Minnesota·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-1099

Best Life Scientist, All Other programs in Minnesota, ranked by enrollment

All life scientists not listed.

47 schools in Minnesota run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,584 people a year. The job pays a median of $64,610 in Minnesota across about jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledOsteologistEmbryologistMorphologistPhysiologistPaleobotanistOlericulturistPhytopathologistPlant Taxonomist
Graduates / yr
1,584
in Minnesota
Median pay · Minnesota
$64,610
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
people employed
Schools
47
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
54%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,441
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Minnesota that lead to this job

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

7 programs in Minnesota that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Minnesota (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 Minnesota page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 26.0101In Minnesota
1,441
91.0%
45$32,152$25,000
2
CIP 30.1901In Minnesota
60
3.8%
4$30,508$24,586
3
CIP 26.1301In Minnesota
38
2.4%
2$29,460$23,480
4
CIP 26.9999In Minnesota
29
1.8%
3$31,278$23,000
5
CIP 51.2314In Minnesota
8
0.5%
1$35,966$26,323
6
CIP 30.1801In Minnesota
7
0.4%
3$29,587$21,610
7
CIP 30.1701In Minnesota
1
0.1%
1$36,206$29,240

Top 25 schools in Minnesota

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 25 of the 47 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN Public · 5 feeder programs
416Biology/Biological Sciences, General$36,13685%80%
2University of Minnesota - Duluth
Duluth, MN Public · 2 feeder programs
133Biology/Biological Sciences, General$31,89165%89%
3Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
86Biology/Biological Sciences, General$37,21654%88%
4University of St Thomas
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
77Biology/Biological Sciences, General$36,07276%$28,88885%
5St Olaf College
Northfield, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
70Biology/Biological Sciences, General$36,42984%$18,12448%
6Gustavus Adolphus College
Saint Peter, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
61Biology/Biological Sciences, General$31,87777%$21,60761%
7Carleton College
Northfield, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
56Biology/Biological Sciences, General$30,72690%$18,66920%
8College of Saint Benedict
Saint Joseph, MN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
51Biology/Biological Sciences, General$35,80077%$22,58392%
9Concordia College at Moorhead
Moorhead, MN Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
46Biology/Biological Sciences, General$30,01261%$23,42563%
10Winona State University
Winona, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
46Biology/Biological Sciences, General$38,66657%75%
11Macalester College
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
43Biology/Biological Sciences, General$35,61687%$21,44129%
12Bemidji State University
Bemidji, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
42Biology/Biological Sciences, General$37,46948%56%
13The College of Saint Scholastica
Duluth, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
35Biology/Biological Sciences, General$28,19571%$21,15093%
14St Catherine University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
32Biology/Biological Sciences, General$40,93761%$21,04292%
15Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
31Biology/Biological Sciences, General$42,12844%99%
16University of Minnesota - Morris
Morris, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
28Biology/Biological Sciences, General$40,41563%75%
17Hamline University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
26Biology/Biological Sciences, General$37,38260%$20,98188%
18Minnesota State University Moorhead
Moorhead, MN Public · 2 feeder programs
26Biology/Biological Sciences, General$32,42257%59%
19Augsburg University
Minneapolis, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
23Biology/Biological Sciences, General$35,98452%$23,58582%
20Bethel University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
23Biology/Biological Sciences, General$37,92471%$25,22588%
21Saint Cloud State University
Saint Cloud, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
23Biology/Biological Sciences, General$44,16640%95%
22Concordia University - Saint Paul
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Biology/Biological Sciences, General$35,29046%$17,32879%
23Normandale Community College
Bloomington, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
19Biology/Biological Sciences, General27%
24Saint Johns University
Collegeville, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
17Biology/Biological Sciences, General$34,68475%$19,90091%
25Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Winona, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Biology/Biological Sciences, General66%$18,16393%

All 47 schools in Minnesota

Every school in Minnesota 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 Minnesota that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Minnesota - Twin CitiesMinneapolisPublic4165
University of Minnesota - DuluthDuluthPublic1332
Minnesota State University - MankatoMankatoPublic861
University of St ThomasSaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit771
St Olaf CollegeNorthfieldPrivate not-for-profit701
Gustavus Adolphus CollegeSaint PeterPrivate not-for-profit611
Carleton CollegeNorthfieldPrivate not-for-profit561
College of Saint BenedictSaint JosephPrivate not-for-profit512
Concordia College at MoorheadMoorheadPrivate not-for-profit463
Winona State UniversityWinonaPublic461
Macalester CollegeSaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit431
Bemidji State UniversityBemidjiPublic421
The College of Saint ScholasticaDuluthPrivate not-for-profit351
St Catherine UniversitySaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit322
Metropolitan State UniversitySaint PaulPublic311

What life scientists, all other earn in Minnesota

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

Median annual in Minnesota
$64,610
Mean annual
$67,320
Jobs in state
What the range looks like
10th pct$41,120Median$64,61090th pct$102,950
Versus the national median
-31.1%

U.S. median $93,750. Minnesota pays below the national figure.

Metro areas in Minnesota

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
$64,610median

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+3.7%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
400
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
300
7,800 → 8,100
Typical entry education
Bachelor's 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 Life Scientists, All Other page.

How to become a Life Scientist, All Other

Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

The same job in other states

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

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 10 majors mapped to Life Scientists, All Other10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 26.0101Biology/Biological Sciences, General
  • 26.1301Ecology
  • 26.1399Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology, Other
  • 26.9999Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
  • 30.1701Behavioral Sciences
  • 30.1801Natural Sciences
  • 30.1901Nutrition Sciences
  • 30.4301Geobiology
  • 42.2706Behavioral Neuroscience
  • 51.2314Rehabilitation Science

Common questions

Answers for people weighing life scientists, all other programs in Minnesota.

What degree do you need to become a Life Scientist, All Other?+

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 1,441 degrees in Minnesota in 2024-25, 91.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Life Scientist, All Other?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Biology, Nutrition Sciences, Ecology, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 1,584 people a year in Minnesota.

How much do life scientists, all other earn in Minnesota?+

The median is $64,610 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 31.1% below the U.S. median of $93,750. 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 life scientists, all other growing?+

BLS projects a +3.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

47 institutions in Minnesota reported graduates from at least one of the 7 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.

Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+

BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.

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

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