Maryland·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-1021

Best Biochemist programs in Maryland, ranked by enrollment

Study the chemical composition or physical principles of living cells and organisms, their electrical and mechanical energy, and related phenomena.

13 schools in Maryland run programs that feed this job, graduating 353 people a year. The job pays a median of $100,650 in Maryland across about 690 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledScientistBiochemistBiophysics ResearcherAnalytical Research ChemistChemistBiophysicistToxicologistBiological Chemist
Graduates / yr
353
in Maryland
Median pay · Maryland
$100,650
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
690
people employed
Schools
13
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
68%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,244
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Maryland that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

6 programs in Maryland that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Maryland (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 Maryland page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
Biochemistrymain feeder
CIP 26.0202In Maryland
170
48.2%
9$38,243$23,014
2
CIP 26.0210In Maryland
87
24.6%
4$38,243$23,014
3
CIP 51.2003In Maryland
41
11.6%
1$48,728$23,761
4
CIP 26.0499In Maryland
26
7.4%
1$35,393$19,961
5
Biophysicsmain feeder
CIP 26.0203In Maryland
25
7.1%
2$38,243$23,014
6
CIP 26.0206In Maryland
4
1.1%
1$38,243$23,014

Top 13 schools in Maryland

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 13 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs
127Biochemistry94%$11,8886%
2University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD Public · 1 feeder programs
70Biochemistry and Molecular Biology$30,27570%72%
3University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD Public · 2 feeder programs
50Biochemistry$48,72189%45%
4University of Maryland, Baltimore
Baltimore, MD Public · 2 feeder programs
50Pharmaceutics and Drug Design
5Stevenson University
Owings Mills, MD Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Biochemistry$46,63768%$26,55679%
6St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's City, MD Public · 1 feeder programs
11Biochemistry70%69%
7Loyola University Maryland
Baltimore, MD Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Biochemistry79%$26,58575%
8Mount St. Mary's University
Emmitsburg, MD Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Biochemistry65%$23,13674%
9Goucher College
Baltimore, MD Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Biochemistry and Molecular Biology57%$22,66778%
10University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, MD Public · 1 feeder programs
4Biochemistry35%96%
11Washington College
Chestertown, MD Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Biochemistry and Molecular Biology65%$24,97357%
12Hood College
Frederick, MD Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Biochemistry57%$23,24478%
13McDaniel College
Westminster, MD Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Biochemistry63%$18,98878%

All 13 schools in Maryland

Every school in Maryland 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.

All schools in Maryland that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimorePrivate not-for-profit1274
University of Maryland - Baltimore CountyBaltimorePublic701
University of Maryland - College ParkCollege ParkPublic502
University of Maryland, BaltimoreBaltimorePublic502
Stevenson UniversityOwings MillsPrivate not-for-profit161
St. Mary's College of MarylandSt. Mary's CityPublic111
Loyola University MarylandBaltimorePrivate not-for-profit91
Mount St. Mary's UniversityEmmitsburgPrivate not-for-profit61
Goucher CollegeBaltimorePrivate not-for-profit51
University of Maryland Eastern ShorePrincess AnnePublic41
Washington CollegeChestertownPrivate not-for-profit31
Hood CollegeFrederickPrivate not-for-profit11
McDaniel CollegeWestminsterPrivate not-for-profit11

What biochemists and biophysicists earn in Maryland

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Maryland
$100,650
Mean annual
$104,090
Jobs in state
690
What the range looks like
10th pct$65,510Median$100,65090th pct$159,330
Versus the national median
-21.0%

U.S. median $127,410. Maryland pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.15×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Maryland

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
$98,650median
210 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+5.8%
Faster than average
Openings per year
2,900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,100
35,600 → 37,600
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

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 Biochemists and Biophysicists page.

How to become a Biochemist

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Top skills

ScienceReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingActive LearningActive Listening

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Maryland

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 9 majors mapped to Biochemists and Biophysicists9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 26.0202Biochemistry
  • 26.0203Biophysics
  • 26.0205Molecular Biochemistry
  • 26.0206Molecular Biophysics
  • 26.0207Structural Biology
  • 26.0210Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • 26.0499Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other
  • 26.0913Biomechanics
  • 51.2003Pharmaceutics and Drug Design

Common questions

Answers for people weighing biochemists and biophysicists programs in Maryland.

What degree do you need to become a Biochemist?+

Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Biochemistry, which awarded 170 degrees in Maryland in 2024-25, 48.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Biochemist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. Together they graduate about 353 people a year in Maryland.

How much do biochemists and biophysicists earn in Maryland?+

The median is $100,650 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.0% below the U.S. median of $127,410. 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 biochemists and biophysicists growing?+

BLS projects a +5.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 2,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Maryland?+

13 institutions in Maryland reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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 biochemists and biophysicists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Scientist, Biochemist, Biophysics Researcher, Analytical Research Chemist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1021.

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

All Clema data sources and release dates →

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation

Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card