Human Biology Degrees (2026 stats)

Last updated: April 29, 2026 Source: College Scorecard

TL;DR

Human Biology maps to BLS occupations averaging about $126,706, with roughly 42,120 workers nationwide in those roles. About 2,206 degrees completed in recent IPEDS counts; median program completion runs near 59%.

Key Statistics

2,206
Total Degrees Awarded (2023)
$10,758
Median In-State Public Tuition
$38,690
Median Out-of-State Private Tuition
$126,706
Avg. Wage (related occupations)
42,120
Workers (related occupations)
59.4%
Median Graduation Rate (4-yr schools)

Human Biology: what the data shows

Common questions about human biology degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a human biology degree?

A Human Biology program is classified under NCES CIP 00.3027 in the 00.0030 field family (00.30).

IPEDS counted 2,206 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.

Types of human biology degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 00.30 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

How long does it take to get a human biology degree?

Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.3027 in our file:

  • 86 Master's (100.0% 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 do you learn in human biology?

O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Active Learning, Speaking, Science, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.

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%).

O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.

What jobs can you get with a human biology degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Human Biology to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

OccupationU.S. employmentMedian annual wage
Biological Scientists, All Other59,710$93,330
Soil and Plant Scientists16,600$71,410
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists——
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary74,250$79,940
Veterinarians80,630$125,510
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health84,930$80,060

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a human biology degree worth it?

Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $10,758 and median net price is $20,982.

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 Human Biology and the types of students that study this field.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$10,758 Median In-State Public

$38,690 Median Out of State Private

Tuition costs for Human Biology majors are, on average, $10,758 for in-state public colleges, and $38,690 for out of state private colleges.

Tuition costs comparison for Human Biology programs.

Degrees Awarded Over Time

2,206 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Human Biology from 2015 to 2023.

Historical trend of degrees awarded in Human Biology.

Top 5 Schools by Enrollment

# School State Enrollment
1 Grand Canyon University AZ 68,619
2 Liberty University VA 50,059
3 University of California-Los Angeles CA 33,040
4 University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA 31,588
5 University of California-Irvine CA 29,494

Schools with the largest enrollment offering Human Biology programs.

Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition

# School State Tuition
1 College of Western Idaho ID $3,336
2 CUNY Hunter College NY $7,382
3 CUNY Graduate School and University Center NY $7,410
4 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay WI $8,342
5 University of Nevada-Las Vegas NV $9,142

Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Human Biology programs.

Top 5 Lowest Net Price

# School State Net Price
1 CUNY Hunter College NY $2,446
2 College of Western Idaho ID $7,697
3 University of Nevada-Las Vegas NV $10,011
4 Indiana University-Indianapolis IN $11,408
5 Stanford University CA $12,136

Schools with the lowest average net price for Human Biology programs.

Graduation Rates

59.36% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)

57.43% Average Graduation Rate

144 Institutions Reporting

43.88% - 71.16% Interquartile Range

Graduation/completion rates for Human Biology programs across institutions.

Related specializations

Other NCES program codes in the 00.30 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.

Degree Levels (IPEDS)

Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.3027 in the survey year used in our extract (86 total across levels below).

  • 86 Master's (100.0% 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 Human Biology graduates alone.

Related occupations (BLS OEWS)

Occupation Mean annual wage U.S. employment
Biological Scientists, All Other$124,28859,710
Soil and Plant Scientists$94,15116,600
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists——
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary$104,53674,250
Veterinarians$172,85380,630
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$110,33984,930

Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.

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

$125,635 Average Wage in Workforce

The average salary for Human Biology majors is $125,635.

Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Human Biology majors.

Occupations by Share

42,120 2023 Workforce

The number of Human Biology graduates in the workforce has been growing.

Various jobs filled by those with a major in Human Biology by share of the total number of graduates.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Human Biology in the United States.

Workforce Age

N/A Average Age in 2023

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Human Biology.

Age distribution for Human Biology degree holders in the workforce.

Gender Distribution

Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Gender distribution of Human Biology degree recipients.

Race and Ethnicity Distribution

Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Racial and ethnic distribution of Human Biology degree recipients.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Human Biology are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Distribution of degree types awarded in Human Biology.

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Human Biology field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Required Skills

Human Biology majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.

Rating of how necessary various skills are for Human Biology 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 Human Biology majors.

About

Human Biology

In 2023, 2,206 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Human Biology.

CIP Code

00.3027 - Human Biology

What the data shows

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 $10,758 in-state at public colleges and $38,690 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.