2025 Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #68 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 5 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 242 master's degrees in ecology, evolution & systematics biology to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

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

The ecology master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to ecology, evolution & systematics biology students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other ecology, evolution & systematics biology students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt ecology, evolution & systematics biology students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• 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.

More Ways to Rank Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology in the Great Lakes Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for ecology, evolution & systematics biology students seeking a a master's degree.

Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Ecology

1

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI

84 Annual Graduates

$62,981 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you wish to pursue a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the ecology program state that they receive average early career income of $62,981.

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

2

Ohio State University - Main Campus
Columbus, OH

37 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology needs to look into Ohio State University - Main Campus. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Ohio State University - Main Campus

3

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL

17 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology has to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4

Kent State University at Kent
Kent, OH

14 Annual Graduates

Kent State University at Kent is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Located in the suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Kent State University at Kent

5

University of Toledo
Toledo, OH

17 Annual Graduates

University of Toledo is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Toledo.More information about a master’s in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of Toledo

Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Colleges by State

Explore the best ecology, evolution & systematics biology schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Illinois	221	12
Michigan	211	87
Ohio	207	50
Indiana	191	0
Wisconsin	173	11

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Rankings in Majors Related to Ecology

One of 14 majors within the Biological & Biomedical Sciences area of study, Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Ecology Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Epidemiology	177
Conservation Biology	22
Evolutionary Biology	20
Ecology	18
Evolutionary Biology	3
Environmental Biology	2

Majors Similar to Ecology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Biology	873
Physiology & Pathology Sciences	460
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics	298
Pharmacology & Toxicology	198
Biotechnology	167
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences	159
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	137
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other)	128
Genetics	111
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology	88

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.