Ranked #28 in popularity, biological & physical sciences is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 97 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Biological & Physical Sciences Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 30,032 degrees in biological & physical sciences annually.
Choosing a Great Biological & Physical Sciences School
Your choice of biological & physical sciences school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Biological & Physical Sciences School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Biological & Physical Sciences Rankings by Degree Level
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Biological & Physical Sciences Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to 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 Biological & Physical Sciences in the United States
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the biological & physical sciences degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Any student pursuing a degree in biological & physical sciences has to check out Rutgers University - New Brunswick. Rutgers New Brunswick is a very large public university located in the city of New Brunswick. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Rutgers New Brunswick is a great university overall.
There were approximately 92 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers New Brunswick in the most recent year we have data available.
University of Notre Dame is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in biological & physical sciences. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were about 57 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available.
Cornell University is a good option for students interested in a degree in biological & physical sciences. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were roughly 16 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year.
It is hard to beat University of Maryland - College Park if you wish to pursue a degree in biological & physical sciences. UMCP is a very large public university located in the suburb of College Park. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UMCP is a great university overall.
There were about 25 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #85 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Pitt is a great university overall.
There were about 76 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the midsize suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #35 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Virginia is a great university overall.
There were approximately 27 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent data year.
Portland State University is a very large public university located in the city of Portland. This university ranks 5th out of 29 schools for overall quality in the state of Oregon.
There were roughly 124 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Portland State University in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the midsize city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UGA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 68 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year.
Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were about 10 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year.
UO is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Eugene. A Best Colleges rank of #167 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UO is a great university overall.
There were about 84 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at UO in the most recent year we have data available.
Bard is a small private not-for-profit college located in the rural area of Annandale-On-Hudson. This college ranks 59th out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 77 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Bard in the most recent data year.
Located in the medium-sized city of Richmond, VCU is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 8th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 83 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at VCU in the most recent year we have data available.
Texas Tech is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Lubbock. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.
There were approximately 42 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent data year.
FIU is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Miami. This university ranks 13th out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were about 735 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at FIU in the most recent year we have data available.
MJC is a large public college located in the city of Modesto. This college ranks 32nd out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 354 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at MJC in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, Mission College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. This college ranks 45th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 149 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Mission College in the most recent data year.
Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.
There were roughly 34 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year.
Located in the large suburb of Annandale, Northern Virginia Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 9th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were approximately 318 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at Northern Virginia Community College in the most recent data year.
Located in the small city of Trenton, TESU is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 17th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were approximately 116 biological & physical sciences students who graduated with this degree at TESU in the most recent data year.
Rest of the Top Best Biological & Physical Sciences Schools
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Biological & Physical Sciences students that almost earned our Best Biological & Physical Sciences Schools award.
Biological & Physical Sciences Related Rankings by Major
One of 0 majors within the Biological & Physical Science area of study, Biological & Physical Sciences has other similar majors worth exploring.
Notes and References
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 biological & physical sciences school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Biological & Physical Sciences School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
