Best Microbiologist programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Investigate the growth, structure, development, and other characteristics of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, algae, or fungi.
19 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 887 people a year. The job pays a median of $108,530 in California across about 2,600 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microbiology, Generalmain feeder CIP 26.0502In California → | 422 | 47.6% | 13 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 2 | CIP 26.0499In California → | 229 | 25.8% | 3 | $35,393 | $19,961 |
| 3 | CIP 26.0599In California → | 158 | 17.8% | 3 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 4 | Microbiology and Immunologymain feeder CIP 26.0508In California → | 56 | 6.3% | 3 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 5 | Immunologymain feeder CIP 26.0507In California → | 22 | 2.5% | 3 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
Top 19 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 19 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 152 | Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, Other | $36,403 | 93% | — | 9% |
| 2 | National University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 130 | Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other | — | 43% | $31,817 | — |
| 3 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 125 | Microbiology, General | $46,005 | 86% | — | 42% |
| 4 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 96 | Microbiology, General | $50,706 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 5 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 74 | Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other | $38,333 | 83% | — | 33% |
| 6 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Microbiology, General | $43,608 | 86% | — | 27% |
| 7 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 58 | Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other | — | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 8 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Microbiology, General | $43,086 | 76% | — | 76% |
| 9 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Microbiology, General | $48,631 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 10 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Microbiology, General | $45,360 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 11 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Microbiology and Immunology | — | 87% | — | 29% |
| 12 | California State University - Chico Chico, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Microbiology, General | $49,068 | 63% | — | 93% |
| 13 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 15 | Immunology | — | 92% | $12,032 | 4% |
| 14 | University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Microbiology, General | — | 75% | — | 66% |
| 15 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Microbiology, General | $55,807 | 86% | — | 31% |
| 16 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 2 | Immunology | — | 94% | $17,608 | 3% |
| 17 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Microbiology, General | $39,266 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 18 | Fullerton College Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Microbiology, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 19 | Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, Other | — | — | — | — |
All 19 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 152 | 1 |
| National University | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 130 | 1 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 125 | 2 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 96 | 2 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 74 | 2 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 58 | 1 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 58 | 2 |
| University of California - Riverside | Riverside | Public | 43 | 1 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 31 | 1 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 31 | 1 |
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 28 | 1 |
| California State University - Chico | Chico | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Stanford University | Stanford | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 2 |
| University of California - Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz | Public | 10 | 1 |
| California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo | Public | 9 | 1 |
What microbiologists earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $87,990. California pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Microbiologists page.
How to become a Microbiologist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Microbiologists8 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.1203Soil Microbiology(no graduates reported)
- 26.0207Structural Biology
- 26.0499Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other
- 26.0502Microbiology, General
- 26.0504Virology
- 26.0505Parasitology
- 26.0507Immunology
- 26.0508Microbiology and Immunology
- 26.0599Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing microbiologists programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Microbiologist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Microbiology, General, which awarded 422 degrees in California in 2024-25, 47.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Microbiologist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. Together they graduate about 887 people a year in California.
How much do microbiologists earn in California?+
The median is $108,530 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 23.3% above the U.S. median of $87,990. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for microbiologists growing?+
BLS projects a +4.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
19 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do microbiologists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Bacteriologist, Microbiologist, Microbiological Analyst, Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Clinical Lab Scientist) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1022.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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