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

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

All life scientists not listed.

24 schools in Oregon run programs that feed this job, graduating 959 people a year. The job pays a median of $113,450 in Oregon across about 160 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledOsteologistEmbryologistMorphologistPhysiologistPaleobotanistOlericulturistPhytopathologistPlant Taxonomist
Graduates / yr
959
in Oregon
Median pay · Oregon
$113,450
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
160
people employed
Schools
24
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
51%
across those schools
Median net price
$26,564
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Oregon that lead to this job

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

4 programs in Oregon that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Oregon (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 Oregon 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 Oregon
800
83.4%
23$32,152$25,000
2
CIP 26.9999In Oregon
91
9.5%
2$31,278$23,000
3
CIP 30.1901In Oregon
43
4.5%
1$30,508$24,586
4
CIP 30.1701In Oregon
25
2.6%
1$36,206$29,240

Top 24 schools in Oregon

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 14 of the 24 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
248Biology/Biological Sciences, General$30,98270%77%
2Portland State University
Portland, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
125Biology/Biological Sciences, General$29,46853%91%
3University of Oregon
Eugene, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
109Biology/Biological Sciences, General$35,48372%88%
4University of Western States
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
89Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
5Lewis & Clark College
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
67Biology/Biological Sciences, General$24,05075%$27,62178%
6University of Portland
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
58Biology/Biological Sciences, General$26,34080%$33,82289%
7George Fox University
Newberg, OR Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
57Biology/Biological Sciences, General$33,52372%$26,56494%
8Reed College
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
34Biology/Biological Sciences, General$25,59671%$28,27225%
9Pacific University
Forest Grove, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
29Biology/Biological Sciences, General$34,61267%$30,57190%
10Western Oregon University
Monmouth, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
26Biology/Biological Sciences, General$25,72647%98%
11Southern Oregon University
Ashland, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
24Biology/Biological Sciences, General$33,93043%89%
12Corban University
Salem, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Biology/Biological Sciences, General61%$23,09694%
13Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
16Biology/Biological Sciences, General$28,60654%95%
14Linfield University
McMinnville, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Biology/Biological Sciences, General$42,67770%$26,24385%
15Eastern Oregon University
La Grande, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
13Biology/Biological Sciences, General$35,43543%98%
16Willamette University
Salem, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Biology/Biological Sciences, General$25,10071%$20,34577%
17Mt Hood Community College
Gresham, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
6Biology/Biological Sciences, General24%
18Clackamas Community College
Oregon City, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
5Biology/Biological Sciences, General23%
19Bushnell University
Eugene, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Biology/Biological Sciences, General56%$22,14367%
20Linn - Benton Community College
Albany, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
3Biology/Biological Sciences, General29%
21Lane Community College
Eugene, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
1Biology/Biological Sciences, General20%
22Rogue Community College
Grants Pass, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
1Biology/Biological Sciences, General9%
23Tillamook Bay Community College
Tillamook, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
1Biology/Biological Sciences, General17%
24Warner Pacific University
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Biology/Biological Sciences, General49%$19,34371%

All 24 schools in Oregon

Every school in Oregon 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 Oregon that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Oregon State UniversityCorvallisPublic2482
Portland State UniversityPortlandPublic1251
University of OregonEugenePublic1091
University of Western StatesPortlandPrivate not-for-profit891
Lewis & Clark CollegePortlandPrivate not-for-profit671
University of PortlandPortlandPrivate not-for-profit581
George Fox UniversityNewbergPrivate not-for-profit573
Reed CollegePortlandPrivate not-for-profit341
Pacific UniversityForest GrovePrivate not-for-profit291
Western Oregon UniversityMonmouthPublic261
Southern Oregon UniversityAshlandPublic241
Corban UniversitySalemPrivate not-for-profit161
Oregon Institute of TechnologyKlamath FallsPublic161
Linfield UniversityMcMinnvillePrivate not-for-profit141
Eastern Oregon UniversityLa GrandePublic131

What life scientists, all other earn in Oregon

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

Median annual in Oregon
$113,450
Mean annual
$119,470
Jobs in state
160
What the range looks like
10th pct$76,510Median$113,45090th pct$186,050
Versus the national median
+21.0%

U.S. median $93,750. Oregon pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.65×

Concentrated here: Oregon employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Oregon

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
$109,580median
120 jobs

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 Oregon.

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 800 degrees in Oregon in 2024-25, 83.4% 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 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Biology, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Nutrition Sciences, Behavioral Sciences. Together they graduate about 959 people a year in Oregon.

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

The median is $113,450 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.0% above 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 Oregon?+

24 institutions in Oregon reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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

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