Best West Coast Marine Biology and Marine Science Colleges (2026)
by EDsmart Staff · Updated July 2026
The best marine biology and marine science colleges on the West Coast are UC San Diego, UCLA, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, followed by USC, the University of Washington, and UC Santa Barbara. Each pairs a named marine degree with direct ocean access. UC San Diego teaches its Marine Biology B.S. at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. UCLA requires a residential Marine Biology Quarter. Cal Poly runs its own research pier at Avila Beach. USC sends students to Catalina Island, and Washington uses Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands. We ranked 13 programs in California, Oregon, and Washington on completion, cost after aid, and career outcomes.
Find Your School in 5 Minutes or Less
Answer a few questions and compare marine, environmental, and ocean science programs that are accepting applications now.
Key facts
- UC San Diego and UCLA lead the list, and both cost about $12,500 a year after aid.
- Cal State Long Beach is the cheapest here at $10,440 after aid; USC is the most expensive at $32,740.
- Highest median earnings: USC ($95,739), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo ($90,662), and San José State ($89,614).
Table of contents
- Key facts
- How we picked these schools
- Top 13 marine programs
- Program profiles
- Marine biology vs. marine science vs. oceanography
- Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Where the field stations are
- Best marine programs in Oregon
- Best marine programs in Washington
- Strong programs just outside the top 13
- What marine graduates earn
- FAQ
- Related guides
- Sources
How we picked these schools
A school needed three things: a named undergraduate marine credential — a standalone major, option, pathway, emphasis, or concentration, not a biology degree with a few marine electives; verified access to a marine field station, lab, or research vessel; and enough data to carry an EDsmart grade. We confirmed every credential on the school's own catalog, not on other rankings. Nineteen West Coast schools qualified, and we ranked the top 13 by our overall grade, which weighs completion, affordability, student support, and career outcomes using U.S. Department of Education data — full weights are on our rankings methodology page. This is the marine cut of our broader best colleges on the West Coast ranking, which ranks all 193 graded schools in the three states.
Best West Coast marine biology and marine science colleges 2026
Thirteen programs across California, Oregon, and Washington. Each profile below opens with a campus snapshot; expand See Details for the exact credential, acceptance rate, and fit notes.
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California, San Diego | La Jolla, CA |
| 2 | University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 3 | California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 4 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA |
| 5 | University of Washington | Seattle, WA |
| 6 | University of California, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 7 | University of California, Davis | Davis, CA |
| 8 | San José State University | San José, CA |
| 9 | University of San Diego | San Diego, CA |
| 10 | California State University, Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 11 | San Diego State University | San Diego, CA |
| 12 | University of California, Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA |
| 13 | Oregon State University | Corvallis, OR |
West Coast marine programs in detail
University of California, San Diego
UC San Diego — The Marine Biology B.S. is housed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which sits on the bluffs above La Jolla with its own pier and one of the largest academic research fleets in the world. That is not a field station students visit for a quarter; it is the department. Scripps operates a four-ship research fleet out of Point Loma, from global-class vessels to coastal boats, plus scientific diving and small-boating programs. Graduates leave with median earnings near $83,130, and in-state students pay about $12,470 after aid. If you want one school that no serious West Coast marine list can omit, this is it.
University of California, Los Angeles
UCLA — UCLA's Marine Biology major lives in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and its defining feature is the Marine Biology Quarter, a required 16-unit residential term in which students design and present their own research. Recent quarters, including spring 2026, have run at the Gump South Pacific Research Station in Moorea, French Polynesia, which makes this one of the few undergraduate marine degrees in the country with a mandatory field quarter away from campus. The site rotates — past quarters have run in Belize, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, the Virgin Islands, and at Bodega Bay. Retention of 97.3% and a 92.6% graduation rate are the strongest on this list. A 9% acceptance rate makes it a reach for nearly everyone.
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — Cal Poly's learn-by-doing reputation extends into the water. The Marine Sciences B.S. is anchored by the Cal Poly Pier at Avila Beach, a working research pier with lab space, a flow-through seawater system, and a small fleet. Coursework runs through physical and biological oceanography, marine ecology, and marine chemistry, and every student finishes a senior project. Median earnings of $90,662 are the second-highest here. Note that Cal Poly's separate Oceanography degree is taught at Cal Poly Maritime Academy on the Cal Poly Solano Campus in Vallejo, not San Luis Obispo.
University of Southern California
USC — USC's marine strength runs through the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability and its Wrigley Marine Science Center on Santa Catalina Island, a 40-acre campus about 22 miles off Los Angeles with housing, dive support, and boats. Undergraduates take marine biology as an emphasis within the Biological Sciences B.S. rather than as a standalone major, and a competitive four-week Maymester lets undergraduates live and study on the island. Outcomes are excellent, with $95,739 median earnings, the highest on this list. Cost is the tradeoff: $32,740 after aid earns USC a C- on affordability, so compare its aid offer carefully against the UC campuses above it.
University of Washington
University of Washington — The strongest marine program in the Pacific Northwest, and the only school outside California in the top half of this list. UW's Marine Biology B.S. is an interdisciplinary College of the Environment degree drawing on aquatic and fishery sciences, oceanography, and biology, and it requires an Integrative Field Experience away from Seattle. Most students fulfill it at Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands, where marine biology majors get preferential admission in spring, early fall, and autumn. Cold-water ecosystems, fisheries science, and ocean policy are the real specialties here, and $14,091 after aid keeps it accessible.
University of California, Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara — UCSB's campus ends at the Pacific, with tidepools and kelp forests a walk from class, and its Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology is one of the few in the country to put marine biology in its name. The undergraduate degree, though, is Aquatic Biology, covering freshwater as well as marine systems — worth knowing if you are searching for a program called marine biology. Outdoor labs include the Carpinteria Salt Marsh, the West Campus dunes, and Santa Cruz Island in the Santa Barbara Channel. The Marine Science Institute's onBOARD program supports scientific diving certification.
University of California, Davis
UC Davis — An inland campus with a coastal laboratory, and one of the more overlooked marine degrees in California. The Marine & Coastal Science B.S. asks students to choose among three focus areas: coastal environmental processes, marine ecology and organismal biology, or oceans and the Earth system. It also carries a field requirement that most students satisfy in residence at Bodega Marine Laboratory on the Sonoma coast. A research or internship requirement and a capstone round it out. At $14,741 after aid with an 85.7% graduation rate, it is one of the better values on this list.
San José State University
San José State University — A Silicon Valley commuter campus with a back door to one of the best marine labs on the coast. San José State's Marine Biology B.S. runs through the Department of Biological Sciences, with specialized upper-division coursework offered both in San José and at the university's affiliated Moss Landing Marine Laboratories on Monterey Bay. Be clear on how Moss Landing works: the master's in marine science is a California State University degree now offered jointly by San José State and CSU Monterey Bay, with San José State overseeing the lab, while undergraduates get coursework access rather than a Moss Landing diploma. Median earnings of $89,614 are third-highest on this list, and strong for a school with an 84.6% acceptance rate.
University of San Diego
University of San Diego — The school almost every marine biology list misses, because its program is not called marine biology. USD's Department of Environmental and Ocean Sciences offers one major with three pathways, and the Marine Ecology Pathway is a B.S. paired with a required biology minor. What students actually do is unusually hands-on for a mid-sized private campus: some take a coral reef course with a spring-break field trip to San Salvador, Bahamas, and local labs run at Ocean Beach, the Tijuana River Estuary, Sunset Cliffs, and Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Every student completes research, an internship, or independent study, then a senior seminar. Median earnings of $85,309 are among the stronger private-campus outcomes on this list. Two honest caveats: USD runs no marine field station of its own, and at $30,365 after aid it earns a C for affordability.
California State University, Long Beach
Cal State Long Beach — The cheapest program on this list at $10,440 after aid, and the only one with a lab famous enough to have its own following. The Shark Lab, founded in 1966, gives undergraduates access to a dive locker and ongoing work on local shark and ray populations. The Marine Biology B.S. is a genuine standalone degree — students enter as pre-majors and declare after clearing calculus and chemistry milestones. Juniors and seniors can apply for the Catalina Semester, in which roughly a dozen students live at the Wrigley Marine Science Center for a full fall term. A 68.9% graduation rate is the tradeoff to weigh.
San Diego State University
San Diego State University — SDSU's Coastal and Marine Institute Laboratory is a waterfront lab on San Diego Bay at the former Naval Training Center in Point Loma, and its research groups work on marine conservation ecology and fisheries bycatch. Marine biology here is an emphasis within the Biology B.S. rather than a separate major, and biology is an impacted program, so incoming students start as premajors and have to earn their way in. There is no required field station term, which makes this a more conventional degree than Oregon State's or Washington's. At $15,364 after aid with a 76.4% graduation rate, it is a solid public option in a city with two other schools on this list.
University of California, Santa Cruz
UC Santa Cruz — On marine reputation alone, UCSB and UCSC belong near the top of any West Coast list, and UCSC lands at 12 here purely because campus-wide completion and earnings sit lower than the UC campuses above it. The program itself is excellent. The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is physically located on the Coastal Science Campus beside the Institute of Marine Sciences and Long Marine Laboratory, with running seawater, marine mammal facilities, and a scientific diving program that meets American Academy of Underwater Sciences standards. NOAA's fisheries service and California Fish and Wildlife both keep labs on the same campus, and Año Nuevo Island up the coast supports marine mammal work. Monterey Bay is the classroom.
Oregon State University
Oregon State University — Oregon's marine anchor, and the school whose fieldwork requirement is the most demanding of any in this top 13. The Marine Biology and Ecology Option sits within the Biology B.S., and it requires at least one term in residence at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, on the coast. The spring track is a 15-credit course taken by application, ending in a research project presented at a Hatfield symposium; a summer track runs without an application. Kelp forests, rocky intertidal, estuaries, and offshore reserves are all within reach, and NOAA and Pacific fishery management ties run deep. At #306 overall it sits low on institution-wide outcomes, which is why it lands here rather than in the top five.
Marine biology, marine science, or oceanography — which major do you actually want?
These names get used interchangeably in casual conversation and they are not interchangeable in a course catalog. Sorting them out early saves you from filtering out schools that offer exactly what you want under a different label.
Marine biology
- The organisms and their ecosystems — fish, invertebrates, mammals, algae, and the habitats they live in.
- Offered as a standalone major at UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, Cal State Long Beach, San José State, Cal Poly Humboldt, and the University of Oregon.
Marine science and ocean sciences
- Broader and more interdisciplinary — biology plus chemistry, geology, and physical oceanography, often with policy or management.
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Davis, Cal State Monterey Bay, Western Washington, and the University of San Diego all sit here. Monterey Bay is explicit that it runs a marine science program rather than a marine biology one.
Oceanography
- The ocean as a physical and chemical system — circulation, climate, seafloor geology. More quantitative, and more often a graduate path.
- Washington offers it at the undergraduate level; UC San Diego's oceanography degree is graduate, though Scripps grants an undergraduate B.S. in oceanic and atmospheric sciences.
Aquatic biology
- Marine and freshwater systems together. UC Santa Barbara's undergraduate degree uses this name, which is why UCSB is easy to miss when you search for marine biology.
The practical takeaway: search by what a program contains, not what it is called. The University of San Diego is the clearest example on this page. Its degree is Environmental and Ocean Sciences with a Marine Ecology pathway, so keyword-matched rankings skip it entirely even though it grants ocean science degrees on the San Diego coast and offers a coral reef course with fieldwork in the Bahamas.
Undergraduate or graduate? Check before you apply
Several famous West Coast marine names are weighted toward graduate study, and lists that blend the two mislead high school applicants. Three worth knowing:
- Stanford has no marine biology major or minor. Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove has been a leader in marine science since 1892, and undergraduates can take courses there — Friday commutes in winter, or a 10-week spring residential program by application. But the degree route runs through Biology or Earth Systems, where the closest credential is a marine biology and conservation subcategory inside the Earth Systems B.S. The Oceans department admits graduate students at the doctoral level; its master's is open only to students already in the Oceans PhD. Worth noting: a quarter in residence at Hopkins is optional, not required — students can commute for individual courses instead, despite what older writeups say.
- USC's marine degrees are graduate-heavy. Undergraduates take marine biology as an emphasis within Biological Sciences; the master's in marine and environmental biology and the doctorate in marine biology and biological oceanography are where the depth is.
- Moss Landing is a graduate program, not a campus you apply to. Its marine science master's is offered jointly by San José State and CSU Monterey Bay, the two campuses through which students enroll, with San José State overseeing the lab. Undergraduates from those campuses get coursework access, not a Moss Landing degree.
Where the field stations are
Time in the water is what separates these programs, and the requirement varies enormously — from a single lab course to three full terms living on the coast. This is the comparison worth making before you pick.
| School | Facility | Location | Required hands-on element |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Oregon | Oregon Institute of Marine Biology | Charleston, OR | Three terms at OIMB — the deepest requirement on the coast |
| Oregon State University | Hatfield Marine Science Center | Newport, OR | At least one term in residence |
| UCLA | Marine Biology Quarter at the Gump Station | Moorea, French Polynesia | Required 16-unit residential quarter |
| University of Washington | Friday Harbor Laboratories | San Juan Island, WA | Required Integrative Field Experience |
| UC Davis | Bodega Marine Laboratory | Bodega Bay, CA | Field requirement, usually in residence at Bodega |
| UC San Diego | Scripps Institution of Oceanography and research fleet | La Jolla, CA | Marine Biology Laboratory course |
| Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | Cal Poly Pier | Avila Beach, CA | Ocean sampling and senior project |
| Western Washington University | Shannon Point Marine Center | Anacortes, WA | Cohort residency week, then courses taught on site |
| Cal Poly Humboldt | Telonicher Marine Laboratory and R/V North Wind | Trinidad, CA | Senior research or field experience |
| UC Santa Cruz | Long Marine Laboratory, Coastal Science Campus | Santa Cruz, CA | AAUS-standard scientific diving and boating programs |
| San Francisco State University | Estuary & Ocean Science Center, R/V Questuary | Tiburon, CA | Marine ecology or fish biology lab course |
| San José State University | Moss Landing Marine Laboratories | Moss Landing, CA | Marine electives; Moss Landing coursework optional |
| USC | Wrigley Marine Science Center | Santa Catalina Island, CA | Maymester, optional |
| Cal State Long Beach | Shark Lab on campus; Wrigley via the CSU Ocean Studies Institute | Long Beach and Catalina, CA | Catalina Semester, optional |
| UC Santa Barbara | UCSB Marine Laboratory and UC reserves | Santa Barbara, CA | Two laboratory courses |
| Cal State Monterey Bay | Monterey Bay and Elkhorn Slough access | Seaside, CA | Capstone; diving courses optional |
| University of San Diego | Coastal San Diego field sites; optional Bahamas coral reef course | San Diego, CA | Required research, internship, or independent study |
| San Diego State University | Coastal and Marine Institute Laboratory | San Diego Bay, CA | None required |
| Occidental College | College research vessels; Southern California Marine Institute | Los Angeles, CA | None required |
Best marine programs in Oregon
Oregon has only two schools with a named undergraduate marine credential, and between them they offer the most immersive coastal fieldwork on the West Coast.
Oregon State University is the larger and better-known of the two, and it appears on more national marine lists than any other Pacific Northwest school. Its Marine Biology and Ecology Option requires at least one term at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, and the spring track ends with students presenting original research at a Hatfield symposium. Fisheries science and marine policy are particular strengths, helped by NOAA and Pacific fishery management ties. It sits at #13 on this list because institution-wide outcomes — a 70.1% graduation rate and $71,799 median earnings — trail the California campuses above it, not because the program is weaker.
The University of Oregon asks more of its students than anyone else here. Its Marine Biology B.A./B.S. requires a minimum of three full-time terms at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, on Coos Bay — a coastal campus where the university has taught marine biology since 1924, about two and a half hours from Eugene, with its own labs, classrooms, and dormitories. Upper-division biology coursework happens there, effectively giving students a full academic year on the coast in small cohorts. Marine ecology is taught at OIMB only, in spring. UO lands at #619 overall with a B+ and $22,182 after aid, so it does not make our top 13, but for a student who wants to live at a field station rather than visit one, no West Coast program comes closer.
Best marine programs in Washington
Washington's two options are very different in scale, and both are built around a genuine field station in the Salish Sea.
The University of Washington is the region's flagship and #5 on this list. Its Marine Biology B.S. pulls faculty from aquatic and fishery sciences, oceanography, biology, and Friday Harbor Laboratories, and the culminating requirement is an Integrative Field Experience away from Seattle — usually at Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands, where marine biology majors get preferential admission in spring, early fall, and autumn. Washington also offers undergraduate oceanography, which is unusual. At $14,091 after aid with an 85.2% graduation rate and a 39.1% acceptance rate, it is the most attainable top-tier marine program on the coast for many applicants.
Western Washington University runs the more intimate alternative. Its Marine and Coastal Science B.S. is a joint program across biology, chemistry, environmental sciences, and geology plus the Shannon Point Marine Center in Anacortes — 78 acres with 3,000 feet of undisturbed beachfront, a research vessel fleet, a scientific diving center, and sea tables fed from Guemes Channel. Admission is once a year to a cohort of roughly 30, who move through the core sequence together starting with a residential week at Shannon Point. WWU sits at #982 overall with a B, and its 64.6% graduation rate is the number to weigh, but a 30-student cohort with a dedicated marine center is a real experience that no larger school replicates.
Strong programs just outside the top 13
Four more schools met every eligibility bar and rank lower on campus-wide outcomes. Several are strong enough on program specifics that a student with the right focus should look at them before a higher-ranked name. The last two of the nineteen eligible schools are the University of Oregon and Western Washington, covered in the state sections above.
- San Francisco State University (#394, B+) — The undergraduate credential is a marine science concentration within the Biology B.S., with fieldwork historically tied to the Estuary & Ocean Science Center on the Tiburon Peninsula. That center's future is genuinely unsettled, so check it before you apply. SF State announced in February 2025 that it would close the center and its 53-acre Romberg Tiburon Campus for lack of funding, reaffirmed the decision that May, and then a prospective new partner emerged. The lab was still operating and still hosting seminars and thesis defenses as of July 2026, with its long-term plan not yet announced. Follow the EOS Center news page for updates. At $12,278 after aid it is one of the cheapest here, but a 50.4% graduation rate deserves scrutiny.
- Occidental College (#519, B+) — A small Los Angeles liberal arts college with a marine biology concentration, college research vessels, membership in the Southern California Marine Institute, and a marine specimen collection of more than 500,000 items. Its Vantuna Research Group holds the longest continual rocky reef time series in the world, with monitoring dating to 1966. For a student who wants liberal arts class sizes and a hand in long-running survey work rather than a seat in a large lab, it is the most overlooked name on this page.
- Cal State Monterey Bay (#671, B) — The only CSU campus adjacent to a living ocean laboratory, with a dedicated Department of Marine Science and what the school describes as the largest university research scuba diving program in the country. Rocky intertidal, Elkhorn Slough, and kelp forests are all within a short drive, and graduate work runs through Moss Landing. CSUMB's NSF-funded Ocean Science REU places students with mentors at MBARI and other Monterey Bay labs; the program is paused for summer 2026 and resumes in summer 2027.
- Cal Poly Humboldt (#846, B) — A standalone Marine Biology B.S. on the far North Coast, with the Telonicher Marine Laboratory in Trinidad and the 78-foot R/V North Wind, which is taking over from the longtime R/V Coral Sea, plus a fleet of smaller boats. First-year marine biology majors join a place-based learning community called Rising Tides, and every student completes a required senior research or field experience. Weigh the 48.5% graduation rate and $47,626 median earnings, the lowest in this group, against unusually early access to sea time.
What marine biology and marine science graduates earn
Almost every marine biology ranking answers the pay question with a single national average for zoologists and wildlife biologists, which tells you nothing about choosing between two schools. Here is the school-level picture instead. These are median earnings for students who attended each institution, from U.S. Department of Education data, measured about ten years after enrolling. They cover all majors at the school, not marine graduates alone, so read them as a measure of how graduates do overall rather than as a marine salary forecast.
- Highest: USC ($95,739), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo ($90,662), San José State ($89,614), University of San Diego ($85,309).
- Middle: UC San Diego ($83,130), University of Washington ($82,515), UCLA ($77,677), UC Davis ($73,086), Oregon State ($71,799).
- Lower on this list: UC Santa Barbara ($70,323), San Diego State ($68,268), UC Santa Cruz ($67,085), Cal State Long Beach ($63,140).
Two patterns are worth naming. Cost after aid moves the value calculation more than earnings do: Cal State Long Beach at $10,440 and UC San Diego at $12,470 leave graduates in a very different position than USC at $32,740, even though USC posts the highest earnings. And the quantitative side of marine work pays better than the animal-facing side — data analysis, modeling, fisheries stock assessment, and coastal engineering roles consistently out-earn field biology positions. For occupation-level pay and hiring outlook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook is the primary source, and NOAA is one of the largest employers of marine scientists in the country, with NOAA Fisheries alone employing roughly 4,200 people.
FAQ: marine biology colleges on the West Coast
What is the best marine biology college on the West Coast?
UC San Diego is #1 on this list and the one school that appears on essentially every published marine biology ranking. Its Marine Biology B.S. is taught at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which operates its own pier and a four-ship research fleet. Students pay about $12,470 after aid and post median earnings near $83,130.
Does marine biology pay well in California?
It depends far more on the kind of marine work than on the degree itself. Quantitative roles — fisheries stock assessment, ocean data analysis, modeling, coastal engineering — pay substantially better than field and animal-care positions, which are competitive and often start low. Among California schools on this list, median earnings about ten years after enrolling range from $63,140 at Cal State Long Beach to $95,739 at USC. Those figures cover all majors at each school, so use them to compare institutions rather than to predict a marine salary.
Is marine biology math heavy?
More than most students expect. Calculus and statistics are standard, and several programs build quantitative work directly into the core — Cal State Monterey Bay requires a quantitative marine science course, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo requires biological oceanography and marine chemistry. Cal State Long Beach makes calculus and chemistry milestones a condition of declaring the major. If you want to minimize math, marine biology is a poor fit; if you are willing to lean into it, the quantitative track is also where the jobs pay best.
What GPA do I need for a marine biology program?
There is no single marine biology GPA cutoff, because you are admitted to the school first and the major second. Acceptance rates on this list run from 9% at UCLA and 9.8% at USC to 77.3% at Oregon State and 84.6% at San José State. The extra step to plan for is major impaction: at Cal State Long Beach, students enter as premajors and must clear calculus, chemistry, and general education milestones before declaring, while San Diego State requires ten preparation courses in biology, chemistry, and calculus plus a 2.8 GPA. Check each campus's current premajor requirements, since they change by year.
Should I major in marine biology, marine science, or oceanography?
Marine biology focuses on organisms and ecosystems. Marine science is broader, adding chemistry, geology, and physical oceanography, often with policy or management. Oceanography treats the ocean as a physical and chemical system and is more quantitative. Search by what a program contains rather than its title — UC Santa Barbara's degree is called Aquatic Biology and the University of San Diego's is Environmental and Ocean Sciences, and both are missed by students searching only for marine biology.
What are the best marine biology programs in California?
UC San Diego, UCLA, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo lead, followed by USC, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis. California holds 11 of the 13 schools on this page, which is why it dominates most West Coast marine lists. UC San Diego teaches its Marine Biology B.S. at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCLA requires a residential Marine Biology Quarter, and Cal Poly runs its own research pier at Avila Beach. On price, Cal State Long Beach is the cheapest of the 13 at $10,440 after aid and runs the Shark Lab. If you want a standalone marine biology major rather than an emphasis inside a biology degree, the California options are UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, Cal State Long Beach, San José State, and Cal Poly Humboldt.
What are the best marine biology programs in Oregon?
Two Oregon schools offer a named undergraduate marine credential, and both ask for real time on the coast. Oregon State University is #13 on this list; its Marine Biology and Ecology Option requires at least one term in residence at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, with fisheries science and marine policy its strongest suits. The University of Oregon does not make our top 13, at #619 overall and $22,182 after aid, but its Marine Biology degree requires a minimum of three full-time terms at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston — the deepest field station requirement on the West Coast, and the closest thing to living at a marine lab as an undergraduate.
What are the best marine biology programs in Washington?
The University of Washington is the clear leader and #5 on this list. Its Marine Biology B.S. requires a field experience away from Seattle, usually completed at Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands, and Washington is also one of the few schools anywhere to offer oceanography at the undergraduate level. At $14,091 after aid with a 39.1% acceptance rate, it is the most attainable top-tier marine program on the coast. Western Washington University is the smaller alternative, admitting about 30 students a year to a Marine and Coastal Science B.S. built around the Shannon Point Marine Center in Anacortes, though its 64.6% graduation rate is worth weighing.
Does Stanford have a marine biology major?
No. Stanford offers no undergraduate marine biology major or minor, which is why it is not on this list even though Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove has been a leading marine research site since 1892. Undergraduates reach ocean work through Biology or Earth Systems, where the closest credential is a marine biology and conservation subcategory within the Earth Systems B.S. Hopkins courses are open to undergraduates, including a 10-week spring residential program by application, though a quarter in residence is optional — students can commute for individual courses instead. The Oceans department admits graduate students at the doctoral level; its master's is open only to students already in the Oceans PhD.
Why is the University of San Diego on this list when other rankings leave it off?
Because its program is not called marine biology. USD's Department of Environmental and Ocean Sciences offers a Marine Ecology Pathway within the Environmental and Ocean Sciences B.S., paired with a required biology minor, so rankings built on keyword or degree-code matching never see it. On our measures it is the ninth-strongest eligible marine program on the West Coast, with an A- overall, an 83.7% graduation rate, and $85,309 median earnings. It has no marine field station of its own, and at $30,365 after aid it is one of the more expensive options here.
How is this ranking different from other marine biology lists?
Two ways. We verified every credential on the school's own catalog, so the list distinguishes standalone marine majors from concentrations inside biology degrees and excludes schools with no undergraduate marine credential at all. And we order schools on student outcomes — completion, cost after aid, support, and career results from U.S. Department of Education data — rather than on research reputation. That is why UC Santa Cruz and Oregon State, both excellent marine programs, sit lower here than their reputations suggest. See our methodology for pillar weights.
Related guides
- Best colleges on the West Coast — the full regional ranking this page branches from
- Best colleges in California
- What are the best college majors?
- EDsmart rankings methodology
Sources
U.S. Department of Education; EDsmart rankings methodology (completion, affordability, student support, and career outcomes); Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook; NOAA. Program names, degree structures, and field station details were verified on each school's official catalog or department site in July 2026. Confirm current tuition, aid, deadlines, and major requirements on each school's official site before you apply.
Editor’s note (August 2026): Updated median earnings figures for all 13 schools on this page (including cards, blurbs, key facts, and the earnings summary).