39 Best colleges for Molecular Biology in California, US

Updated: February 29, 2024

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Molecular Biology. A graph of 4.83M citations received by 80.6K academic papers made by 39 universities in California was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Stanford University

Stanford

For Molecular Biology

#3 in the United States

#3 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $18,279

2. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Molecular Biology

#4 in the United States

#4 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,140
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

3. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Molecular Biology

#8 in the United States

#8 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 24%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $20,782
Enrollment: 42,006

4. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Molecular Biology

#15 in the United States

#16 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $21,766
Enrollment: 46,430

5. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Molecular Biology

#21 in the United States

#22 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $21,669
Enrollment: 45,307

6. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Molecular Biology

#25 in the United States

#27 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 37%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $20,548
Enrollment: 39,679

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Molecular Biology

#30 in the United States

#32 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $36,808

8. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Molecular Biology

#45 in the United States

#49 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $20,755
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $59,192

9. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Molecular Biology

#53 in the United States

#57 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $17,411
Enrollment: 35,937

10. Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences at City of Hope

Duarte

For Molecular Biology

#59 in the United States

#63 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 14%
Enrollment: 90
Founded: 1994

11. Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

San Diego

For Molecular Biology

#73 in the United States

#81 in North America

Enrollment: 44
Male:Female: 45:55

12. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Molecular Biology

#89 in the United States

#100 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $22,042
Enrollment: 26,809

13. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Molecular Biology

#114 in the United States

#128 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $20,389
Enrollment: 26,420

14. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Molecular Biology

#133 in the United States

#150 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 74%
Average Aid: $21,202
Enrollment: 19,478

15. Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

For Molecular Biology

#146 in the United States

#163 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Enrollment: 4,280
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1905

16. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Molecular Biology

#181 in the United States

#204 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Receiving Aid: 98%
Average Aid: $9,934
Enrollment: 37,402

17. West Los Angeles College

Culver

For Molecular Biology

#222 in the United States

#246 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $6,951
Enrollment: 8,656

18. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Molecular Biology

#241 in the United States

#268 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 78%
Average Aid: $9,830
Enrollment: 25,282

19. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Molecular Biology

#253 in the United States

#281 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $9,210
Enrollment: 35,751

20. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Molecular Biology

#258 in the United States

#286 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 92%
Average Aid: $10,907
Enrollment: 26,460

21. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Molecular Biology

#263 in the United States

#292 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 98%
Receiving Aid: 76%
Average Aid: $9,262
Enrollment: 6,025

22. Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science

Los Angeles

For Molecular Biology

#272 in the United States

#301 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Net Price: $27,637
Receiving Aid: 73%
Average Aid: $11,419

23. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Molecular Biology

#277 in the United States

#306 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $10,511
Enrollment: 37,579

24. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Molecular Biology

#278 in the United States

#307 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,194
Enrollment: 40,386

25. University of the Pacific

Stockton

For Molecular Biology

#282 in the United States

#313 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 1272
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $28,164

26. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Molecular Biology

#286 in the United States

#317 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,478
Enrollment: 38,973

27. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Molecular Biology

#295 in the United States

#328 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $10,065
Enrollment: 22,000

28. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Molecular Biology

#296 in the United States

#330 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $25,868
Enrollment: 9,103

29. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Molecular Biology

#298 in the United States

#332 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Enrollment: 1,129
Male:Female: 14:86
Founded: 1975

30. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Molecular Biology

#308 in the United States

#342 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1310
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $42,953

31. Western University of Health Sciences

Pomona

For Molecular Biology

#309 in the United States

#343 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 3,724
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1977

32. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Molecular Biology

#336 in the United States

#373 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Average SAT: 1385
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $50,551

33. Keck Graduate Institute

Claremont

For Molecular Biology

#338 in the United States

#375 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 668
Male:Female: 30:70
Founded: 1997

34. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Molecular Biology

#363 in the United States

#402 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 41%
Average SAT: 1380
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $52,815

35. Chapman University

Orange

For Molecular Biology

#371 in the United States

#411 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Average SAT: 1300
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $45,033

36. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Molecular Biology

#373 in the United States

#413 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 53%
Net Price: $36,008
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $36,408

37. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Molecular Biology

#396 in the United States

#436 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,968
Enrollment: 23,999

38. Simpson University

Redding

For Molecular Biology

#401 in the United States

#441 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $25,251
Receiving Aid: 99%
Average Aid: $27,704

39. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Molecular Biology

#403 in the United States

#443 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 55%
Receiving Aid: 77%
Average Aid: $9,040
Enrollment: 27,503

Closest to California states to learn Molecular Biology

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	6	62
Utah	3	39
Arizona	4	50
Idaho	3	188
Washington	3	7
Colorado	5	54
New Mexico	3	106
Nebraska	4	78
Kansas	4	119
Texas	31	13
Oklahoma	6	99
North Dakota	3	191
Minnesota	3	24
Iowa	2	31
Missouri	9	16
Arkansas	6	92
Louisiana	9	91
Wisconsin	4	12
Illinois	16	22
Mississippi	5	134
Indiana	7	48
Michigan	10	9
Tennessee	12	35
Alabama	9	29
Kentucky	4	67
Ohio	17	33
Georgia	12	26
South Carolina	5	76
North Carolina	10	17
Virginia	11	40
Pennsylvania	22	5
Florida	15	32
District of Columbia	5	74
Maryland	8	2
New York	45	10
New Jersey	9	37
Connecticut	5	6
Massachusetts	21	1
Rhode Island	3	93
Maine	4	221
Puerto Rico	5	267

Closest to California states to learn Molecular Biology

Biology subfields in California