Neurobiology and Anatomy Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Neurobiology and Anatomy maps to BLS occupations averaging about $126,706, with roughly 316,120 workers nationwide in those roles. About 662 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $13,391.
Key Statistics
Neurobiology and Anatomy: what the data shows
Common questions about neurobiology and anatomy degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a neurobiology and anatomy degree?
A Neurobiology and Anatomy program is classified under NCES CIP 26.1503 in the Neurobiology and Neurosciences field family (26.15).
A program that focuses on the scientific study of the structure and function of the central and peripheral nervous system in vertebrates and invertebrates. Includes instruction in molecular and cellular studies of neuronal and glial cells and circuits, neural transmitters and receptors, neuronal signaling processes, membrane and synapse structure and communication, autonomic function, nervous system circuitry and mapping, and anatomical and functional basis of central nervous system diseases and disorders
IPEDS counted 662 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of neurobiology and anatomy degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 26.15 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Neuroanatomy (CIP 26.1502)
- Neurobiology and Behavior (CIP 26.1504)
- Neuroscience (CIP 26.1501)
How long does it take to get a neurobiology and anatomy degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 26.1503 in our file:
- 662 Bachelor's (96.1% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 27 Master's (3.9% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Biological Scientists, All Other (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 26.1503, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a neurobiology and anatomy degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Neurobiology and Anatomy to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Biological Scientists, All Other | 59,710 | $93,330 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | 16,600 | $71,410 |
| Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists | — | — |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | 74,250 | $79,940 |
| Veterinarians | 80,630 | $125,510 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 84,930 | $80,060 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a neurobiology and anatomy degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Neurobiology and Neurosciences bachelor's program family: median debt $37,367, median earnings $62,451 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.18.
About 6.5% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $13,391 and median net price is $21,440.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Neurobiology and Anatomy and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$13,391 Median In-State Public
$61,210 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Neurobiology and Anatomy majors are, on average, $13,391 for in-state public colleges, and $61,210 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Neurobiology and Anatomy programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Neurobiology and Anatomy from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Neurobiology and Anatomy.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,615 |
| 5 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,615 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Neurobiology and Anatomy programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science | MN | $3,257 |
| 2 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science | MN | $3,257 |
| 3 | Florida Atlantic University | FL | $4,879 |
| 4 | Florida State University | FL | $5,656 |
| 5 | Florida State University | FL | $5,656 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Neurobiology and Anatomy programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio University-Eastern Campus | OH | $3,925 |
| 2 | CUNY Queens College | NY | $4,195 |
| 3 | CUNY Queens College | NY | $4,195 |
| 4 | Universidad Central de Bayamon | PR | $4,827 |
| 5 | Indiana University-Northwest | IN | $5,130 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Neurobiology and Anatomy programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Neurobiology and Anatomy programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Neurobiology and Anatomy is in CA (450 completions). That state represents about 68.0% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is DC (0.17% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 450 | 68.0% | 0.10% |
| WA | 60 | 9.1% | 0.09% |
| OH | 43 | 6.5% | 0.03% |
| IN | 40 | 6.0% | 0.04% |
| DC | 38 | 5.7% | 0.17% |
| RI | 14 | 2.1% | 0.06% |
| MI | 11 | 1.7% | 0.01% |
| MA | 6 | 0.9% | 0.01% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 26.15 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Neuroanatomy CIP 26.1502
- Neurobiology and Behavior CIP 26.1504
- Neuroscience CIP 26.1501
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 26.1503 in the survey year used in our extract (689 total across levels below).
- 662 Bachelor's (96.1% of IPEDS total)
- 27 Master's (3.9% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $126,706. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Neurobiology and Anatomy graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Biological Scientists, All Other | $124,288 | 59,710 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | $94,151 | 16,600 |
| Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists | — | — |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | $104,536 | 74,250 |
| Veterinarians | $172,853 | 80,630 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | $110,339 | 84,930 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Neurobiology and Neurosciences CIP family (33 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Neurobiology and Anatomy graduate.
- $37,367 median federal loan debt among completers
- $62,451 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.18 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 6.5% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$126,706 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Neurobiology and Anatomy majors is $126,706.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Neurobiology and Anatomy majors.
Occupations by Share
316,120 2023 Workforce
The number of Neurobiology and Anatomy graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Neurobiology and Anatomy by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Neurobiology and Anatomy in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Neurobiology and Anatomy.
Age distribution for Neurobiology and Anatomy degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
662 Total Degrees Awarded
212 Male (32.02%)
450 Female (67.98%)
Gender distribution of Neurobiology and Anatomy degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
269 Asian (40.63%)
206 White (31.12%)
83 Hispanic or Latino (12.54%)
43 Two or More Races (6.50%)
17 Black or African American (2.57%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Neurobiology and Anatomy degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Neurobiology and Anatomy are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Neurobiology and Anatomy.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Neurobiology and Anatomy field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Neurobiology and Anatomy majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Neurobiology and Anatomy majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Neurobiology and Anatomy majors.
About
A program that focuses on the scientific study of the structure and function of the central and peripheral nervous system in vertebrates and invertebrates. Includes instruction in molecular and cellular studies of neuronal and glial cells and circuits, neural transmitters and receptors, neuronal signaling processes, membrane and synapse structure and communication, autonomic function, nervous system circuitry and mapping, and anatomical and functional basis of central nervous system diseases and disorders
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Neurobiology and Anatomy.
CIP Code
26.1503 - Neurobiology and Anatomy
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $37,367 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $62,451, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.18. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Neurobiology and Anatomy graduate.
Women earned 67.0% of 780 Neurobiology and Anatomy completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $126,706. The largest mapped role by headcount is Biological Scientists, All Other (59,710 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $13,391 in-state at public colleges and $61,210 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.