If you plan on getting your master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #68 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 4 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 502 master's degrees in ecology, evolution & systematics biology to qualified students.
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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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
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 Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
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.
The ecology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts.
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Boston University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston.
After graduation, ecology master's recipients usually earn around $70,479 at the beginning of their careers.
Tufts University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Medford.
After graduating, ecology master's recipients typically earn around $55,795 at the beginning of their careers.
Northeastern University is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the ecology program earn an average of $39,255 for their early career.
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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).