Genetics is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #67 most popular doctor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Genetics Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 46 doctor's degrees in genetics to qualified students.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on genetics students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - The number of genetics students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt genetics students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized genetics related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for genetics students working on their doctor's degree.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Genetics Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.
Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Genetics in North Carolina
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in genetics.
Top North Carolina Schools for a Doctorate in Genetics
Duke University is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in genetics. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
After graduation, genetics doctorate recipients generally make about $62,465 in the first five years of their career.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in genetics. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill.
Students who graduate with their doctorate from the genetics program report average early career earnings of $65,145.
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).