Best Liberal Arts Colleges for a Biology Degree

Career Outlook for Students with Biology Degree

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Biology/Biological Sciences

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Cost of Degree*: $11,014
Avg. Expenses*: $17,409
Avg. Starting Salary*: $32,126
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $47,104
Avg. Cost Recoup Time**: 12 years
Job Growth: 1.47%
Number of Jobs: 1,457,600
* denotes ‘annually’
** denotes ‘at 15% of annual salary’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Natural Sciences Managers	7.49%	$157,740
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	11.46%	$100,890
Biological Scientists, All Other	5.69%	$91,100
Life Scientists, All Other	6.25%	$86,950
Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary	8.32%	$83,920
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	-0.64%	$65,220
Forensic Science Technicians	13.98%	$64,940
Biological Technicians	6.62%	$51,430
Food Science Technicians	7.17%	$49,090
Agricultural Technicians	6.12%	$43,180

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Natural Sciences Managers	$157,740
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	$100,890
Biological Scientists, All Other	$91,100
Life Scientists, All Other	$86,950
Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$83,920
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	$65,220
Forensic Science Technicians	$64,940
Biological Technicians	$51,430
Food Science Technicians	$49,090
Agricultural Technicians	$43,180

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Go to all Liberal Arts for Biology programs

Searching for Outstanding Colleges for Biology Majors

Biology is one of the most common majors for students planning to attend medical school in the future. Biology majors often become biochemists, biologists, physician assistants, research scientists, environmental scientists, botanists, and various other careers after graduation.

Most biology programs at small liberal arts institutions aim to teach students how to question what is still unknown in addition to studying what is already known in the discipline. They want students to “do” biology rather than merely learn it.

Benefits of Studying Biology in a Liberal Arts College

To be a great man of science, one must ask impertinent questions to have a pertinent answer. Liberal arts colleges do just that, encouraging students to ask difficult and sometimes impertinent questions.

Graduates of liberal arts colleges are twice as likely to earn a PhD than those at larger college and university graduates. Graduates of liberal arts colleges also have an impressive record in the nation’s scientific community.

There are three significant benefits of studying biology in liberal arts colleges:

Liberal arts colleges enable students to comprehend scientific issues and procedures.

The next generation of able scientists needs a background in biology, the social sciences, and the humanities. In doing so, they will be able to advance their field of study and understand when such advances are timely and in the broader interest of the world. Likewise, they’ll know how to manage the advances in science and political, legal, and economic systems to ensure that biology is employed for the common good.

Biology majors at liberal arts colleges complete a broad general education curriculum to help them see science in a larger context.

Liberal arts colleges develop students’ critical thinking skills for applying the sciences to real-world issues.

To become a great man of biology, one must be able to apply research to real-world problems. And doing so requires critical thinking that develops through a liberal arts education. It’s essential to have both scientific communication skills and critical thinking skills.

An integral part of critical and creative thinking is learning to ask the appropriate, probing questions. Equally important is having the courage to do so.

Liberal arts colleges provide students with personalized attention and a greater hands-on learning experience.

Aside from having small class sizes, liberal arts college professors see their job as a combination of teaching and scholarship. Faculty professors rather than graduate assistants are in charge of supervising laboratory courses.

Unlike larger research universities, liberal arts biology faculty members allow their undergraduate students to help with their research projects. Larger-scale universities only grant this opportunity to graduate students.

Additionally, professors at liberal arts colleges often help their students enroll in graduate school.

3-2 Programs

Liberal arts colleges may not have the same research facilities as Harvard University, California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Duke University, or Yale University, but these small colleges offer 3-2 programs. The Biology 3+2 program gives students a unique chance to earn their bachelor’s in a liberal arts college and master’s degrees in more prominent schools in just five years. These programs allow students to study their field with an additional humanities background while using facilities in larger universities.

A few of the best liberal arts colleges that offer 3-2 program in biology include:

Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Bucknell University
Carleton College
Davidson College
Harvey Mudd College
Smith College
Swarthmore College
Union College
Williams College

A bachelor’s degree in biology is an excellent starting point for a career in zoology, ecology, botany, and a host of other fascinating STEM fields. As a biology major, you’ll study the full spectrum of life sciences. Your biology degree may incorporate subjects such as evolutionary biology, biochemistry, and microbiology, as well as foundational courses in subjects like human anatomy and biodiversity. The best schools for biology are those which are regionally accredited, which offer a full array of biology concentrations, and which give you the chance to work with the best and most influential professors and classmates.

Degree popularity: Biology bachelor’s degrees are the 6th most popular undergraduate degrees across all student demographics. It’s slightly more popular among women, and ranks the 4th most popular degree among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, according to the number of degree earners reported by the National Center for Educational Statistics

If you think a research university may be a better fit for you, see our ranking of the best research universities for a bachelor’s in biology.

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Best Liberal Arts Colleges for a Biology Degree

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Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges for Biology Degrees in 2026

2025 Ranking Update

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Best Liberal Arts Colleges for a Biology Degree

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