Biology is an eternally popular subject at universities, steadily accounting for 6 to 7 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in the U.S. each year. And so long as life continues on Earth, we’re going to need educated biologists. But how do you choose your school?
To get you started on your own college list, let’s discuss the top 5 colleges for biology majors and why employers love their grads.
How we chose these colleges
To define “top” for biology majors, our guide today pulls from the U.S. News 2026 graduate rankings in biological sciences. Key criteria for us include research, faculty attention, specializations, internships, alumni network, campus experience, and overall value.
But remember: this is only a starting point, not a final college list. All five schools here score highly on research strength, hands-on experience, and career outcomes. And all five offer clear differences in size, culture, and cost for you to weigh with your family. But there are also thousands of other degree-granting programs not mentioned here that could be your perfect fit.
What should biology majors look for in a college?
When comparing programs, consider:
- Access to undergraduate research opportunities
- Strength in the core sciences
- Interdisciplinary options
- Partnerships with labs, hospitals, or biotech firms
- Support for pre-med or PhD tracks
- Personalized advising and mentorship programs
And if you’re paying for college, don’t forget to consider value. Compare net price calculators and research merit scholarships, especially if you’re an out-of-state applicant or first-generation student. These factors all shape your experience as a student and influence your next steps after graduation.
What do the ties mean?
In the U.S. News biological sciences graduate ranking, Harvard and Stanford share the first spot, while Caltech, MIT, and UC Berkeley cluster together slightly behind them. Ties appear because rankings rely on composite scores from faculty reputation surveys, research funding, and publication impact, and those numbers often land within the same narrow band at the very top.
For a high school student, this nuance matters less than the big picture. Each college on this list sits among the strongest in the world, so your choice should focus on fit, cost, and location rather than a one-point ranking gap.
For more advice on using data without getting lost in the numbers, check out this article on the blog. Or, you can listen to Empowerly Counselor Ben explain it directly in this video:
Top 5 colleges for biology majors
Right! Now that we’ve got the context, let’s get into the good stuff.
Harvard University – tie for 1st
- Snapshot: Private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the Boston life sciences hub, with a medium-sized undergraduate population and a traditional residential campus.
- Student experience: Undergraduates join faculty labs during the year and in structured summer programs in areas such as immunology, microbiome science, plant biology, and global health, supported by strong coursework in biology, chemistry, math, and statistics.
- Why employers love Harvard grads: Graduates bring frontline lab experience, strong scientific reading and presentation skills, and exposure to the Boston hospital and biotech ecosystem.
Stanford University – tie for 1st
- Snapshot: Private university in suburban Silicon Valley, California, with a warm climate, extensive research facilities, and an undergraduate population similar in size to Harvard.
- Student experience: Students pursue projects in campus labs or at Hopkins Marine Station on Monterey Bay, with paid summer research and marine-focused internships, plus flexible tracks in marine biology, computational biology, and ecology.
- Why employers love Stanford grads: Graduates enter Bay Area biotech, pharma, health tech, and environmental roles, or continue to medical school and PhD programs, bringing strong skills in programming, statistics, and lab design.
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) – tie for 3rd
- Snapshot: Small science and engineering institute in Pasadena, California, with a tiny undergraduate body and close faculty interaction, ideal for students who prefer small classes and an intense STEM focus.
- Student experience: Research sits at the center of the program, with students in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships and similar programs working on ten week projects, technical papers, and conference style presentations.
- Why employers love Caltech grads: Graduates earn a reputation for problem solving, comfort with complex models, and extensive lab experience, which fits well in biotech, aerospace, data science, and academic research.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – tie for 3rd
- Snapshot: Private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an engineering driven campus culture and labs and maker spaces integrated into undergraduate life.
- Student experience: Through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, students join real research projects across the institute and build skills in experimental design, data analysis, and collaboration, supported by a strong core in math, physics, and chemistry.
- Why employers love MIT grads: Graduates move into research institutes, hospitals, biotech startups, and tech firms that rely on bioinformatics and computational biology, bringing a blend of lab technique and coding.
University of California, Berkeley – tie for 3rd
- Snapshot: Large public research university overlooking the San Francisco Bay, with a diverse undergraduate population and multiple biology related majors across molecular and cell biology, integrative biology, and related departments.
- Student experience: Undergraduates join labs through the Biology Scholars Program, Summer Undergraduate Research Program, and faculty sponsored roles on campus and at partner institutions such as UC San Francisco, with tracks in neurobiology, genetics, ecology, and human health.
- Why employers love Berkeley grads: Graduates move into Bay Area biotech, public health, environmental work, and graduate programs worldwide, supported by a strong career center network for biology and pre health students.
What you can do in high school
If you want to stand out to top biology programs, it’s smart to start now.
Take advanced STEM courses.
Depending on what your high school offers, this could mean AP classes or dual enrollment at a local community college. But don’t take hard classes just for the sake of it; you also need to master the material and keep your grades up.
Build a strong extracurricular profile in STEM subjects.
Join science clubs or compete in biology olympiads. Volunteer in hospitals or shadow researchers. Attend summer programs, if you can.
Set personal goals.
Build relationships with science teachers and mentors for future letters of recommendation. Journal your observations and projects to use later in your essays. Most of all, stay focused on working towards your dreams.
Overwhelmed already? Empowerly can help.
Data not your thing? We get it. Sorting through rankings, research programs, internship pipelines, and financial aid policies on your own takes time and energy. Not to mention all the pitfalls that can trap you on the way.
That’s why Empowerly advisors work with families every day on decisions like these, from building a balanced college list for future biology majors to planning research, summer experiences, and essay topics tied to long-term goals.
If you want guidance from counselors who track outcomes across campuses and understand what employers and graduate programs expect from biology graduates, connect with Empowerly for one one-on-one support and a custom plan for your college journey.
