Best Zoologist programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Study the origins, behavior, diseases, genetics, and life processes of animals and wildlife. May specialize in wildlife research and management.
10 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 312 people a year. The job pays a median of $64,620 in North Carolina across about 350 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
8 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (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 North Carolina page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 26.1302In North Carolina → | 118 | 37.8% | 2 | $29,460 | $23,480 |
| 2 | Zoology/Animal Biologymain feeder CIP 26.0701In North Carolina → | 79 | 25.3% | 2 | $28,266 | $24,393 |
| 3 | Wildlife Biologymain feeder CIP 26.0709In North Carolina → | 71 | 22.8% | 2 | $28,266 | $24,393 |
| 4 | CIP 26.1301In North Carolina → | 13 | 4.2% | 2 | $29,460 | $23,480 |
| 5 | Entomologymain feeder CIP 26.0702In North Carolina → | 10 | 3.2% | 1 | $28,266 | $24,393 |
| 6 | Zoology/Animal Biology, Othermain feeder CIP 26.0799In North Carolina → | 8 | 2.6% | 1 | $28,266 | $24,393 |
| 7 | CIP 26.1305In North Carolina → | 8 | 2.6% | 2 | $29,460 | $23,480 |
| 8 | CIP 03.0601In North Carolina → | 5 | 1.6% | 1 | $28,750 | $24,798 |
Top 10 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 10 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 103 | Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography | $25,303 | 71% | — | 64% |
| 2 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 78 | Zoology/Animal Biology | $25,069 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 3 | Lees - McRae College Banner Elk, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Wildlife Biology | $24,921 | 42% | $23,349 | 77% |
| 4 | Davidson - Davie Community College Thomasville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 22 | Wildlife Biology | $23,733 | 46% | — | — |
| 5 | Duke University Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography | — | 97% | $16,260 | 6% |
| 6 | Mars Hill University Mars Hill, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Zoology/Animal Biology | — | 45% | $20,402 | 68% |
| 7 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Ecology | — | 91% | — | 15% |
| 8 | Wingate University Wingate, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Environmental Biology | — | 46% | $21,585 | 91% |
| 9 | Haywood Community College Clyde, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management | — | 34% | — | — |
| 10 | University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Environmental Biology | — | 52% | $16,473 | 76% |
All 10 schools in North Carolina
Every school in North Carolina 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 North Carolina Wilmington | Wilmington | Public | 103 | 1 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | Public | 78 | 2 |
| Lees - McRae College | Banner Elk | Private not-for-profit | 57 | 1 |
| Davidson - Davie Community College | Thomasville | Public | 22 | 2 |
| Duke University | Durham | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 2 |
| Mars Hill University | Mars Hill | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | Public | 7 | 1 |
| Wingate University | Wingate | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Haywood Community College | Clyde | Public | 5 | 1 |
| University of Mount Olive | Mount Olive | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What zoologists and wildlife biologists earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $76,780. North Carolina pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in North Carolina
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 Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists page.
How to become a Zoologist
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 North Carolina
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 12 majors mapped to Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0601Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management
- 26.0701Zoology/Animal Biology
- 26.0702Entomology
- 26.0707Animal Physiology
- 26.0708Animal Behavior and Ethology
- 26.0709Wildlife Biology
- 26.0799Zoology/Animal Biology, Other
- 26.1301Ecology
- 26.1302Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
- 26.1303Evolutionary Biology
- 26.1305Environmental Biology
- 30.3201Marine Sciences
Common questions
Answers for people weighing zoologists and wildlife biologists programs in North Carolina.
What degree do you need to become a Zoologist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography, which awarded 118 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 37.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Zoologist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Zoology/Animal Biology, Ecology, Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management. Together they graduate about 312 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do zoologists and wildlife biologists earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $64,620 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 15.8% below the U.S. median of $76,780. 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 zoologists and wildlife biologists growing?+
BLS projects a +1.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+
10 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 8 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 zoologists and wildlife biologists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Wildlife Biologist, Fisheries Biologist, Conservation Biologist, Fish and Wildlife Biologist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1023.
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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