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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Marine Biology

21 Ranked Colleges
76 Degrees Awarded
$34,200 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2021-2022, 1,994 people earned their degree in marine biology, making the major the 298th most popular in the United States.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 76 marine biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,735 and $124,256 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major” ranking, we looked at 21 colleges that offer a degree in marine biology. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in marine biology.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major”.

Top 21 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Marine Biology

1

Out of the 21 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Maryland Eastern Shore landed the #1 spot on the list. UMES is a small school located in Princess Anne, Maryland that handed out 2 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full University of Maryland Eastern Shore Marine Biology Report

2
William & Mary crest
William & Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia

Out of the 21 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major that were part of this year’s ranking, William & Mary landed the #2 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Marine Biology at William & Mary

3

Out of the 21 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Alaska Fairbanks landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Alaska Fairbanks is a medium-sized public school situated in Fairbanks, Alaska. It awarded 1 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Alaska Fairbanks Marine Biology Report

4

Out of the 21 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Hawaii at Manoa landed the #4 spot on the list. UH Manoa is a fairly large school located in Honolulu, Hawaii that handed out 5 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Marine Biology at UH Manoa

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major list. UCSD is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 7 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Marine Biology at University of California - San Diego

6
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

Duke University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Durham, North Carolina. It awarded 6 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Marine Biology at Duke University

7
Northeastern crest
Northeastern University
Boston, Massachusetts

Northeastern University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees to 5 students in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read full report on Marine Biology at Northeastern

8
Southern Miss crest
University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi

University of Southern Mississippi ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major list. Hattiesburg, Mississippi is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees to 3 students in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Marine Biology at University of Southern Mississippi

9

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking. Located in Corpus Christi, Texas, this fairly large public school handed out 7 degrees to qualified doctorate’s biological oceanography students in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Marine Biology at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

10
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida

With a ranking of #10, University of Miami did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major list. U Miami is a private not-for-profit institution located in Coral Gables, Florida. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read more about Marine Biology at University of Miami

11

University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez is a fairly large school located in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico that handed out 2 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full UPR Mayaguez Marine Biology Report

12

University of Maryland - Baltimore ranked #12 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major list. UMB is a medium-sized school located in Baltimore, Maryland that handed out 0 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Maryland - Baltimore Marine Biology Report

13

University of North Carolina at Wilmington ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major list. Located in Wilmington, North Carolina, this fairly large public school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s biological oceanography students in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of North Carolina at Wilmington Marine Biology Report

14
UGA crest
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

University of Georgia did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking, coming in at #14. Athens, Georgia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees to 3 students in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Marine Biology at UGA

15

With a ranking of #15, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major list. Texas A&M College Station is a public institution located in College Station, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Marine Biology at Texas A&M College Station

16
UD crest
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware

University of Delaware ranked #16 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major list. UD is located in Newark, Delaware and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees to qualified students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Marine Biology at UD

17
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking, coming in at #17. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees to qualified students.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Southern California Marine Biology Report

18

University of South Carolina - Columbia came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking. Columbia, South Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees to 60 students in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Marine Biology at UofSC

19

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major list. UCSB is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 8 doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Marine Biology at UCSB

19

University of Maryland - Baltimore County came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking. Baltimore, Maryland is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees to 0 students in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Maryland - Baltimore County Marine Biology Report

19
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island

Brown University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Biological Oceanography Major ranking, coming in at #19. Providence, Rhode Island is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s biological oceanography degrees to 0 students in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Brown University Marine Biology Report

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