2025 Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

If you plan on getting your doctor's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #35 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 6 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of ecology, evolution & systematics biology. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 174 doctor's degrees in ecology, evolution & systematics biology during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

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

The ecology doctor'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. 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 take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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 doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor'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

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 - The number of ecology, evolution & systematics biology students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
• 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 doctor'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 complete 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 doctor'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 Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology in the Southeast Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology.

Top Southeast Region Schools for a Doctorate in Ecology

1

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC

38 Annual Graduates

$80,276 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology needs to check out University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population.

Doctorate students who receive their degree from the ecology program make around $80,276 in their early career salary.

More information about a doctorate in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2

Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

12 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology has to take a look at Vanderbilt University. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from Vanderbilt University

3

University of Georgia
Athens, GA

13 Annual Graduates

University of Georgia is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. UGA is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Athens.More information about a doctorate in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of Georgia

4

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

13 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Florida if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in ecology, evolution & systematics biology. UF is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.More information about a doctorate in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of Florida

5

University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL

11 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of Miami

6

University of South Carolina - Columbia
Columbia, SC

10 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Columbia, UofSC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in ecology, evolution & systematics biology from University of South Carolina - Columbia

Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Colleges by State

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	138	37
Virginia	127	12
Georgia	126	27
North Carolina	115	42
Mississippi	113	3
Louisiana	103	16
Tennessee	102	20
Alabama	98	2
South Carolina	91	6
Kentucky	87	4
Arkansas	58	1
West Virginia	49	3

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Rankings in Majors Related to Ecology

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

Ecology Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Epidemiology	87
Marine Biology	35
Ecology	28
Other Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology	13
Conservation Biology	6
Epidemiology and Biostatistics	5

Most Popular Majors Related to Ecology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Biology	468
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	164
Physiology & Pathology Sciences	160
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other)	154
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics	142
Neurobiology & Neurosciences	126
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology	124
Pharmacology & Toxicology	95
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences	91
Genetics	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.