2025 Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Master's Degree Schools

Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #68 most popular master's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 51 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Combined, these schools handed out 3,247 master's degrees in ecology, evolution & systematics biology to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of ecology, evolution & systematics biology for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality ecology program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on ecology, evolution & systematics biology students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of ecology, evolution & systematics biology students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for ecology, evolution & systematics biology to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized ecology, evolution & systematics biology related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for ecology, evolution & systematics biology students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top Schools for a Master's in Ecology

1

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

33 Annual Graduates

$185,874 Median Starting Salary

University of Pennsylvania is a great decision for students pursuing a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology master's degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania receive an earnings boost of about $113,987 over the typical income of ecology, evolution & systematics biology majors.

More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of Pennsylvania

2

Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY

206 Annual Graduates

$78,660 Median Starting Salary

Columbia University in the City of New York is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Those ecology, evolution & systematics biology students who get their master's degree from Columbia University in the City of New York make $6,773 more than the standard ecology grad.

More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Columbia University in the City of New York

3

University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA

58 Annual Graduates

$150,114 Median Starting Salary

University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a wonderful decision for students interested in a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population.

Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology master's degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus earn a boost of approximately $78,227 above the average earnings of ecology, evolution & systematics biology graduates.

More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

4

Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD

94 Annual Graduates

$87,746 Median Starting Salary

Johns Hopkins University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Baltimore.

Master's recipients from the ecology, evolution & systematics biology program at Johns Hopkins University earn $15,859 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Johns Hopkins University

5

Boston University
Boston, MA

221 Annual Graduates

$70,479 Median Starting Salary

Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston.

Students who graduate with their master's from the ecology program report average early career income of $70,479.

More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Boston University

6

Duke University
Durham, NC

11 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Duke University

7

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI

84 Annual Graduates

$62,981 Median Starting Salary

U-M is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

After graduation, ecology master's recipients typically make around $62,981 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

8

Yale University
New Haven, CT

97 Annual Graduates

$58,008 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

After graduation, ecology master's recipients usually earn an average of $58,008 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Yale University

9

Ohio State University - Main Campus
Columbus, OH

37 Annual Graduates

Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus.More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Ohio State University - Main Campus

10

University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

68 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of California - Los Angeles

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology students that almost earned our Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank	College	Location
11	George Washington University	Washington, DC
12	Texas A&M University - College Station	College Station, TX
13	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	Minneapolis, MN
14	Stanford University	Stanford, CA
15	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Champaign, IL
16	Emory University	Atlanta, GA
17	University of California - Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, CA

Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology by Region

View the Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics 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
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Related Rankings by Major

Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology is one of 14 different types of Biological & Biomedical Sciences programs to choose from.

Ecology Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Epidemiology	2,361
Marine Biology	383
Ecology	152
Conservation Biology	132
Evolutionary Biology	61
Environmental Biology	50
Other Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology	30
Evolutionary Biology	28
Epidemiology and Biostatistics	22
Population Biology	11

Most Popular Majors Related to Ecology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Biology	7,761
Physiology & Pathology Sciences	2,075
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics	1,995
Biotechnology	1,832
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other)	1,778
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology	998
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	953
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences	703
Neurobiology & Neurosciences	513
Pharmacology & Toxicology	502

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 Ernst Haeckel. More about our data sources and methodologies.