Ranked #6 in popularity, biological & physical science is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual looked at 16 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Biological & Physical Science Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 17,828 associate degrees in biological & physical science during the 2022-2023 academic year.
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Choosing a Great Biological & Physical Science School for Your Associate Degree
Your choice of biological & physical science for getting your associate degree school matters. 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
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.
Average Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to biological & physical science students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - How many other biological & physical science students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
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 biological & physical science to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized biological & physical science related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for biological & physical science students working on their associate degree.
More Ways to Rank Biological & Physical Science Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Biological & Physical Science Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Modesto Junior College is a good decision for individuals pursuing an associate degree in biological & physical science. MJC is a fairly large public college located in the medium-sized city of Modesto.
Those biological & physical science students who get their associate degree from Modesto Junior College earn $5,644 more than the average biological science student.
Mt. San Jacinto College is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in biological & physical science. Located in the midsize suburb of San Jacinto, MSJC is a public college with a large student population.
After graduating, biological science associate recipients usually earn an average of $26,228 in their early careers.
It's difficult to beat Victor Valley College if you want to pursue an associate degree in biological & physical science. Located in the large suburb of Victorville, Victor Valley College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their associate from the biological science program state that they receive average early career earnings of $26,780.
Located in the large city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Associate recipients from the biological & physical science program at Riverside City College get $6,885 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Shasta College is a medium-sized public college located in the medium-sized suburb of Redding.
Those biological & physical science students who get their associate degree from Shasta College receive $5,099 more than the average biological science student.
American River is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Sacramento.
Those biological & physical science students who get their associate degree from American River College make $2,706 more than the standard biological science graduate.
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.
Your choice of biological & physical science for getting your associate degree school matters. 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:
