Majors
Best Colleges for Zoology/Animal Biology, by Earnings
75 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Zoology/Animal Biology, about 2,586 degrees a year. Across the 40 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $42,694 four years after finishing.
| Rank | College | State | Median earnings, 4 years out | Degrees a year | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Connecticut | CT | $69,471 | 125 | 52.4% |
| 2 | Brigham Young University | UT | $57,020 | 25 | 67.8% |
| 3 | University of Oklahoma | OK | $55,682 | 228 | 76.6% |
| 4 | Ohio University-Main Campus | OH | $55,352 | 146 | 85% |
| 5 | Ohio University-Lancaster Campus | OH | $55,352 | 1 | |
| 6 | University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | $53,727 | 26 | 33% |
| 7 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | $50,080 | 61 | 45.2% |
| 8 | Berry College | GA | $48,958 | 50 | 64% |
| 9 | Kansas State University | KS | $48,908 | 26 | 81.7% |
| 10 | Indiana University | IN | $48,161 | 38 | 78.2% |
| 11 | Ohio State University | OH | $45,501 | 101 | 60.6% |
| 12 | University of Wyoming | WY | $44,424 | 68 | 96.9% |
| 13 | Colorado State University | CO | $44,226 | 234 | 88.5% |
| 14 | Oregon State University | OR | $44,201 | 65 | 77.3% |
| 15 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus | OR | $44,201 | 2 | 63.1% |
| 16 | Texas State University | TX | $43,943 | 57 | 89.3% |
| 17 | Frostburg State University | MD | $43,434 | 27 | 89.2% |
| 18 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | IL | $43,207 | 38 | 86.9% |
| 19 | University of New England | ME | $42,941 | 20 | 91.6% |
| 20 | Miami University-Oxford | OH | $42,883 | 54 | 75.4% |
| 21 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | NY | $42,505 | 33 | 63.3% |
| 22 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | OK | $42,474 | 65 | 75% |
| 23 | University of Florida | FL | $41,961 | 56 | 24.2% |
| 24 | Washington State University | WA | $41,888 | 37 | 86.6% |
| 25 | Michigan State University | MI | $41,768 | 118 | 84.8% |
| 26 | Texas A&M University | TX | $41,543 | 38 | 57.4% |
| 27 | University of New Hampshire | NH | $41,343 | 24 | 88.2% |
| 28 | Liberty University | VA | $41,103 | 27 | 99% |
| 29 | State University of New York at Oswego | NY | $40,755 | 37 | 80.6% |
| 30 | Delaware Valley University | PA | $40,575 | 14 | 93.2% |
| 31 | Canisius University | NY | $40,174 | 30 | 72.4% |
| 32 | Carroll University | WI | $39,677 | 34 | 66.8% |
| 33 | Friends University | KS | $39,329 | 15 | 55.2% |
| 34 | Unity Environmental University | ME | $39,302 | 4 | |
| 35 | Lees-McRae College | NC | $38,699 | 48 | 76.8% |
| 36 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | CA | $38,495 | 38 | 98.2% |
| 37 | North Carolina State University | NC | $38,440 | 50 | 41.7% |
| 38 | University of Vermont | VT | $38,421 | 58 | 65.3% |
| 39 | University of Maine | ME | $36,078 | 21 | 96.6% |
| 40 | Kent State University at Kent | OH | $35,875 | 43 | 86.3% |
35 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.
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Frequently asked questions
Which college has the highest-paid Zoology/Animal Biology graduates?
University of Connecticut ($69,471), Brigham Young University ($57,020), University of Oklahoma ($55,682), Ohio University-Main Campus ($55,352), Ohio University-Lancaster Campus ($55,352) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.
How much do Zoology/Animal Biology majors make?
The median across 40 colleges is $42,694 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $35,875 to $69,471.
Which colleges have the biggest Zoology/Animal Biology programs?
By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Colorado State University (234), University of Oklahoma (228), Ohio University-Main Campus (146), University of Connecticut (125), Michigan State University (118).
Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?
Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.
Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Zoology/Animal Biology". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.
