Best universities for life sciences degrees in the US 2023

Explore the top universities in the US for life sciences using data from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022

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November 10 2022

Which US universities are best for life sciences?

Top 10 universities in the US for life science degrees 2023

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in the US for life science degrees

US life sciences rank 2023	WUR life sciences rank 2023	University	State
1	1	Harvard University	Massachusetts
2	3	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts
3	5	Stanford University	California
4	6	California Institute of Technology	California
5	7	Yale University	Connecticut
6	8	Princeton University	New Jersey
7	9	University of California, Berkeley	California
8	10	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland
9	12	Columbia University	New York
10	15	University of California, San Diego	California

The life sciences cover a wide range of subjects including biology, zoology, agriculture and many others.

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Due the multiple skills that students learn on a life sciences degree, graduates will be able to use their degree to enter a range of industries and jobs.

If you’re interested in a life sciences degree that offers flexibility and breadth, the US could be a good fit. You can choose to study across a range of courses in the life sciences and then home in on your interests in the third and fourth years.

Most veterinary medicine courses in the US are offered at the postgraduate level, and you will be expected to have completed an undergraduate degree already.

Famous US scientists include biologist Lynn Margulis, who transformed our understanding of evolution through her work on symbiosis, and Barbara McClintock, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1983 for her discovery of genetic transposition.

These are the best universities in the US for a life sciences degree.

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5. Yale University

Yale University was founded in 1701 and is the third oldest university in the United States.

Yale University in Connecticut is a member of the prestigiously known Ivy League

Students have the option to study a range of courses covering liberal arts and science. Once you have completed your first year, you can then declare your major for your second year. This provides students with the ability to try an array of subjects before they find the perfect fit.

Postgraduate students have the ability to join the school of the environment or the graduate school of arts and science.

4. California Institute of Technology

Founded in 1891, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California.

Alumni and faculty of Caltech have been awarded 39 Nobel Prizes, including current professor David Baltimore, who is known for his research in immunology, cancer research and biotechnology.

The division of biology and biological engineering, one of six divisions that make up the college, offers a range of majors – or options as they’re known at Caltech – in the life sciences, as well as an array of graduate programmes. These include bioengineering, computation and neural systems, neurobiology, and biophysics. You can then choose to minor in courses from the institute’s other divisions.

Caltech has a high research output alongside many high-quality facilities, both on campus and globally. These include the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Caltech Seismological Laboratory and the International Observatory Network.

Scientific discoveries at Caltech include antimatter, the nature of the chemical bond, quarks, and the foundations of molecular biology.

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3. Stanford University

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford University was founded in 1885, and has one of the largest college campuses in the US, with 18 interdisciplinary research institutes and seven schools on a single site.

Stanford’s curriculum offers considerable flexibility through its liberal arts approach.

All undergraduate students are required to take classes in writing, ways of thinking and a foreign language, alongside a major or joint major.

Within this structure, you can take courses across a range of life sciences disciplines, including kinesiology, marine biology, human biology, physiology, ecology and many more. Undergraduate students pursuing a biology major are encouraged to undertake research, either by working in a research lab on campus or taking part in the Biology Summer Undergraduate Research Programme.

The coterminal master’s programme is designed for undergraduates who want to participate in graduate-level programmes and refine their research skills.

Stanford University is also home to many leading research institutes in the life sciences, including Bio-X, a pioneering interdisciplinary biosciences research centre, the Baxter Laboratory in Stem Cell Biology, and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Founded in 1861, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is an independent, co-educational, private research university based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Among its 89 Nobel winners is current MIT professor H. Robert Horvitz, known for his research analysing the role of genes in animal development, and how this could be useful in tackling human disease.

At MIT you can choose between eight interdisciplinary undergraduate life science programmes, including chemistry and biology, molecular biology, and humanities and science. Within these programmes you can take an array of classes in the life sciences, covering everything from human physiology to experimental biology and biostatistics. MIT even offers a new class on understanding Covid-19, run by leading experts in host cell biology, immunity and vaccine development.

There are also many options for a minor, and a range of graduate programmes specialising in the life sciences.

Scientific discoveries and technological advances accredited to MIT also include the first chemical synthesis of penicillin and the development of radar.

1. Harvard University

Founded in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest university in the US and a member of the prestigious Ivy League.

At undergraduate level, the university offers a four-year liberal arts and sciences programme. You can study a range of courses and only need to declare your major or concentration in your second year.

Concentrations in the life sciences include biomedical engineering, human developmental and regenerative biology, human evolutionary biology, integrative biology and molecular and cellular biology among others.

The university also offers a Master of Science in a number of areas, including biostatistics, immunology and biophysics. The Harvard Integrated Life Sciences programme covers 14 different PhD programmes, which offers students the flexibility to conduct research in the areas they are most interested in.

Harvard University has one of the largest endowments of any university in the world and is well known for its generous financial aid programme.

Top universities in the US for the life sciences 2023

Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2023 profile

US life sciences rank 2023	WUR life sciences rank 2023	University	State
1	1	Harvard University	Massachusetts
2	3	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts
3	5	Stanford University	California
4	6	California Institute of Technology	California
5	7	Yale University	Connecticut
6	8	Princeton University	New Jersey
7	9	University of California, Berkeley	California
8	10	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland
9	12	Columbia University	New York
10	15	University of California, San Diego	California
11	16	University of Washington	Washington
12	17	The University of Chicago	Illinois
13	19	Cornell University	New York
14	21	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania
15	=24	University of California, Los Angeles	California
16	26	Duke University	North Carolina
17	28	University of California, Davis	California
18	30	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan
19	36	Washington University in St Louis	Missouri
20	40	New York University	New York
=21	=49	Northwestern University	Illinois
=21	=49	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Wisconsin
23	=57	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina
24	66	Emory University	Georgia
=25	=69	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Illinois
=25	=69	University of Minnesota	Minnesota
27	=71	Vanderbilt University	Tennessee
28	73	University of California, Santa Barbara	California
29	75	Boston University	Massachusetts
30	78	University of Massachusetts	Massachusetts
31	=88	University of Southern California	California
32	=90	University of Florida	Florida
33	=98	Michigan State University	Michigan
34	=100	University of California, Santa Cruz	California
=35	101–125	University of California, Irvine	California
=35	101–125	University of California, Riverside	California
=35	101–125	Dartmouth College	New Hampshire
=35	101–125	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus	Pennsylvania
=35	101–125	University of Texas at Austin	Texas
=40	126–150	Brown University	Rhode Island
=40	126–150	University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado
=40	126–150	Ohio State University (Main campus)	Ohio
=40	126–150	Penn State (Main campus)	Pennsylvania
=40	126–150	Purdue University West Lafayette	Indiana
=40	126–150	Rice University	Texas
=40	126–150	Texas A&M University	Texas
=47	151–175	Colorado State University, Fort Collins	Colorado
=47	151–175	Iowa State University	Iowa
=47	151–175	University of Maryland, College Park	Maryland
=47	151–175	Temple University	Pennsylvania
=51	176–200	University of Arizona	Arizona
=51	176–200	Arizona State University (Tempe)	Arizona
=51	176–200	University of Hawai’i at Mānoa	Hawai'i
=54	201–250	University of California, Merced	California
=54	201–250	Case Western Reserve University	Ohio
=54	201–250	University of Delaware	Delaware
=54	201–250	Georgetown University	Washington DC
=54	201–250	Indiana University	Indiana
=54	201–250	North Carolina State University	North Carolina
=54	201–250	Northeastern University	Illinois
=54	201–250	University of Rochester	New York
=54	201–250	University of South Florida	Florida
=54	201–250	Tufts University	Massachusetts
=54	201–250	University of Utah	Utah
=54	201–250	University of Virginia (Main campus)	Virginia
=66	251–300	Florida State University	Florida
=66	251–300	George Washington University	Washington DC
=66	251–300	University of Iowa	Iowa
=66	251–300	University of Miami	Florida
=66	251–300	Rutgers University – New Brunswick	New Jersey
=66	251–300	Stony Brook University	New York
=66	251–300	Washington State University	Washington
=73	301–400	University of Alaska Fairbanks	Alaska
=73	301–400	Brandeis University	Massachusetts
=73	301–400	University of Central Florida	Florida
=73	301–400	University of Connecticut	Connecticut
=73	301–400	Florida International University	Florida
=73	301–400	University of Georgia	Georgia
=73	301–400	Howard University	Washington DC
=73	301–400	University of Illinois at Chicago	Illinois
=73	301–400	University of Kansas	Kansas
=73	301–400	Kansas State University	Kansas
=73	301–400	Montana State University	Montana
=73	301–400	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Nebraska
=73	301–400	University of Notre Dame	Indiana
=73	301–400	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Virginia
=73	301–400	Wake Forest University	North Carolina
=88	401–500	University at Buffalo	New York
=88	401–500	George Mason University	Virginia
=88	401–500	Georgia State University	Georgia
=88	401–500	University of Kentucky	Kentucky
=88	401–500	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	Maryland
=88	401–500	Mizzou - University of Missouri	Missouri
=88	401–500	University of Nebraska Medical Center	Nebraska
=88	401–500	Saint Louis University	Missouri
=88	401–500	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	Tennessee
=88	401–500	University of Texas at El Paso	Texas
=88	401–500	Virginia Commonwealth University	Virginia
=99	501–600	University of Arkansas	Arkansas
=99	501–600	Auburn University	Alabama
=99	501–600	Georgia Southern University	Georgia
=99	501–600	University of Houston	Texas
=99	501–600	Louisiana State University	Louisiana
=99	501–600	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	North Carolina
=99	501–600	Ohio University (Main campus)	Ohio
=99	501–600	University of Rhode Island	Rhode Island
=99	501–600	San Diego State University	California
=99	501–600	University of South Carolina-Columbia	South Carolina
=99	501–600	William & Mary	Virginia
=99	501–600	University of Wyoming	Wyoming
=111	601–800	The University of Alabama	Alabama
=111	601–800	Clemson University	South Carolina
=111	601–800	Florida Atlantic University	Florida
=111	601–800	University of Memphis	Tennessee
=111	601–800	Mississippi State University	Mississippi
=111	601–800	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Nevada
=111	601–800	New Mexico State University (Main campus)	New Mexico
=111	601–800	University of North Carolina Wilmington	North Carolina
=111	601–800	Nova Southeastern University	Florida
=111	601–800	Oklahoma State University	Oklahoma
=111	601–800	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	Illinois
=111	601–800	SUNY University at Albany	New York
=111	601–800	University of Texas at Arlington	Texas
=111	601–800	University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	Texas
=111	601–800	The University of Texas at San Antonio	Texas
=111	601–800	Texas State University	Texas
=111	601–800	Texas Tech University	Texas
=111	601–800	University of Toledo	Ohio
=111	601–800	Wayne State University	Michigan
=130	801–1000	Creighton University	Nebraska
=130	801–1000	Rowan University	New Jersey
=130	801–1000	University of South Dakota	South Dakota
=130	801–1000	Syracuse University	New York