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Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology Degree

136 schools compared · Average earnings $37,918/yr

Students study the chemical and physical processes that drive living systems at the molecular level, including protein structure, enzyme kinetics, gene expression, and metabolic pathways. Graduates typically pursue careers in pharmaceutical research, biotech companies, medical school, clinical laboratories, and academic research institutions. This rigorous major is excellent preparation for medical school and high-demand research positions in drug development.

What Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology Graduates Do

This degree puts you at the heart of modern discovery. You might start your career as a biological technician, spending your days in the lab preparing samples, operating complex equipment, and meticulously documenting experiment results. With an advanced degree, you can become a medical scientist, where your focus shifts from *running* tests to *designing* them. You’ll be writing grant proposals, analyzing data, and publishing findings that could lead to new drugs or therapies. These research-focused roles are among the fastest-growing paths. Over time, you can advance to become a natural sciences manager, leading entire research teams and setting the scientific strategy for a biotech firm or university lab.

AI is becoming a powerful lab partner, automating significant chunks of routine data analysis and experiment modeling. This won't eliminate these jobs, but your daily tasks will change substantially. Success will depend on your adaptability, as your value shifts toward designing creative experiments, interpreting AI-generated insights, and applying critical human judgment to complex biological problems.

Schools Offering

136

Avg Grad Earnings

$37,918/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

40/100

AI Automation Risk

High

50% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 45,200 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Natural sciences managers	$161,180 $114K$215K	8,500	+3.7%	50%
Biochemists and biophysicists	$103,650 $79K$134K	2,900	+5.8%	45%
Medical scientists, except epidemiologists	$100,590 $77K$134K	9,600	+8.7%	52%
Biological scientists, all other	$93,330 $68K$121K	4,800	+1.2%	49%
Microbiologists	$87,330 $64K$121K	1,700	+4.1%	40%
Biological science teachers, postsecondary	$83,460 $64K$125K	5,400	+7.3%	47%
Biological technicians	$52,000 $45K–$66K	9,100	+3.5%	42%
Food science technicians	$49,430 $44K–$61K	3,200	+4.8%	36%

Natural sciences managers

$161,180

$114K $215K

8,500 openings/yr +3.7% growth 50% AI risk

Biochemists and biophysicists

$103,650

$79K $134K

2,900 openings/yr +5.8% growth 45% AI risk

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

$100,590

$77K $134K

9,600 openings/yr +8.7% growth 52% AI risk

Biological scientists, all other

$93,330

$68K $121K

4,800 openings/yr +1.2% growth 49% AI risk

Microbiologists

$87,330

$64K $121K

1,700 openings/yr +4.1% growth 40% AI risk

Biological science teachers, postsecondary

$83,460

$64K $125K

5,400 openings/yr +7.3% growth 47% AI risk

Biological technicians

$52,000

$45K–$66K

9,100 openings/yr +3.5% growth 42% AI risk

Food science technicians

$49,430

$44K–$61K

3,200 openings/yr +4.8% growth 36% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology

Top 20 of 136 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	61 58–62	$57,538/yr	15.4x
2	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	61 58–61	$50,428/yr	23.3x
3	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	60 57–61	$49,100/yr	14.2x
4	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	60 59–61	$44,101/yr	23.1x
5	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI	56 54–57	$43,936/yr	16.7x
6	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	56 55–56	$41,625/yr	18.2x
7	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	55 53–56	$44,074/yr	14.9x
8	Iowa State University Ames, IA	55 53–56	$43,520/yr	15.7x
9	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	55 54–56	$42,266/yr	13.4x
10	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	55 56–56	$38,869/yr	26.0x
11	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA	54 51–55	$57,682/yr	17.6x
12	University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA	54 51–55	$50,352/yr	10.2x
13	University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO	54 51–55	$49,509/yr	11.3x
14	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	54 51–54	$45,526/yr	13.1x
15	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	54 52–55	$45,066/yr	11.6x
16	Northeastern University Boston, MA	53 50–54	$63,781/yr	2.9x
17	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	53 50–54	$50,474/yr	9.5x
18	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	53 50–53	$47,236/yr	9.1x
19	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ	53 51–54	$46,122/yr	10.3x
20	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	53 51–54	$46,122/yr	10.2x
21	Towson University Towson, MD	53 55–54	$36,842/yr	18.9x
22	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI	52 50–53	$46,155/yr	14.9x
23	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	52 50–53	$44,324/yr	10.2x
24	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	52 50–53	$43,333/yr	12.8x
25	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	52 51–53	$41,487/yr	14.0x
26	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	51 49–51	$44,824/yr	12.1x
27	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	51 53–52	$36,841/yr	23.6x
28	Washington State University Pullman, WA	50 48–51	$46,514/yr	10.7x
29	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT	50 50–51	$41,790/yr	12.4x
30	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	50 50–51	$40,320/yr	12.0x
31	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	50 50–50	$38,985/yr	13.4x
32	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA	50 50–50	$38,985/yr	13.5x
33	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	49 46–50	$48,721/yr	10.8x
34	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	49 46–49	$46,689/yr	14.4x
35	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	48 46–49	$45,453/yr	15.0x
36	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	48 47–49	$42,025/yr	13.9x
37	MCPHS University Boston, MA	47 44–48	$51,942/yr	3.6x
38	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	47 44–47	$48,728/yr	2.8x
39	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	47 44–47	$45,994/yr	6.4x
40	CUNY City College New York, NY	47 45–47	$44,175/yr	14.0x
41	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ	46 47–46	$38,799/yr	10.2x
42	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	46 48–47	$36,427/yr	12.8x
43	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	46 49–47	$35,210/yr	13.0x
44	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	46 49–46	$33,983/yr	17.7x
45	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	45 46–46	$38,484/yr	11.2x
46	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	45 46–46	$38,243/yr	10.1x
47	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	45 49–46	$33,846/yr	14.8x
48	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	45 49–45	$31,225/yr	24.6x
49	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	45 50–46	$31,074/yr	29.2x
50	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	45 50–46	$29,991/yr	19.0x
51	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	44 41–44	$48,348/yr	7.9x
52	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	44 42–45	$45,799/yr	9.6x
53	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	44 43–45	$42,886/yr	12.3x
54	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	44 44–45	$40,492/yr	9.6x
55	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	44 45–44	$37,830/yr	9.5x
56	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	44 47–45	$35,607/yr	11.7x
57	University of North Texas Denton, TX	43 46–44	$34,657/yr	13.3x
58	University of Houston Houston, TX	43 46–43	$34,648/yr	14.5x
59	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	43 47–44	$33,520/yr	15.1x
60	University of Delaware Newark, DE	42 40–43	$47,912/yr	6.4x
61	Utah State University Logan, UT	42 41–43	$42,236/yr	10.4x
62	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	42 47–43	$29,649/yr	16.5x
63	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN	42 46–42	$28,642/yr	18.1x
64	University of Vermont Burlington, VT	41 43–42	$36,680/yr	8.2x
65	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	41 43–41	$35,927/yr	9.5x
66	Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID	41 43–41	$35,779/yr	18.2x
67	University of Georgia Athens, GA	41 44–42	$34,212/yr	12.6x
68	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	41 45–42	$32,027/yr	13.4x
69	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	41 46–42	$30,275/yr	13.9x
70	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA	41 46–42	$29,938/yr	23.9x
71	Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, PA	40 39–41	$44,442/yr	2.5x
72	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	40 39–41	$41,305/yr	9.0x
73	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL	40 44–41	$34,308/yr	10.5x
74	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	39 38–39	$42,200/yr	6.4x
75	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN	39 44–40	$31,150/yr	11.5x
76	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	39 41–40	$23,648/yr	19.1x
77	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	38 37–39	$43,333/yr	—
78	Portland State University Portland, OR	38 38–39	$40,230/yr	7.9x
79	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	38 41–39	$25,623/yr	14.2x
80	Stevenson University Owings Mills, MD	37 35–38	$46,637/yr	1.9x
81	Boston University Boston, MA	37 36–38	$42,850/yr	1.9x
82	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	37 35–37	$42,474/yr	1.8x
83	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ	37 37–38	$41,068/yr	6.0x
84	Stockton University Galloway, NJ	37 37–38	$40,855/yr	5.6x
85	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC	37 39–38	$36,783/yr	11.1x
86	University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg Greensburg, PA	37 41–38	$33,554/yr	9.6x
87	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA	37 41–38	$33,554/yr	9.6x
88	University of Michigan-Flint Flint, MI	37 41–37	$32,221/yr	10.2x
89	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	37 41–37	$30,565/yr	13.5x
90	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	37 42–38	$30,077/yr	11.1x
91	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	37 42–38	$29,720/yr	13.8x
92	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	36 34–37	$47,410/yr	0.8x
93	SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY	36 38–37	$37,206/yr	9.4x
94	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	35 33–36	$45,599/yr	0.7x
95	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA	35 35–35	$38,598/yr	2.0x
96	Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA	35 39–36	$33,408/yr	13.1x
97	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	34 32–35	$44,142/yr	0.7x
98	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	34 32–35	$44,089/yr	0.6x
99	Brown University Providence, RI	34 32–34	$43,637/yr	0.6x
100	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	34 37–34	$33,554/yr	6.2x
101	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX	34 34–35	$19,546/yr	14.2x
102	New York University New York, NY	33 35–33	$36,440/yr	2.2x
103	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	33 37–34	$34,468/yr	2.3x
104	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX	33 37–33	$30,207/yr	9.2x
105	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	33 38–34	$28,338/yr	10.6x
106	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	32 32–33	$41,848/yr	0.8x
107	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL	32 33–32	$38,487/yr	2.2x
108	University of Idaho Moscow, ID	32 35–33	$34,251/yr	8.7x
109	Ursinus College Collegeville, PA	31 31–32	$40,294/yr	0.7x
110	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	31 35–32	$26,151/yr	8.5x
111	Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA	30 31–31	$39,164/yr	0.9x
112	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	30 33–31	$34,566/yr	5.4x
113	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	30 33–31	$34,566/yr	5.9x
114	University at Albany Albany, NY	30 33–30	$33,266/yr	7.0x
115	Augustana College Rock Island, IL	29 30–30	$38,436/yr	0.9x
116	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	28 32–29	$32,599/yr	5.7x
117	Clemson University Clemson, SC	27 32–28	$28,120/yr	7.7x
118	State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY	26 30–26	$29,135/yr	7.3x
119	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA	25 28–26	$35,305/yr	0.4x
120	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA	25 28–25	$34,796/yr	0.4x
121	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI	25 29–25	$30,141/yr	4.2x
122	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS	25 30–26	$29,651/yr	5.8x
123	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA	25 29–26	$26,380/yr	8.4x
124	University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN	24 28–25	$34,299/yr	0.6x
125	Lewis & Clark College Portland, OR	23 27–23	$33,002/yr	0.3x
126	Baylor University Waco, TX	23 28–24	$30,496/yr	2.1x
127	University of Mississippi University, MS	23 26–23	$24,972/yr	5.6x
128	University of Denver Denver, CO	22 26–23	$32,613/yr	0.4x
129	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA	22 26–23	$25,819/yr	4.3x
130	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	22 23–22	$22,693/yr	-0.1x
131	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	22 23–22	$21,666/yr	-0.1x
132	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	21 23–22	$23,763/yr	3.7x
133	Hendrix College Conway, AR	19 23–20	$28,322/yr	0.9x
134	Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA	18 23–19	$27,604/yr	0.6x
135	Lipscomb University Nashville, TN	17 19–17	$23,075/yr	0.5x
136	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	16 17–16	$22,390/yr	1.5x

Highest Earning Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology Programs

Schools where Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
Northeastern University	$63,781/yr	53
California State University-San Marcos	$57,682/yr	54
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	$57,538/yr	61
MCPHS University	$51,942/yr	47
University of Colorado Boulder	$50,474/yr	53
California State University-Los Angeles	$50,428/yr	61
University of Massachusetts-Boston	$50,352/yr	54
University of Missouri-St Louis	$49,509/yr	54
University of California-Santa Barbara	$49,100/yr	60
University of San Diego	$48,728/yr	47

Best ROI for Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Florida State University	29.2x	$31,074/yr	45
California State University-Fullerton	26.0x	$38,869/yr	55
Brigham Young University	24.6x	$31,225/yr	45
Kennesaw State University	23.9x	$29,938/yr	41
California State University-Long Beach	23.6x	$36,841/yr	51
California State University-Los Angeles	23.3x	$50,428/yr	61
North Carolina State University at Raleigh	23.1x	$44,101/yr	60
University of New Mexico-Main Campus	19.1x	$23,648/yr	39
University of Iowa	19.0x	$29,991/yr	45
Towson University	18.9x	$36,842/yr	53

Want to compare two Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology graduates earn?

Across 136 schools, Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology graduates earn an average of $37,918 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $19,546 to $63,781 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology?

Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 50% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means some career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology program?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ranks #1 for Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology with a score of 61/100 and graduate earnings of $57,538/yr.

What's the outlook for a Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology degree?

On average, Biochemistry & Biophysics and Molecular Biology graduates earn 9.7x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →