by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual looked at 53 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 8,865 bachelor's degrees in general biology during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The biology bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality biology program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for general biology students working on their bachelor's degree.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for general biology students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It's hard to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in general biology. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the biology program earn an average of $28,242 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of California - Los Angeles
It is difficult to beat University of California - San Diego if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in general biology. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the general biology program at University of California - San Diego earn $2,021 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of California - San Diego
It is difficult to beat University of California - Berkeley if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in general biology. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the general biology program at University of California - Berkeley make $4,159 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of California - Berkeley
University of Southern California is a good decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in general biology. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the biology program make an average of $20,210 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Southern California
UCSB is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the biology program state that they receive average early career earnings of $33,486.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of California - Santa Barbara
UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Davis.
General Biology bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Davis receive an earnings boost of about $2,758 above the typical income of general biology majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of California - Davis
Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Stanford University
Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the general biology program at San Francisco State University make $3,776 more than the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from San Francisco State University
UCR is a very large public university located in the large city of Riverside.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the biology program earn around $26,863 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of California - Riverside
Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the biology program make around $33,597 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from San Diego State UniversityHere are some additional great schools for General Biology students in the state of California that almost earned our Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | University of California - Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA |
| 12 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 13 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 14 | Santa Clara University | Santa Clara, CA |
| 15 | University of California - Merced | Merced, CA |
| 16 | California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento, CA |
| 17 | University of the Pacific | Stockton, CA |
Explore all the Best General Biology Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 226 | 1,235 |
| Oregon | 185 | 909 |
| Nevada | 129 | 484 |
| Hawaii | 112 | 248 |
| Alaska | 75 | 80 |
One of 14 majors within the Biological & Biomedical Sciences area of study, General Biology has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Biology Studies | 8,583 |
| General Biomedical Sciences | 282 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences | 2,137 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology | 1,485 |
| Neurobiology & Neurosciences | 1,237 |
| Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology | 547 |
| Microbiological Sciences & Immunology | 541 |
| Physiology & Pathology Sciences | 424 |
| Biomathematics & Bioinformatics | 226 |
| Biotechnology | 142 |
| Zoology | 135 |
| Genetics | 96 |