Best Microbiologist programs in Ohio, ranked by enrollment
Investigate the growth, structure, development, and other characteristics of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, algae, or fungi.
10 schools in Ohio run programs that feed this job, graduating 199 people a year. The job pays a median of $72,500 in Ohio across about 530 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Ohio that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Ohio that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Ohio (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 Ohio page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microbiology, Generalmain feeder CIP 26.0502In Ohio → | 112 | 56.3% | 5 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 2 | CIP 26.0499In Ohio → | 54 | 27.1% | 4 | $35,393 | $19,961 |
| 3 | Microbiology and Immunologymain feeder CIP 26.0508In Ohio → | 21 | 10.6% | 2 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 4 | Immunologymain feeder CIP 26.0507In Ohio → | 11 | 5.5% | 1 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 5 | Virologymain feeder CIP 26.0504In Ohio → | 1 | 0.5% | 1 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
Top 10 schools in Ohio
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 10 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 102 | Microbiology, General | $37,592 | 88% | — | 61% |
| 2 | Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 41 | Microbiology, General | — | 80% | — | 75% |
| 3 | Northeast Ohio Medical University Rootstown, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Wright State University - Main Campus Dayton, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Microbiology and Immunology | — | 42% | — | 96% |
| 5 | University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Immunology | — | 75% | — | 85% |
| 6 | Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Microbiology, General | — | 59% | $18,325 | 56% |
| 7 | Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Bowling Green, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Microbiology, General | — | 64% | — | 81% |
| 8 | Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other | — | 64% | — | 86% |
| 9 | Ohio University - Main Campus Athens, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Microbiology, General | — | 65% | — | 85% |
| 10 | Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Virology | — | 87% | $27,976 | 37% |
All 10 schools in Ohio
Every school in Ohio 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus | Public | 102 | 3 |
| Miami University - Oxford | Oxford | Public | 41 | 2 |
| Northeast Ohio Medical University | Rootstown | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Wright State University - Main Campus | Dayton | Public | 15 | 1 |
| University of Cincinnati - Main Campus | Cincinnati | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Ohio Wesleyan University | Delaware | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Bowling Green State University - Main Campus | Bowling Green | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Kent State University at Kent | Kent | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Ohio University - Main Campus | Athens | Public | 2 | 1 |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What microbiologists earn in Ohio
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $87,990. Ohio pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Ohio
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 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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Ohio
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 Ohio.
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, General, which awarded 112 degrees in Ohio in 2024-25, 56.3% 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 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. Together they graduate about 199 people a year in Ohio.
How much do microbiologists earn in Ohio?+
The median is $72,500 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.6% 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 Ohio?+
10 institutions in Ohio reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 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
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