Genetics isn't the most popular master's program in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #170 in popularity out of 343 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.
College Factual looked at 4 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Genetics Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 130 master's degrees in genetics to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Genetics School for Your Master's Degree
The genetics master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master'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 - How many other genetics students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
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 easy is it for genetics to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized genetics related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for genetics students working on their master's degree.
The genetics 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 Genetics Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Genetics in the Great Lakes Region
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for genetics students seeking a a master's degree.
Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Genetics
University of Chicago is a good decision for individuals interested in a master's degree in genetics. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in genetics from University of Chicago
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in genetics. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor.
Master's recipients from the genetics major at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $14,831 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
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).