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2025 Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

57 Colleges in Pennsylvania
3,884 Bachelor's Degrees
$34,911 Avg Early-Career Salary
General Biology is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #4 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 57 schools in Pennsylvania to determine which ones were the best for general biology students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,884 bachelor's degrees in general biology during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great General Biology School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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 general biology students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Biology Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study General Biology in Pennsylvania

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in general biology. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

11 Top Pennsylvania Schools for a Bachelor's in Biology

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in general biology. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the biology program state that they receive average early career earnings of $31,055.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Pennsylvania

2
308 Annual Graduates
$33,576 Median Starting Salary
$44,000 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in general biology. Pitt is a very large public university located in the city of Pittsburgh.

Soon after graduating, biology bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $33,576 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

3
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
245 Annual Graduates
$35,101 Median Starting Salary
$42,430 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat Temple University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in general biology. Temple is a very large public university located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Soon after graduation, biology bachelor's recipients generally earn around $35,101 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Temple University

4
Drexel crest
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
152 Annual Graduates
$37,699 Median Starting Salary
$59,198 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in general biology needs to take a look at Drexel University. Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.

General Biology bachelor's degree recipients from Drexel University receive an earnings boost of around $2,788 over the typical earnings of general biology graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Drexel University

5
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA

Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the biology program earn about $31,818 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Villanova University

6
Lehigh crest
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA

Lehigh is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Bethlehem.

Bachelor's recipients from the general biology program at Lehigh University earn $10,784 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Lehigh University

7
Bucknell crest
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA

Bucknell is a small private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Lewisburg.

Those general biology students who get their bachelor's degree from Bucknell University receive $3,854 more than the typical biology grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Bucknell University

8
Duquesne crest
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA
74 Annual Graduates
$36,643 Median Starting Salary
$67,704 Median Student Debt

Duquesne is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the biology program earn an average of $36,643 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Duquesne University

9
Lafayette crest
Lafayette College
Easton, PA

Located in the large suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Those general biology students who get their bachelor's degree from Lafayette College receive $6,974 more than the standard biology student.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Lafayette College

10
Swarthmore crest
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA

Located in the suburb of Swarthmore, Swarthmore is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the general biology program at Swarthmore College make $6,211 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Swarthmore College

11
St. Joe's crest
Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, PA

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, St. Joe's is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the biology program earn about $33,767 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general biology from Saint Joseph’s University

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best General Biology Bachelor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania award.

Rank College Location
12 Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA
13 Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA
14 Ursinus College Collegeville, PA
15 East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA
16 Allegheny College Meadville, PA
17 University of Scranton Scranton, PA
18 Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA
19 Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, PA

Best General Biology Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best General Biology Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 275 6,379
Maryland 207 1,695
New Jersey 193 2,569
Delaware 130 229
District of Columbia 126 439

View All Rankings >

One of 14 majors within the Biological & Biomedical Sciences area of study, General Biology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Biology Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Biology Studies 3,779
General Biomedical Sciences 105

Majors Similar to Biology

Related Major Annual Graduates
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 756
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 705
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 410
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 152
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 92
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 63
Zoology 47
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 41
Biotechnology 23
Pharmacology & Toxicology 13

Notes and References

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