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Best Value Biotechnology Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Biotechnology Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

11 Colleges
$18,157 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$53,161 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Biotechnology School for You

With 322 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, biotechnology is the #157 most popular major in California.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Biotechnology Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for biotech students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Biotechnology Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Biotechnology Colleges.

Top 10 Best Biotechnology Schools

$6,817 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found California State University - Channel Islands to be the best value school for biotechnology students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the suburb of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUCI are $6,817 a year.

Read full report on Biotechnology at California State University - Channel Islands

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great value for biotechnology students. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.

Full Biotechnology at California State University - Long Beach Report

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Biotechnology Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State LA are $6,785 a year.

Read More…

$7,727 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - San Marcos is a great value for biotechnology students. CSUSM is a large public school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.

CSUSM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,727 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that biotech majors at CSUSM take out is $18,500.

Read More…

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 11 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the # 5 spot on the list. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Fresno State are $6,653 per year.

Full Biotechnology at California State University - Fresno Report

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well on this year’s best value schools for biotechnology students. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 a year. The average amount in student loans that biotech majors at Cal Poly Pomona take out is $18,492.

Full Biotechnology at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

$14,645 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Davis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Biotechnology Schools in California ranking. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Davis are $14,645 per year. Biotech majors at UC Davis take out an average of $11,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

UC Davis also claimed a spot on our Best Biotechnology Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Full Biotechnology at University of California - Davis Report

$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for biotechnology students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Irvine are $13,775 a year.

Read full report on Biotechnology at University of California - Irvine

$14,070 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on this year’s best value schools for biotechnology students. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz are $14,070 a year.

Read full report on Biotechnology at University of California - Santa Cruz

#10

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA
$53,472 Average Tuition & Fees

University of San Francisco came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Biotechnology Schools in California ranking. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at USFCA are $53,472 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, USFCA also did well on our Best Biotechnology Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Biotechnology at University of San Francisco Report

Best Value Biotechnology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Biotechnology Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 0
Oregon 16
Nevada 27
Hawaii 14

One of 14 majors within the area of study, biotechnology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Biology 107,165
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 14,535
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 11,615
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 8,813
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 7,247

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.

  • 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Henk Caspers/Naturalis Biodiversity Center.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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