2023 Best Value General Biology Master's Degree Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best General Biology Master'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.
The Best Value General Biology Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 345 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for biology students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in General Biology
Our 2023 rankings named Fitchburg State University the best value school in the United States for general biology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Fitchburg, Fitchburg State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Fitchburg State graduate students pay an average of $6,012 in tuition and fees each year.
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Out of the 345 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Hood College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Frederick, Hood is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Hood are $9,080 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Hood is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Minnesota State University - Mankato is a great value for general biology students working on their master’s degree. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are $9,308 per year.
Minnesota State Mankato excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list.
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Out of the 345 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Charleston Southern University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Charleston, CSU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at CSU are $5,085 a year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez is a great value for general biology students working on their master’s degree. UPR Mayaguez is a large public school located in the small city of Mayaguez.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UPR Mayaguez are $3,800 per year.
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Northwest Missouri State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list. Northwest is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Maryville.
Northwest graduate students pay an average of $7,064 in tuition and fees each year.
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West Texas A&M University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general biology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Canyon.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at West Texas A&M University are $8,574 per year.
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Youngstown State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general biology programs. Youngstown State University is a fairly large public school located in the city of Youngstown.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Youngstown State University are $6,931 a year.
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Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general biology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NIU are $11,390 per year.
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Bemidji State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list. Bemidji State University is a small public school located in the remote town of Bemidji.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Bemidji State University are $9,586 a year.
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With a ranking of #11, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general biology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a fairly large student population.
SIUE graduate students pay an average of $9,316 in tuition and fees each year.
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Illinois State University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general biology programs. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Illinois State are $11,773 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Illinois State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list.
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Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general biology programs. TTUHSC is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Lubbock.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at TTUHSC are $19,056 a year.
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With a ranking of #14, Fort Hays State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general biology students working on their master’s degree. FHSU is a large public school located in the remote town of Hays.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at FHSU are $11,376 a year.
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MSU Texas ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Wichita Falls.
MSU Texas graduate students pay an average of $8,056 in tuition and fees each year.
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Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools ranking. ENMU - Main Campus is a small public school located in the remote town of Portales.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at ENMU - Main Campus are $7,110 a year.
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North Dakota State University - Main Campus came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at North Dakota State University are $12,028 per year.
North Dakota State University excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list.
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With a ranking of #18, Point Loma Nazarene University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general biology students working on their master’s degree. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at PLNU are $11,880 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, PLNU also did well on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Saint Cloud State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools ranking. St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public school located in the city of Saint Cloud.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at St. Cloud State University are $13,412 per year.
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Purdue University Northwest did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general biology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Purdue Northwest is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Hammond.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Purdue Northwest are $11,356 per year.
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San Jose State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general biology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the large city of San Jose.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at San Jose State are $18,790 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, San Jose State also did well on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Dominican University of California came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small city of San Rafael, DUofC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at DUofC are $16,569 a year.
DUofC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list.
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Salisbury University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Salisbury is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Salisbury.
Salisbury graduate students pay an average of $15,765 in tuition and fees each year.
Salisbury also claimed a spot on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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University of Nebraska at Kearney ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Kearney, UNK is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNK are $14,982 a year.
UNK excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools list.
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Western Illinois University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools ranking. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at WIU are $12,182 per year.
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Additional Award Winners
This list represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Value General Biology Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 345 different United States general biology schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | University of North Texas | Denton, TX |
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great value schools for General Biology students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value General Biology Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania | Bloomsburg, PA |
| 53 | Jackson State University | Jackson, MS |
| 53 | Alcorn State University | Alcorn State, MS |
| 55 | Webster University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 56 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg, TX |
| 57 | Mississippi College | Clinton, MS |
| 58 | Indiana State University | Terre Haute, IN |
| 59 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
| 60 | Stephen F Austin State University | Nacogdoches, TX |
| 61 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 62 | William Carey University | Hattiesburg, MS |
| 62 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 64 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 65 | University of Dayton | Dayton, OH |
| 66 | California Baptist University | Riverside, CA |
| 67 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA |
| 68 | East Carolina University | Greenville, NC |
| 69 | Southern University and A & M College | Baton Rouge, LA |
General Biology by Region
View the Best Value General Biology Master'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 |
More General Biology Rankings
General Biology Related Majors for Biology
General Biology is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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.
- 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.