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Best Colleges for Biology

50 Biology programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Biology, Duke University (North Carolina) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $83,192. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	Duke University Durham, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$83,192	$12,500	160	95.4
2	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,163	$13,000	177	94
3	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$83,614	$19,000	182	92.7
4	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ	Bachelor's Degree	$93,200	$20,276	163	92.7
5	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	Bachelor's Degree	$87,026	$17,030	55	92.1
6	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,204	$15,000	362	91.8
7	Tufts University Medford, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$76,782	$16,250	138	91.6
8	University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$91,888	$20,500	121	91.3
9	Touro University New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$75,886	$17,250	146	90.7
10	New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$80,208	$19,500	126	90.5
11	Lafayette College Easton, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$82,109	$17,000	48	90.3
12	Yeshiva University New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$90,456	$20,500	75	89.7
13	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$77,132	$17,380	71	89.6
14	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,010	$18,272	185	89.5
15	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$71,181	$14,684	150	88.8
16	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$83,012	$21,500	138	88.3
17	The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ	Bachelor's Degree	$75,531	$19,500	118	88.2
18	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$78,466	$20,500	89	87.5
19	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	Bachelor's Degree	$80,379	$22,250	193	87.4
20	Auburn University Auburn, AL	Bachelor's Degree	$83,053	$23,250	315	87
21	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Doctoral Degree	$129,900	—	85	87
22	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$69,083	$15,500	290	87
23	Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$71,533	$14,500	62	86.9
24	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$71,726	$17,600	87	86.8
25	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$68,120	$13,000	418	86.7
26	Union College	Bachelor's Degree	$87,208	$21,500	46	86.4
27	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$69,724	$18,500	346	86.3
28	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	Bachelor's Degree	$88,921	$24,524	253	86.3
29	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	Doctoral Degree	$106,501	—	70	86.2
30	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,240	$19,063	337	86
31	Furman University Greenville, SC	Bachelor's Degree	$80,090	$20,773	51	85.9
32	Emory University Atlanta, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,959	$19,500	203	85.8
33	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	Master's Degree	$128,052	—	53	85.7
34	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	Doctoral Degree	$189,144	—	47	85.7
35	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$68,435	$15,000	158	85.7
36	Emory University Atlanta, GA	Doctoral Degree	$105,042	—	57	85.5
37	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$71,874	$19,813	106	85.5
38	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$68,861	$18,010	285	85.4
39	University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Worcester, MA	Doctoral Degree	$150,264	—	46	85.3
40	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Master's Degree	$87,940	$24,482	111	85.1
41	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$79,095	—	182	84.8
42	Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO	Bachelor's Degree	$68,359	$13,500	87	84.8
43	Mission College Santa Clara, CA	Associate's Degree	$82,066	—	91	84.4
44	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$76,149	$22,750	117	84.4
45	University of North Texas Health Science Center Fort Worth, TX	Master's Degree	$70,283	$20,500	292	83.9
46	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,331	$19,500	81	83.3
47	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	Doctoral Degree	$176,414	—	26	83
48	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	Bachelor's Degree	$69,005	$20,500	389	83
49	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$80,317	$23,250	57	82.9
50	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)	$85,032	—	—	82.8

🔍 Filter Biology by state & degree level →

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Hidden Gems for Biology

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Biology — the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ Strong Biology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$93,200	73%	92.7
2	University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI Strong Biology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$91,888	75%	91.3
3	New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury, NY Strong Biology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$80,208	81%	90.5
4	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA Strong Biology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$83,012	71%	88.3
5	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Strong Biology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$78,466	63%	87.5
6	Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY Strong Biology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$71,533	63%	86.9
7	Union College Strong Biology outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$87,208	—	86.4
8	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI Strong Biology outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$88,921	81%	86.3
9	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY Strong Biology outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$71,874	70%	85.5
10	University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Worcester, MA Strong Biology outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$150,264	—	85.3
11	Mission College Santa Clara, CA Strong Biology outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$82,066	—	84.4
12	University of North Texas Health Science Center Fort Worth, TX Strong Biology outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus	$70,283	—	83.9

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Biology field (CIP 26.01) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Biology programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Biology program?+

By our outcome score, Duke University (North Carolina) ranks #1 for Biology, with median graduate earnings of $83,192.

How are these Biology programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Biology programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

🔍 Biology rankings (filterable)🎓 All major rankings 🏫 Browse colleges 🆓 Tuition-free colleges ⭐ All Best-Of guides

Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.