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St. Louis, MO · Biology

Biology at WashU

WashU graduates about 249 biology majors a year, 14% of its graduating class. That puts it 3rd of 692 schools we score for biology, a standout program at 95 out of 100. Its current catalog lists 131 undergraduate courses in the field, more than 93% of the schools we've counted. Graduates in the major earn a median $68,000 four years out, 1.19× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $712 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

95/100Standout#3 of 692 for biology →
Graduates a year24914% of the class
Courses in the catalog131more than 93% of schools
Median pay 4 years out$68,0001.19× the same major nationally
Research in the field$712Ma year, NSF
Admit rate12%whole school
SAT middle 50%1500–1570whole school

Around WashU

Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis (Schools at Washington U
Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis,I Gusti Nyoman Haris PraPhoto: MKRI22 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Wine-cap Stropharia (Stropharia rugosoannulata)
Stropharia rugosoannulata 193908529Photo: Cazody · CC0 · source
Thurtene Carnival,Washington University in St. Louis, April 2018
Thurtene CarnivalPhoto: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
The West end of Danforth Campus in the snow. Picture taken from Seigle hall.
West end of Danforth CampusPhoto: Shubinator · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Where biology happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Busch Laboratory, Life Sciences Building, Bayer Laboratory, Environmental Health and Safety Facility, McMillen Laboratory, Compton Laboratory.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 84 · Dorm 37 · Student housing 28 · Athletics 5 · Library 5 · Chapel 2.

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Nearby in the biology ranking

  1. Duke University 98
  2. Harvard University 97
  3. Cornell University 95
  4. Emory University 94
  5. Brown University 94
  6. Tufts University 93
  7. Rice University 93

Other strong majors at WashU

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares WashU with every school we score in biology. It weighs the school's overall strength; how many students graduate in the major and what share of the class they are; research spending in the field (NSF); early pay against the same major nationally; how many courses the catalog lists; and test scores. 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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