If you pursue a associate degree in general biology, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #18 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
College Factual reviewed 5 schools in the Far Western US Region to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of general biology. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,390 associate degrees in general biology during the 2022-2023 academic year.
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Choosing a Great General Biology School for Your Associate Degree
The biology associate 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 associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
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 general biology students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - The number of general biology students who choose to seek a associate 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 much debt general biology students go into to obtain their associate 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 general biology related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for general biology students working on their associate degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best General Biology Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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It's hard to beat Reedley College if you want to pursue an associate degree in general biology. Located in the town of Reedley, Reedley College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Associate recipients from the general biology major at Reedley College get $7,523 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
San Diego Miramar College is a wonderful option for individuals pursuing an associate degree in general biology. Located in the city of San Diego, San Diego Miramar College is a public college with a large student population.
Associate graduates who receive their degree from the biology program make an average of $15,731 in the first couple years of their career.
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.
The biology associate 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.
