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Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools

2023 Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools

855 Colleges
$27,375 Avg Salary
$24,167 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 107,165 general biology students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #5 most popular in the country.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 855 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in General Biology

#1

Bowdoin College

Brunswick, ME

Our analysis found Bowdoin College to be the best school for general biology students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Bowdoin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Brunswick.

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#2

Williams College

Williamstown, MA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Williams College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the fringe town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Biology majors at Williams take out an average of $15,125 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Military Institute. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Lexington, VMI is a public school with a small student population.

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#5

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#6

Haverford College

Haverford, PA

Haverford College ranked #6 on this year’s Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Haverford is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Haverford.

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#7

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College ranked #7 on this year’s Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Hanover.

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#8

Bucknell University

Lewisburg, PA

Bucknell University ranked #8 on this year’s Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the distant town of Lewisburg, Bucknell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#9

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Biology majors at UPenn take out an average of $16,627 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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#10

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA

Lehigh University ranked #10 on this year’s Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Lehigh is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Bethlehem.

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#11

Lafayette College

Easton, PA

Lafayette College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree general biology programs. Located in the large suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#12

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University ranked #12 on this year’s Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $507, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#13

Bates College

Lewiston, ME

Bates College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Lewiston, Bates is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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With a ranking of #14, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute did quite well on this year’s best schools for general biology students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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#15

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

With a ranking of #15, Boston College did quite well on this year’s best schools for general biology students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $752.

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#16

College of the Holy Cross

Worcester, MA

College of the Holy Cross came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Worcester, Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#17

Swarthmore College

Swarthmore, PA

Swarthmore College ranked #17 on this year’s Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Swarthmore, Swarthmore is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Biology majors at Swarthmore take out an average of $12,842 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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#18

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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#19

Colgate University

Hamilton, NY

Colgate University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree general biology programs. Colgate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Hamilton.

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#20

Randolph - Macon College

Ashland, VA

With a ranking of #20, Randolph - Macon College did quite well on this year’s best schools for general biology students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Ashland, Randolph - Macon is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, biology majors at Randolph - Macon accumulate an average of around $21,857 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $377.

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Worcester Polytechnic Institute landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree general biology programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Worcester, WPI is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general biology students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $301.

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University of Wisconsin - La Crosse landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree general biology programs. Located in the city of La Crosse, UW - La Crosse is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, biology graduates from UW - La Crosse take out $22,610 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $157.

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#24

Macalester College

Saint Paul, MN

Macalester College ranked #24 on this year’s Best General Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Macalester is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Saint Paul.

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#25

DeSales University

Center Valley, PA

DeSales University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general biology students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the rural area of Center Valley, DeSales is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Rest of the Top 50 Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools

#26

Vassar College

Poughkeepsie, NY
#27

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY
#28

Winona State University

Winona, MN
#29

Saint Johns University

Collegeville, MN
#30

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA
#31

Barnard College

New York, NY
#32

Union College New York

Schenectady, NY
#33

Hamilton College

Clinton, NY
#35

Lycoming College

Williamsport, PA
#36

Hampden - Sydney College

Hampden-Sydney, VA
#37

Carleton College

Northfield, MN
#38

Tufts University

Medford, MA
#41

St Olaf College

Northfield, MN
#42

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN
#43

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA
#44

Denison University

Granville, OH
#45

Ursinus College

Collegeville, PA
#46

Northeastern University

Boston, MA
#49

Saint Anselm College

Manchester, NH
#50

Trinity College

Hartford, CT

Additional Award Winners

This list shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 855 different United States general biology schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
52 Ohio Northern University Ada, OH
53 College of Saint Benedict Saint Joseph, MN
54 Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA
55 Carroll University Waukesha, WI
56 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
57 Excelsior College Albany, NY
58 Franklin College Franklin, IN
59 Southwestern University Georgetown, TX
60 Minnesota State University - Mankato Mankato, MN
61 Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL
62 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
63 Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA
64 Hamline University Saint Paul, MN
65 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
66 University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Green Bay, WI
67 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
68 Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA
69 Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA
70 University of California - Davis Davis, CA
71 University of St Thomas Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
72 Wellesley College Wellesley, MA
73 University of Redlands Redlands, CA
73 University of Washington - Bothell Campus Bothell, WA
75 Neumann University Aston, PA
76 Westmont College Santa Barbara, CA
77 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
78 St Mary’s College of Maryland St. Mary’s City, MD
79 Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA
80 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
81 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
82 Salisbury University Salisbury, MD
83 Grinnell College Grinnell, IA
84 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
85 Dominican University of California San Rafael, CA
86 California State University - Channel Islands Camarillo, CA
87 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
88 University of North Georgia Dahlonega, GA
89 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
90 Duke University Durham, NC
90 Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO
92 York College of Pennsylvania York, PA
93 Wabash College Crawfordsville, IN
94 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
95 Truman State University Kirksville, MO
96 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
97 Providence College Providence, RI
98 Aurora University Aurora, IL
99 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
100 Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, MD
101 Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ
102 University of Wisconsin - Platteville Platteville, WI
103 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
104 Millikin University Decatur, IL
105 Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN
106 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
107 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
108 Hanover College Hanover, IN
109 Hood College Frederick, MD
110 Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA
111 Arizona State University - Skysong Scottsdale, AZ
112 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
113 Illinois State University Normal, IL
114 Towson University Towson, MD
115 University of Chicago Chicago, IL
116 Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL
117 Augustana University Sioux Falls, SD
118 Gonzaga University Spokane, WA
119 Dominican University River Forest, IL
120 University of Minnesota - Morris Morris, MN
121 Boston University Boston, MA
122 Clarkson University Potsdam, NY
123 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
124 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
125 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH
126 Willamette University Salem, OR
127 Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL
128 Widener University Chester, PA

Honorable Mentions

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
129 Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN
130 Stevenson University Stevenson, MD
131 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
132 West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA
133 Randolph College Lynchburg, VA
134 Meredith College Raleigh, NC
135 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
136 University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI
137 American University Washington, DC
138 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
139 Linfield University - McMinnville Campus McMinnville, OR
140 Colby - Sawyer College New London, NH
141 Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA
142 Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, PA
143 University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN
144 Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA
145 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
146 University of Portland Portland, OR
147 Saint Mary’s College Notre Dame, IN
148 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA
149 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
150 Augustana College Rock Island, IL
151 Luther College Decorah, IA
152 Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA
153 Amherst College Amherst, MA
154 Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ
155 Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA
156 Hope College Holland, MI
157 Stonehill College Easton, MA
158 Kean University Union, NJ
159 John Carroll University University Heights, OH
160 Augsburg University Minneapolis, MN
161 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
162 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA
163 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
164 Baldwin Wallace University Berea, OH
165 Mount St Mary’s University Emmitsburg, MD
166 Montclair State University Montclair, NJ
167 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO
168 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI
169 University of California - Merced Merced, CA
170 Minnesota State University - Moorhead Moorhead, MN
171 University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO

General Biology by Region

View the Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

General Biology is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 14,535
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 11,615
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 8,813
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 7,247
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 6,206

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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