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Molecular Biology & Genomics
What you'll do in college
This is biology zoomed in on the molecular machinery of life—DNA, proteins, cells. Coursework covers genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular techniques, plus chemistry and often physics.
Labs are demanding: you'll learn to run gels, clone genes, image cells under fluorescent microscopes, and analyze sequencing data. Research with a professor is almost expected, and many students publish papers as undergraduates.
What you'll do after college
Grads work in biotech (think Genentech, Moderna, CRISPR Therapeutics), pharmaceutical companies, academic and medical research labs, and increasingly in synthetic biology startups. Many continue to medical school or to PhD programs.
Day-to-day lab work involves running experiments, analyzing data, and sharing results with the team. Pay at the bachelor's level is modest, but advanced degrees—especially PhDs in molecular biology—lead to leadership roles in some of the fastest-growing parts of the economy.
Famous graduates
- Jennifer Doudna — Nobel laureate for CRISPR gene editing; B.A. in Biochemistry from Pomona College
Selectivity vs. earnings
By acceptance rate
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings
By SAT median
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings
Earnings vs. selectivity rank
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings
Majors in this category
| Major | Colleges | Degrees ▼ | Male/Female | Intl | Earnings | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molecular Biology & Genomics | 718 | 18,245 | 39% / 61% | 6% | $64,877 | 93% |
| Biochemistry | 568 | 9,066 | 41% / 59% | 5% | $62,997 | 93% |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | 63 | 1,290 | 44% / 56% | 6% | $62,041 | 91% |
| Molecular and Cell Biology | 4 | 1,154 | 34% / 66% | 12% | $71,414 | 93% |
| Biotechnology | 72 | 910 | 41% / 59% | 5% | $65,467 | 93% |
| Molecular Biology | 54 | 831 | 38% / 62% | 5% | $63,842 | 93% |
| Molecular and Cellular Biology | 5 | 604 | 39% / 61% | 6% | $71,731 | 87% |
| Cellular and Molecular Biology | 29 | 513 | 33% / 67% | 3% | $65,021 | 96% |
| Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology | 2 | 427 | 37% / 63% | 5% | $64,236 | 90% |
| Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology | 3 | 394 | 31% / 69% | 5% | $68,671 | 93% |
| Bioinformatics | 41 | 348 | 45% / 55% | 9% | $66,430 | 97% |
| Genetics | 11 | 282 | 25% / 75% | 1% | $63,487 | 96% |
| Molecular Biochemistry | 3 | 218 | 46% / 54% | 7% | $69,806 | 91% |
| Computational Biology | 23 | 207 | 43% / 57% | 9% | $66,816 | |
| Cell and Molecular Biology | 7 | 188 | 36% / 64% | 8% | $67,149 | 94% |
| Genetics and Genomics | 2 | 176 | 25% / 75% | 9% | $70,624 | 89% |
| Cell Biology and Neuroscience | 1 | 175 | 41% / 59% | 7% | $68,444 | 98% |
| Molecular Genetics | 7 | 172 | 37% / 63% | 3% | $64,427 | 97% |
| Cell Biology | 9 | 163 | 34% / 66% | 7% | $60,218 | 90% |
| Biophysics | 42 | 120 | 52% / 48% | 5% | $69,147 | 92% |
| Computational and Systems Biology | 1 | 112 | 40% / 60% | 4% | $67,827 | |
| Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | 1 | 71 | 45% / 55% | 15% | $70,539 | 91% |
| Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology | 1 | 69 | 42% / 58% | 0% | $66,896 | 95% |
| Cell Biology and Genetics | 1 | 59 | 25% / 75% | 5% | $70,200 | 97% |
| Cell Biology and Histology | 1 | 53 | 25% / 75% | 4% | $70,248 | 84% |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 46 | 26% / 74% | 2% | $72,745 | 93% |
| Biochemistry-Molecular Biology | 1 | 46 | 54% / 46% | 4% | $81,873 | 80% |
| Chemistry & Biochemistry | 1 | 46 | 50% / 50% | 7% | $71,649 | 93% |
| Molecular Engineering | 1 | 45 | 56% / 44% | 9% | $80,364 | |
| Genetics and Genomic Sciences | 1 | 43 | 19% / 81% | 0% | $57,814 | |
| Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry | 1 | 37 | 24% / 76% | 0% | $79,109 | |
| Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience | 1 | 28 | 39% / 61% | 0% | $62,130 | 92% |
| Computer Science and Molecular Biology (Course 6-7) | 1 | 26 | 38% / 62% | 12% | $73,783 | |
| Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | 1 | 25 | 60% / 40% | 12% | $65,571 | |
| Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology | 1 | 25 | 44% / 56% | 4% | $65,592 | 95% |
| Genome Sciences/Genomics | 2 | 24 | 29% / 71% | 0% | $67,648 | |
| Biochemistry/Molecular Biology | 2 | 22 | 68% / 32% | 0% | $65,824 | 95% |
| Biological Chemistry | 1 | 22 | 68% / 32% | 5% | $76,978 | |
| Cellular Biology | 1 | 20 | 45% / 55% | 0% | $58,579 | 89% |
| Cancer Biology | 1 | 19 | 32% / 68% | 11% | $57,499 | |
| Chemical Biology | 1 | 19 | 47% / 53% | 0% | $67,430 | |
| Molecular Biosciences | 1 | 17 | 47% / 53% | 24% | $56,961 | |
| Biomedical Computation | 1 | 16 | 50% / 50% | 6% | $80,111 | |
| Cellular Biology and Anatomy | 1 | 15 | 13% / 87% | 7% | $70,474 | 96% |
| Genomics | 2 | 14 | 57% / 43% | 7% | $66,470 | |
| Structural Biology | 1 | 14 | 36% / 64% | 0% | $68,622 | 100% |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | 2 | 10 | 50% / 50% | 10% | $61,264 | |
| Chemical and Physical Biology | 1 | 10 | 70% / 30% | 20% | $83,236 | |
| Evolutionary Biology | 2 | 9 | 44% / 56% | 0% | $69,530 | 93% |
| Biomolecular Science | 1 | 9 | 11% / 89% | 0% | $69,057 | |
| Mathematical & Computational Biology | 1 | 9 | 33% / 67% | 11% | $67,743 | |
| Chemistry & Biochemistry (CCS) | 1 | 8 | 50% / 50% | 12% | $71,649 | 93% |
| Bioinformatics and Computational Biology | 1 | 6 | 17% / 83% | 0% | $67,021 | |
| Microbiology and Molecular Biology | 1 | 6 | 67% / 33% | 33% | $56,353 | |
| Cell and Developmental Biology | 1 | 5 | 60% / 40% | 40% | $60,674 | |
| Human Genetics | 1 | 1 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $60,925 | |
| Population Biology | 1 | 1 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $62,527 |