Best Biological Technician programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Assist biological and medical scientists. Set up, operate, and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment, monitor experiments, collect data and samples, make observations, and calculate and record results.
27 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,287 people a year. The job pays a median of $48,910 in Kentucky across about 260 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
9 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (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 Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology/Biological Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 26.0101In Kentucky → | 888 | 69.0% | 25 | $32,152 | $25,000 |
| 2 | Neurosciencemain feeder CIP 26.1501In Kentucky → | 149 | 11.6% | 6 | $31,687 | $22,936 |
| 3 | Biomedical Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 26.0102In Kentucky → | 131 | 10.2% | 7 | $32,152 | $25,000 |
| 4 | Biostatisticsmain feeder CIP 26.1102In Kentucky → | 55 | 4.3% | 2 | $72,338 | $18,500 |
| 5 | CIP 26.0202In Kentucky → | 41 | 3.2% | 7 | $38,243 | $23,014 |
| 6 | Biology/Biotechnology Technology/Technicianmain feeder CIP 41.0101In Kentucky → | 10 | 0.8% | 1 | $38,858 | $12,609 |
| 7 | CIP 26.0701In Kentucky → | 8 | 0.6% | 1 | $28,266 | $24,393 |
| 8 | CIP 26.0503In Kentucky → | 4 | 0.3% | 1 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 9 | CIP 26.0508In Kentucky → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
Top 25 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 27 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 6 feeder programs | 292 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $31,360 | 71% | — | 93% |
| 2 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 6 feeder programs | 249 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $27,123 | 61% | — | 79% |
| 3 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 130 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $29,945 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 4 | Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 85 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $38,970 | 52% | — | 68% |
| 5 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 66 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $25,672 | 50% | — | 78% |
| 6 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 3 feeder programs | 63 | Biomedical Sciences, General | $22,572 | 52% | — | 77% |
| 7 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $25,914 | 61% | — | 86% |
| 8 | Transylvania University Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 36 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 71% | $21,881 | 87% |
| 9 | University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $27,786 | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 10 | Berea College Berea, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $26,744 | 58% | $5,274 | 19% |
| 11 | Centre College Danville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 81% | $18,407 | 54% |
| 12 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 28 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 13 | Bellarmine University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 27 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $29,253 | 64% | $22,542 | 86% |
| 14 | University of Pikeville Pikeville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 25 | Biomedical Sciences, General | $28,699 | 42% | $13,886 | — |
| 15 | Thomas More University Crestview Hills, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 22 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $23,426 | 40% | $18,902 | 90% |
| 16 | Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 39% | $18,384 | 75% |
| 17 | Kentucky State University Frankfort, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 32% | — | 96% |
| 18 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 19 | Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Zoology/Animal Biology | $17,085 | 47% | $36,525 | 72% |
| 20 | Midway University Midway, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 41% | $23,658 | 95% |
| 21 | Bluegrass Community and Technical College Lexington, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Biology/Biotechnology Technology/Technician | — | 43% | — | — |
| 22 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 23 | Brescia University Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 7 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 54% | $14,604 | 35% |
| 24 | Lindsey Wilson University Columbia, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 44% | $14,471 | — |
| 25 | Union Commonwealth University Barbourville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 32% | $28,386 | 63% |
All 27 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky 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 Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 292 | 6 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 249 | 6 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 130 | 2 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 85 | 2 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | Public | 66 | 2 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead | Public | 63 | 3 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 46 | 1 |
| Transylvania University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 36 | 2 |
| University of the Cumberlands | Williamsburg | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 1 |
| Berea College | Berea | Private not-for-profit | 33 | 1 |
| Centre College | Danville | Private not-for-profit | 33 | 1 |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown | Private not-for-profit | 28 | 3 |
| Bellarmine University | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 27 | 2 |
| University of Pikeville | Pikeville | Private not-for-profit | 25 | 2 |
| Thomas More University | Crestview Hills | Private not-for-profit | 22 | 2 |
What biological technicians earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $57,510. Kentucky pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Kentucky
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 Biological Technicians page.
How to become a Biological Technician
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 Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 19 majors mapped to Biological Technicians19 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 26.0101Biology/Biological Sciences, General
- 26.0102Biomedical Sciences, General
- 26.0202Biochemistry
- 26.0204Molecular Biology
- 26.0406Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
- 26.0502Microbiology, General
- 26.0503Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
- 26.0508Microbiology and Immunology
- 26.0701Zoology/Animal Biology
- 26.0708Animal Behavior and Ethology
- 26.0709Wildlife Biology
- 26.0801Genetics, General
- 26.1102Biostatistics
- 26.1103Bioinformatics
- 26.1104Computational Biology
- 26.1302Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
- 26.1304Aquatic Biology/Limnology
- 26.1501Neuroscience
- 41.0101Biology/Biotechnology Technology/Technician
Common questions
Answers for people weighing biological technicians programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Biological Technician?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Biology/Biological Sciences, General, which awarded 888 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 69.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Biological Technician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Biology, Neurobiology and Neurosciences, Biomathematics, Biochemistry, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 1,287 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do biological technicians earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $48,910 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 15.0% below the U.S. median of $57,510. 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 biological technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +3.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 9,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
27 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 9 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 biological technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Research Associate, Research Technician, Biological Technician, Laboratory Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4021.
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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