2024 Best General Biology Schools in the Great Lakes Region
130Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
12,616Biology Degrees Awarded
$28,013Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in general biology, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #5 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 130 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Biology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 12,616 degrees in general biology to qualified students.
Your choice of general biology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Biology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Biology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Schools for General Biology in the Great Lakes Region
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the biology degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Any student who is interested in general biology has to check out University of Chicago. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were about 134 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year. After graduation, biology degree recipients usually earn about $24,335 in the first five years of their career.
Any student who is interested in general biology has to look into University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were roughly 491 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. General Biology degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn a boost of about $2,900 over the average income of general biology graduates.
It is difficult to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a degree in general biology. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 127 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the biology program earn an average of $19,001 for their early career.
It's difficult to beat Purdue University - Main Campus if you wish to pursue a degree in general biology. Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were roughly 250.99999999999997 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus receive $15,019 more than the standard biology graduate.
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.
There were about 495 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the biology program make about $27,470 for their early career.
Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were about 484 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, biology degree recipients generally make around $23,885 at the beginning of their careers.
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 245 general biology students who graduated with this degree at U-M 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 $24,623.
Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were approximately 241 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Marquette 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 $23,625.
Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were roughly 81 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general biology major at University of Notre Dame make $7,642 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
UC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Cincinnati. This university ranks 5th out of 96 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were roughly 258 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general biology degree program at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus make $4,050 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cleveland. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Case Western is a great university overall.
There were approximately 115 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Case Western in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program state that they receive average early career wages of $20,114.
UIC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Chicago. This university ranks 6th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 466 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the biology program earn about $23,743 in the first couple years of their career.
Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the town of Oxford. A Best Colleges rank of #116 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Miami University - Oxford is a great university overall.
There were about 317 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from Miami University - Oxford earn $8,503 more than the typical biology student.
Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 380 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the biology program make around $20,365 in the first couple years of working.
GVSU is a very large public university located in the suburb of Allendale. This university ranks 9th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 373 general biology students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent year we have data available. General Biology degree recipients from Grand Valley State University receive an earnings boost of about $3,901 over the average earnings of general biology majors.
Located in the small city of La Crosse, UW - La Crosse is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were about 264 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UW - La Crosse in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - La Crosse receive $4,636 more than the typical biology graduate.
Located in the city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 42 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were approximately 193 general biology students who graduated with this degree at IUPUI in the most recent year we have data available. Those general biology students who get their degree from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis make $3,594 more than the average biology graduate.
Denison is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small suburb of Granville. This university ranks 4th out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were approximately 56 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Denison in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program report average early career income of $28,030.
Located in the distant town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 12th out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were approximately 77 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UW - River Falls in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general biology major at University of Wisconsin - River Falls earn $5,785 above the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
Rest of the Top Best General Biology Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best General Biology Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
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).
college factual
Your choice of general biology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Biology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
