New York·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-1022

Best Microbiologist programs in New York, ranked by enrollment

Investigate the growth, structure, development, and other characteristics of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, algae, or fungi.

11 schools in New York run programs that feed this job, graduating 114 people a year. The job pays a median of $81,090 in New York across about 1,050 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledBacteriologistMicrobiologistMicrobiological AnalystClinical Laboratory Scientist (Clinical Lab Scientist)ScientistCytologistVirologistMicroscopist
Graduates / yr
114
in New York
Median pay · New York
$81,090
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,050
people employed
Schools
11
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
82%
across those schools
Median net price
$25,874
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in New York that lead to this job

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

6 programs in New York that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in New York (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 New York page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 26.0508In New York
54
47.4%
5$38,383$22,065
2
CIP 26.0502In New York
29
25.4%
4$38,383$22,065
3
Immunologymain feeder
CIP 26.0507In New York
12
10.5%
1$38,383$22,065
4
CIP 26.0599In New York
10
8.8%
2$38,383$22,065
5
Parasitologymain feeder
CIP 26.0505In New York
6
5.3%
1$38,383$22,065
6
CIP 26.0207In New York
3
2.6%
1$38,243$23,014

Top 11 schools in New York

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 11 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 Rochester
Rochester, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
25Microbiology and Immunology85%$25,87440%
2University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY Public · 2 feeder programs
15Microbiology and Immunology75%74%
3Cornell University
Ithaca, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
14Microbiology, General95%$17,6139%
4Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
12Microbiology, General96%$15,3154%
5Weill Medical College of Cornell University
New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
12Immunology
6Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Albany, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Microbiology and Immunology68%$23,20753%
7Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Microbiology and Immunology
8New York University
New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Microbiology, General88%$29,0239%
9Upstate Medical University
Syracuse, NY Public · 1 feeder programs
6Microbiology and Immunology
10New York Medical College
Valhalla, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, Other
11Wagner College
Staten Island, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Microbiology, General65%$27,31688%

All 11 schools in New York

Every school in New York 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 New York that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of RochesterRochesterPrivate not-for-profit252
University at BuffaloBuffaloPublic152
Cornell UniversityIthacaPrivate not-for-profit142
Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew YorkPrivate not-for-profit121
Weill Medical College of Cornell UniversityNew YorkPrivate not-for-profit121
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesAlbanyPrivate not-for-profit91
Albert Einstein College of MedicineBronxPrivate not-for-profit81
New York UniversityNew YorkPrivate not-for-profit71
Upstate Medical UniversitySyracusePublic61
New York Medical CollegeValhallaPrivate not-for-profit41
Wagner CollegeStaten IslandPrivate not-for-profit21

What microbiologists earn in New York

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

Median annual in New York
$81,090
Mean annual
$93,220
Jobs in state
1,050
What the range looks like
10th pct$65,020Median$81,09090th pct$134,960
Versus the national median
-7.8%

U.S. median $87,990. New York pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.89×

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

Metro areas in New York

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$85,710median
1,330 jobs
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
$79,910median
70 jobs
Rochester, NY
$68,850median
60 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.1%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
1,700
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
800
20,700 → 21,600
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 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

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 New York

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 New York.

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 and Immunology, which awarded 54 degrees in New York in 2024-25, 47.4% 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 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, Biochemistry. Together they graduate about 114 people a year in New York.

How much do microbiologists earn in New York?+

The median is $81,090 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.8% below 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 New York?+

11 institutions in New York 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 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 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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