by our College Data Analytics Team
[Molecular Biology](/majors/biological-biomedical-sciences/biochemistry-biophysics-molecular-biology/molecular-biology/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong molecular biology education at a price that pays off.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 2 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for molecular biology students.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the molecular biology degrees they offer, see the list below.
For return on investment in molecular biology, no school beat University Of Iowa this year. Set in the city of Iowa City, University Of Iowa is a very large public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $11,283, compared with $33,371 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for molecular biology graduates is $21,626. Early-career molecular biology graduates make about $29,991. Set against $21,626 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 84%.
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.