Ranked #5 in popularity, general biology is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual looked at 901 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best General Biology Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 106,032 degrees in general biology during the 2021-2022 academic year.
The biology program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Biology rankings. We derive our Best Overall General Biology School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
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.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Biology Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
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Best Schools for General Biology in the United States
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the biology degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student pursuing a degree in general biology needs to take a look at Johns Hopkins University. 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 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were approximately 78 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available. General Biology degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University get an earnings boost of about $87,499 over the typical income of general biology majors.
New York University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in general biology. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 489 general biology students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from New York University receive $10,611 more than the standard biology graduate.
It is hard to beat University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if you want to pursue a degree in general biology. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were roughly 571 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, biology degree recipients generally earn an average of $33,471 at the beginning of their careers.
University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in general biology. 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 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were about 169 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program report average early career earnings of $31,055.
Located in the city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were roughly 142 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern in the most recent data year. General Biology degree recipients from Northeastern University earn a boost of approximately $11,681 over the average income of general biology graduates.
UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. This university ranks 1st out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were roughly 360 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities receive $2,323 more than the standard biology graduate.
UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were about 446 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, biology degree recipients generally earn around $28,242 in their early careers.
Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were approximately 312 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program report average early career income of $34,500.
Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were roughly 254 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from Tufts University make $6,540 more than the average biology grad.
Located in the town of Durham, UNH is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 17 schools for overall quality in the state of New Hampshire.
There were approximately 183 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UNH in the most recent data year. General Biology degree recipients from University of New Hampshire - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of around $11,533 over the typical income of general biology graduates.
Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the city of College Station. This university ranks 1st out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 985 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, biology degree recipients generally make an average of $33,273 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Boston College is a great college overall.
There were approximately 184 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Boston College in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from Boston College make $4,779 more than the average biology student.
Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 8th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 518 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general biology program at University of California - San Diego earn $4,747 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 215 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the biology program earn an average of $30,447 for their early career.
Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were about 195 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley earn $2,829 more than the standard biology student.
UW Seattle is a very large public university located in the large city of Seattle. This university ranks 1st out of 50 colleges for overall quality in the state of Washington.
There were approximately 240 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general biology program at University of Washington - Seattle Campus earn $4,903 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing. This university ranks 2nd out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 540 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program state that they receive average early career income of $26,435.
UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the large city of Madison. This university ranks 1st out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were roughly 519 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the biology program earn an average of $35,798 in the first couple years of their career.
Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 91 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were approximately 458 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program state that they receive average early career earnings of $32,356.
UCONN is a very large public university located in the town of Storrs. This university ranks 3rd out of 18 schools for overall quality in the state of Connecticut.
There were roughly 213 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCONN in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program report average early career wages of $33,189.
Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.
There were roughly 61 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent year we have data available. Those general biology students who get their degree from Dartmouth College earn $2,712 more than the typical biology graduate.
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 about 120 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from Columbia University in the City of New York earn $7,122 more than the standard biology grad.
UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 149 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UChicago 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 earnings of $35,275.
Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 169 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Those general biology students who get their degree from Northwestern University make $53,133 more than the standard biology grad.
Located in the 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 roughly 420 general biology students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from North Carolina State University make $2,344 more than the average biology grad.
This section represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best General Biology Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 901 different United States general biology schools we analyzed.
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 biology program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Biology rankings. We derive our Best Overall General Biology School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
