by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for marine biology students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 220 bachelor's degrees in marine biology during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The biological oceanography bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality biological oceanography program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
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 various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
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 schools for marine biology students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Marine Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in marine biology.
It's difficult to beat University of California - San Diego if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in marine biology. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in marine biology from University of California - San Diego
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in marine biology needs to look into University of California - Santa Cruz. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in marine biology from University of California - Santa Cruz
University of California - Los Angeles is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in marine biology. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in marine biology from University of California - Los Angeles
It is hard to beat California State University - Long Beach if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in marine biology. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in marine biology from California State University - Long Beach
Explore all the Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 521 | 51 |
| Oregon | 343 | 17 |
| Hawaii | 172 | 97 |
| Alaska | 87 | 9 |
One of 12 majors within the Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology area of study, Marine Biology has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Other Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology | 105 |
| Ecology | 99 |
| Evolutionary Biology | 50 |
| Aquatic Biology/Limnology | 44 |
| Environmental Biology | 29 |
