College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

126 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
11,095 Bachelor's Degrees
$27,044 Avg Early-Career Salary
General Biology is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #4 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 126 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of general biology. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 11,095 bachelor's degrees in general biology during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of general biology for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

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 bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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

More Ways to Rank General Biology Schools

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for 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 Bachelor’s Students to Study General Biology in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor'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.

18 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Biology

1
122 Annual Graduates
$24,335 Median Starting Salary
$13,500 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in general biology needs to take a look at University of Chicago. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the biology program make an average of $24,335 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Chicago

2
380 Annual Graduates
$30,913 Median Starting Salary
$20,500 Median Student Debt

University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in general biology. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.

Those general biology students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison make $3,869 more than the typical biology graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3
215 Annual Graduates
$31,579 Median Starting Salary
$20,380 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in general biology needs to take a look at Purdue University - Main Campus. Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette.

Those general biology students who get their bachelor's degree from Purdue University - Main Campus receive $4,535 more than the standard biology graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Purdue University - Main Campus

4
112 Annual Graduates
$19,001 Median Starting Salary
$14,800 Median Student Debt

Northwestern University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in general biology. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the biology program report average early career wages of $19,001.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Northwestern University

5
482 Annual Graduates
$27,470 Median Starting Salary
$23,362 Median Student Debt

Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the biology program state that they receive average early career income of $27,470.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Ohio State University - Main Campus

6
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
477 Annual Graduates
$23,885 Median Starting Salary
$26,849 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the biology program state that they receive average early career earnings of $23,885.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Michigan State University

7
244 Annual Graduates
$24,623 Median Starting Salary
$20,000 Median Student Debt

U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the biology program report average early career earnings of $24,623.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

8
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
231 Annual Graduates
$23,625 Median Starting Salary
$25,296 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the biology program make about $23,625 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Marquette University

9
53 Annual Graduates
$14,868 Median Starting Salary
$20,750 Median Student Debt

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

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the biology program report average early career income of $14,868.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Notre Dame

10
250 Annual Graduates
$32,063 Median Starting Salary
$24,500 Median Student Debt

UC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Cincinnati.

Bachelor's recipients from the general biology major at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus earn $5,019 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

11
97 Annual Graduates
$20,114 Median Starting Salary
$23,666 Median Student Debt

Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Cleveland.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the biology program state that they receive average early career wages of $20,114.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Case Western Reserve University

12
452 Annual Graduates
$23,743 Median Starting Salary
$18,000 Median Student Debt

UIC is a very large public university located in the large city of Chicago.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the biology program earn around $23,743 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Illinois at Chicago

13
306 Annual Graduates
$22,900 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the biology program earn around $22,900 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Loyola University Chicago

14
353 Annual Graduates
$31,914 Median Starting Salary
$26,748 Median Student Debt

GVSU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Allendale.

Those general biology students who get their bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University receive $4,870 more than the standard biology grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Grand Valley State University

15
163 Annual Graduates
$29,985 Median Starting Salary
$25,368 Median Student Debt

Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Oxford.

Those general biology students who get their bachelor's degree from Miami University - Oxford earn $2,941 more than the standard biology student.

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

16
239 Annual Graduates
$32,649 Median Starting Salary
$24,034 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of La Crosse, UW - La Crosse is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the general biology program at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse make $5,605 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

17
156 Annual Graduates
$33,141 Median Starting Salary
$22,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those general biology students who get their bachelor's degree from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis earn $6,097 more than the standard biology grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

18
Denison crest
Denison University
Granville, OH
56 Annual Graduates
$28,030 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Denison is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Granville.

After graduating, biology bachelor's recipients usually earn about $28,030 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Denison University

Rest of the Top Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for General Biology students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
19 University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI
20 Illinois State University Normal, IL
21 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI
22 Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL
23 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH
24 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
25 University of Dayton Dayton, OH

Best General Biology Colleges by State

Explore the best general biology schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 2,552
Ohio 252 2,688
Illinois 241 2,423
Indiana 235 1,522
Wisconsin 213 1,910

View All Rankings >

General Biology is one of 14 different types of Biological & Biomedical Sciences programs to choose from.

Biology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Biology Studies 10,244
General Biomedical Sciences 851

Majors Similar to Biology

Related Major Annual Graduates
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 2,319
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 1,984
Zoology 693
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 570
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 423
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 411
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 343
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 304
Genetics 291
Botany/Plant Biology 87

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options