2025 Best General Biology Schools in the Plains States Region
86Colleges in the Plains States Region
6,378Biology Degrees Awarded
$33,813Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in general biology, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #5 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 86 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for general biology students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 6,378 degrees in general biology to qualified students.
Your choice of general biology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Biology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
The biology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best General Biology Schools in the Plains States Region.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Schools for General Biology in the Plains States Region
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the biology degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a great option for students pursuing a degree in general biology. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.
There were approximately 360 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general biology degree program at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities get $2,323 more than the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Washington University in St Louis is a great choice for students interested in a degree in general biology. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.
There were about 111 general biology students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from Washington University in St Louis earn $2,713 more than the typical biology grad.
University of Missouri - Columbia is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in general biology. Mizzou is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Columbia. A Best Colleges rank of #131 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Mizzou is a great university overall.
There were about 223 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general biology degree program at University of Missouri - Columbia get $3,008 above the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
University of Iowa is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in general biology. Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the city of Iowa City. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.
There were approximately 119 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, biology degree recipients typically make about $34,813 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #88 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 230 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, biology degree recipients generally earn about $31,757 at the beginning of their careers.
UNL is a fairly large public university located in the city of Lincoln. A Best Colleges rank of #207 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UNL is a great university overall.
There were approximately 139 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UNL in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program report average early career income of $24,063.
SLU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #243 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SLU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 90 general biology students who graduated with this degree at SLU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, biology degree recipients typically earn an average of $34,620 in their early careers.
South Dakota State is a fairly large public university located in the remote town of Brookings. This university ranks 3rd out of 13 schools for overall quality in the state of South Dakota.
There were about 104 general biology students who graduated with this degree at South Dakota State in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, biology degree recipients usually earn around $32,940 at the beginning of their careers.
St. Olaf is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Northfield. This college ranks 6th out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were roughly 111 general biology students who graduated with this degree at St. Olaf in the most recent year we have data available. Those general biology students who get their degree from St Olaf College receive $2,616 more than the typical biology grad.
UMN Duluth is a moderately-sized public university located in the city of Duluth. This university ranks 17th out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were roughly 146 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UMN Duluth in the most recent data year. After graduation, biology degree recipients generally earn an average of $31,891 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the small city of Grand Forks, UND is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 12 schools for overall quality in the state of North Dakota.
There were about 91 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UND in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the biology program earn an average of $28,056 in the first couple years of their career.
Located in the city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were approximately 76 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general biology degree program at University of Northern Iowa earn $2,473 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
KU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Lawrence. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means KU is a great university overall.
There were about 81 general biology students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent year we have data available. General Biology degree recipients from University of Kansas receive an earnings boost of approximately $2,318 above the average earnings of general biology majors.
Creighton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Omaha. A Best Colleges rank of #128 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Creighton is a great university overall.
There were approximately 98 general biology students who graduated with this degree at Creighton in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, biology degree recipients generally earn around $27,924 at the beginning of their careers.
K -State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Manhattan. A Best Colleges rank of #269 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means K -State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 83 general biology students who graduated with this degree at K -State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the biology program report average early career earnings of $27,301.
Located in the town of Vermillion, USD is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 7th out of 13 schools for overall quality in the state of South Dakota.
There were approximately 86 general biology students who graduated with this degree at USD in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, biology degree recipients usually earn an average of $30,167 in the first five years of their career.
UMKC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Kansas City. This university ranks 14th out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were approximately 172 general biology students who graduated with this degree at UMKC in the most recent data year. Those general biology students who get their degree from University of Missouri - Kansas City earn $6,670 more than the standard biology student.
Rest of the Top Best General Biology Schools in the Plains States Region
Additional Noteworthy Schools
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 Schools in the Plains States Region award.
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.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Your choice of general biology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Biology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
