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2024 Best General Biology Schools in California

54 Colleges in California
14,408 Biology Degrees Awarded
$30,117 Avg Early-Career Salary
General Biology is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #5 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 54 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Biology Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 14,408 degrees in general biology to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Biology School

Best General Biology Schools in California 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. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for general biology schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

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.

General Biology Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Biology
Bachelor's Degrees in Biology
Master's Degrees in Biology
Doctor's Degrees in Biology

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best General Biology Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for General Biology in California

The schools below may not offer all types of biology degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top California Schools in Biology

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Biology Degrees Awarded
10.5% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Stanford University if you wish to pursue a degree in general biology. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 114 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. General Biology degree recipients from Stanford University get an earnings boost of around $6,605 over the typical earnings of general biology graduates.

More information about a degree in general biology from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
532 Biology Degrees Awarded
$24,167 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in general biology needs to take a look at University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 532 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. After graduating, biology degree recipients usually earn about $24,167 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Los Angeles

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
248 Biology Degrees Awarded
2.4% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a degree in general biology. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 248 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general biology program at University of California - Berkeley get $6,177 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Berkeley

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Biology Degrees Awarded
8.1% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in general biology has to check out University of Southern California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 86 general biology students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program report average early career income of $24,988.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of Southern California

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
469 Biology Degrees Awarded
$36,039 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were approximately 469 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from University of California - San Diego make $5,923 more than the standard biology graduate.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - San Diego

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
377 Biology Degrees Awarded
2.4% Growth in Graduates

UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were about 377 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UCSB 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 income of $30,350.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Santa Barbara

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
364 Biology Degrees Awarded
6.3% Growth in Graduates

UC Davis is a very large public university located in the suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were about 364 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the biology program earn an average of $28,791 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in general biology from University of California - Davis

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
402 Biology Degrees Awarded
6.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 35th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 402 general biology students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general biology degree program at San Francisco State University get $8,786 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in general biology from San Francisco State University

9
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 Biology Degrees Awarded
$36,629 Median Starting Salary

SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were about 67 general biology students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year. General Biology degree recipients from Santa Clara University get an earnings boost of around $6,512 over the typical earnings of general biology graduates.

More information about a degree in general biology from Santa Clara University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
309 Biology Degrees Awarded
$33,006 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 22nd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 309 general biology students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent data year. General Biology degree recipients from San Diego State University earn a boost of approximately $2,889 above the typical earnings of general biology majors.

More information about a degree in general biology from San Diego State University

Best General Biology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Biology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 1,675
Oregon 266 969
Nevada 192 561
Hawaii 164 253
Alaska 119 98

View All Rankings >

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 14,031
General Biomedical Sciences 377

View All Biology Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 2,320
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 2,064
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 1,537
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 731
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 649
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 642
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 594
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 353
Biotechnology 322
Zoology 211

View All Biology Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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