard biology student.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Washington University in St Louis

10
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC

Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the biology program earn an average of $20,291 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Duke University

11
4 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Worcester, WPI is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in general biology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute

12

Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, biology master's recipients usually earn an average of $31,122 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in general biology from University of California - San Diego

13
5 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general biology from University of Southern California

14

Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of College Station.

Students who graduate with their master's from the biology program state that they receive average early career earnings of $32,994.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Texas A&M University - College Station

15
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
18 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in general biology from Vanderbilt University

16
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC

Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the biology program report average early career income of $39,388.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Wake Forest University

17
35 Annual Graduates

Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.More information about a master’s in general biology from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

18
7 Annual Graduates

UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in general biology from University of Chicago

19
15 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general biology from George Washington University

19
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
2 Annual Graduates

Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Providence.More information about a master’s in general biology from Brown University

20

Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those general biology students who get their master's degree from Miami University - Oxford earn $4,303 more than the typical biology graduate.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Miami University - Oxford

21
Clemson crest
Clemson University
Clemson, SC

Clemson is a very large public university located in the suburb of Clemson.

Those general biology students who get their master's degree from Clemson University earn $12,727 more than the standard biology graduate.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Clemson University

22
11 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general biology from Purdue University - Main Campus

23
11 Annual Graduates

UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the city of Minneapolis.More information about a master’s in general biology from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

24
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, AL

Located in the small city of Auburn, Auburn is a public university with a very large student population.

General Biology master's degree recipients from Auburn University get an earnings boost of around $20,826 over the average earnings of general biology graduates.

More information about a master’s in general biology from Auburn University

Rest of the Top Best General Biology Master's Degree Schools

26
27
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
28
29
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
30
31
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33
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA

34
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
35
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
36
37
38
39
40
41

42

43
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
44
45
46
47
48
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
49

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for General Biology students that almost earned our Best General Biology Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
50 Northeastern University Boston, MA
51 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
52 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
53 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
54 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
55 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL
56 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
57 University of Toledo Toledo, OH
58 Iowa State University Ames, IA
59 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
60 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
60 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
61 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
62 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
63 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
64 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
65 University of Massachusetts - Lowell Lowell, MA
66 South Dakota State University Brookings, SD

General Biology by Region

View the Best General Biology Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 14 majors within the Biological & Biomedical Sciences area of study, General Biology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Biology Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Biology Studies 3,572
General Biomedical Sciences 3,396

Majors Similar to Biology

Related Major Annual Graduates
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 2,134
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 1,932
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 1,686
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 1,552
Biotechnology 1,461
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 840
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 681
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 631
Pharmacology & Toxicology 459
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 449

Notes and References

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