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What is a Biophysics Degree?

Biophysics, or biomedical physics, is an interdisciplinary field of study emphasizing the methods and approaches of physics to better understand biological systems.  Biophysics degree holders understand this is an exciting field of study that is rapidly growing around the globe as technology and science continue to coalesce.

Biophysics shares many similarities with physical chemistry, nanotechnology, computational biology, biomechanics, biochemistry, systems biology, and bioengineering.  The primary tenants that set biophysics apart from related disciplines is the focus on understanding the physical underpinnings of biomolecular activity.

Popular tools that a biophysicist may use include an electron microscope, NMR spectroscopy, small-angle scattering (SAS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray crystallography to name few.

Career Summary

MEDIAN SALARY

$85,620

PERCENT ABOVE NATIONAL
INCOME AVERAGE

56.71%

TOTAL SECTOR EMPLOYMENT

22,100

Degree Median Salary vs Adjacent Degree Types

Source: BLS, US Census, and IPEDS

2024 Best Biophysics Degree

Educating future leaders and crafting every member of the community to strive toward a more just and honorable world are the main goals of Harvard University. With its academic competence that is open to new and innovative ways of learning and knowing, students embark on a journey of precise intellectual transformation that can best serve the world. 

With the use of prominent and intensive research and biologic application of physical sciences, the Biophysics Program of Harvard Integrated Life Sciences (HILS) nurtures the students to become independent and creative scientists and prepares them for their research careers as Doctors of Philosophy. It comprises 14 PhD programs. With this unparalleled educational journey, students cultivate their lives by honing their skills and talents in the field of Biophysics to contribute for the betterment of the world. 

Acceptance Rate

4.64

Student to Faculty Ratio

7:1

Known as the world’s most important centers of research and profound academic competency in many scholarly and professional fields, Columbia University, located in Manhattan, New York City, opens a gateway to aspiring researchers, leaders, and scientists as they offer competitive research training and teaching to a diverse and international faculty and student body. Alongside with their world class pace of academic excellence comes with their exceptional commitment to their community as they instill values of partnership, respect, integrity, drive, and excellence in everything they do in order to convey the fruits of their labor to a global reach.

This school offers various programs to its students that include the Biophysics program, in which they take great pride of. In this department, the University offers vast training in basic biological disciplines that emphasize in cellular and molecular biology. Ongoing research projects in research laboratories offer great doors for opportunities and experiences to students in the future. 

Acceptance Rate

5.45

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

With a mandate to serve the community, the nation, and the world, Brown University aims to educate and prepare students to become purposeful and develop lifelong skills of academic leadership and transform them as intellectually independent individuals with creative, and diverse characters. Through a combination of innovative teaching and rigorous research, the school has carefully formulated strategies and academic standards to manage the growth and development of each learner. 

Brown University offers a variety of remarkable program options, which include the Biophysics program that tackles the fields of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology. This qualitative science requires a significant level of competence from students. It comprises an advanced science-based curriculum promulgated with a concentration advisor of the committee. 

Acceptance Rate

7.07

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

Internationally recognized as America’s first university, University of Pennsylvania follows a tradition of excellence, intellectual rigor, and pursuit of innovative knowledge which aims to educate future leaders of the world to improve communities by maintaining sufficient and supportive learning environment, alliances, advocacy, resources, and counseling and improving innovations and research. 

The University’s top ranked biophysics degree program aims to cultivate young and brilliant minds through biological sciences and the physical sciences. Its mandate is to train and educate students in quantitative and molecular frontiers of biochemistry and biophysics, broadly conceived so as to produce a next promising generation of scientists, scholars, educators, and leaders in biomedical sciences that can impact society positively. Through this plan, UPENN has successfully realized its institutional vision, which is to establish a mutually supportive and diverse community. 

Acceptance Rate

7.66

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

With nearly fifteen thousand student enrollees yearly, Chicago University prides in providing a large variety of program options to students with a graduation rate of 92.68 percent. This world-class university seeks to enrich urban life by using data-driven scientific discoveries and innovative methods of research. 

The nonprofit private school records a series of breakthroughs by advancing ideas and innovations that enrich human life through education and research. They offer relevant research programs such as Biophysical Sciences Program that promotes collaborative training for students to write and give lectures frequently. They also offer engagement activities with brilliant scientists to inspire a fresh combination of plans, ideas, and methods to further excel in the fields of science. They also offer immersive practical laboratory courses spearheaded by mentors from across the school’s scientific community. 

Acceptance Rate

6.17

Student to Faculty Ratio

5:1

Ranking top in our national, Stanford University is a private academic institution that advocates a place for learning, discovery, innovation, expression, and discourse.  A home to 34 Nobel prize winners, the university ensures to provide efficient and high-standard educational opportunities to both its faculty and students to create a purposeful impact on the world. 

Stanford University's Biophysics program offers a wide range of training programs and research opportunities that allows students to be one step closer in attaining their Ph.D. in Biophysics. It offers qualitative approaches to biological problems, as well as understanding biological functions in terms of physical and chemical principles to contribute to the deep-rooted issues of our society and environment through a new model for research universities. With the aid of 16 faculty departments, this profound academic program is made for the diversified origins of the students to further elucidate knowledge into problem-solving solutions and apply it into reality. 

Acceptance Rate

4.34

Student to Faculty Ratio

5:1

Duke University is one of the top producers of international scholars in the fields of education in America. Located in Durham, North Carolina, it ranks top in this edition of Best Colleges is National Universities. 

The university is a diverse community promoting the principles of excellence, respect, and fairness for all people. Through the superior liberal education of the university, students made technological and scientific breakthroughs over the last decade with biology as a frontier of science. This place compels aspiring scholars, educators, researchers, scientists, and leaders to enroll in the Biophysics degree program within their Department of Biology and Chemistry. The program exposes students to measure experimental features of tissues and molecules of living organisms and formulate mathematical hypotheses through quantitative experiments to develop, explain, and unify diverse biological data. 

Acceptance Rate

7.6

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

Ranking top in the National Liberal Arts College, Swarthmore College is an elite school located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Their main goal is to craft students to become valuable vital beings and useful members of the society. 

Their academic courses in astronomy and biology include biophysics. Its curriculum includes the role of statistical phenomena in life, feedback and control processes in biological networks, biological electricity, fluid dynamics as they pertain to organisms (both unicellular and multicellular), and topics chosen from the literature by the members of the seminar. This school hones students on the facts of quantitative and analytical reasoning as physics is more of experimental and observational sciences that can lead to world-changing innovations for the betterment of the economy. 

Acceptance Rate

8.93

Student to Faculty Ratio

8:1

Cornell University is one of the distinguished research universities in the state of New York. It holds the responsibility of contributing knowledge in all fields to improve the quality of life in the world. 

The school specializes in research from cultural revolution to concepts of sustainability to produce a meaningful impact to the world as students and scholars vie their way into basic and applied research. It offers a degree in the biophysics program designed for students to understand the fundamental processes of life through the application of the different methods of physics and chemistry to living systems. This program includes obtaining knowledge in molecular structures and functions, molecular and cellular dynamics, imaging and instrumentation, and more diversity of research topics. This approach to understanding the quantitative and mechanistic processes aims to produce results and discoveries that matter, acquiring outcomes with great potential to solve prominent problems in the society in terms of medicine, biochemical engineering, agriculture, and more. 

Acceptance Rate

10.85

Student to Faculty Ratio

9:1

Georgetown University offers a holistic approach to education being one of the oldest Catholic and Jesuit universities. It ranks in the top for undergraduate teaching degree programs and high overall for national universities in America. 

Georgetown University’s reputation reaches internationally as an institution with profound intellectual vigor and social justice, though it is also highly advanced in the fields of science, research, and medicine. They offer a major in biophysics wherein students will focus on the variety of biological and biochemical systems and their dynamics using computational techniques. Professional biological physicists in this institute use advanced techniques and instruments to study various living systems to develop technologies that can benefit the healthcare industry. 

Acceptance Rate

14.36

Student to Faculty Ratio

11:1

Rev. Edward F. Sorin, C.S.C., paved the way for the University of Notre Dame's popularity. Today, it is one of the country’s leading undergraduate academic institutions, with research and scholarship at the forefront and enriched with the intellectual exchange among diverse scholars and students.

Its dedication to sharing the truth through free inquiry and open discussion meets with its available offerings in the field of knowledge in professions, arts, sciences, and every other area of human scholarship and creativity. They have gathered major breakthroughs and achievements in research, particularly in radiation chemistry, tropical disease transmission, astrophysics, environmental sciences, cancer, robotics, peace studies, and nanoelectronics. Greatly contributing to this development is their degree program in Biophysics, strengthening their vast history of molecular biophysics research across disciplines and further enabling important discoveries in the fields of physics, biology, and chemistry that can contribute to the betterment of the world.

Acceptance Rate

15.83

Student to Faculty Ratio

10:1

For America’s first research university, teaching and knowledge go in harmony. Johns Hopkins University is a higher education in the United States that utilizes high standard methods of teaching and research to guide ambitious scholars and future leaders of today to excellence. 

By sharing knowledge and discoveries in the sciences, they contribute to make the world a better place. The modern university prides its excellence in innovative methods in science and medicine. As a contributing factor for this achievement, they offer a degree program in Biophysics. The Department of Biophysics which provides sophisticated training for scholars to excel in this quantitative field, particularly in areas of kinetics, crystallography, protein design, enzymology, and mathematical computer modeling.

Acceptance Rate

11.17

Student to Faculty Ratio

7:1

Claremont McKenna College, ranking 6th in the nation’s top liberal arts colleges, cultivates its students to make a positive difference to the world. They are known in the integration of leadership and innovation experience inside the school, as well as in off-campus internships to prepare students for the real-world possibilities. 

To add to this innovative experience, McKenna College offers a degree major in Biophysics, which integrates the traditional physics course as well as areas in life sciences. It requires a minimum of 16 courses, following a senior thesis output that comprises molecular/cellular, biomechanical, organismal and/or physiologic sequences in order to complete the program. Those students who desire to conduct innovative research and quantitative data-driven outcomes must come and take the graduate programs offered by the university. 

Acceptance Rate

10.3

Student to Faculty Ratio

8:1

Barnard College is an institution of higher education for young women, that aims to empower them to pursue their passions by providing the highest quality of academic standards. The school has unparalleled advantages as it provides access to a major research institution in Columbia University. 

In partnership with Columbia University, the school offers programs in biophysics and astronomy, enabling a wide range of academic opportunities to its students by presenting additional pre-professional science-based curriculums. Interdisciplinary major, such as biophysics, are available to students. Students avail immense training in biological techniques that emphasizes cellular and molecular biology as they participate in ongoing research projects on Columbia University’s advanced research facilities aiming to cultivate and empower their female students to pursue their passion.

Acceptance Rate

11.77

Student to Faculty Ratio

9:1

A mission to strive for academic excellence and guiding its students to acquire wisdom, love of truth and beauty, ethical discernment, understanding of self, and respect and appreciation for others are what the University of Southern California (USC) holds as a leading private research university. Placing 24th in National Universities, USC continues to cultivate its highest quality in research by its competent faculty members and exceptional students inside the institution. 

Biophysics is one of the greatest strengths of the university. This program includes scientific investigators that study biological phenomena utilizing the quantitative techniques of physics, chemistry, and engineering. These collaborative methods become the door to educational opportunities for biophysics students and colleagues in the institute. These programs pave the way to new knowledge and scientific advancements. 

Acceptance Rate

11.42

Student to Faculty Ratio

9:1

Placing 2nd in the Best Value Public University in 2020, the University of Virginia (UVA) continues to pursue excellence by offering world-class education and conducting research that creates new knowledge to contribute to the greater good of the community. Their drive for research and innovation indulged them to invest in huge cross-disciplinary initiatives that include Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, Data Science Institute, and other relevant resources. 

Part of this innovation is the institute’s research in biophysics, which is the oldest program in the country. It involves a wide range of quantitative experimental, and computational approaches understanding the physical and chemical basis of biological processes, from theoretical to experimental. The students enjoy world-class graduate training to acquire strong analytical skills in biophysical techniques and to craft them for the real world of the research industry and allied professions. 

Acceptance Rate

23.94

Student to Faculty Ratio

15:1

Ranking in the top twenty-five national universities in the US, the University of California, Los Angeles remains committed to academic excellence. The Olympic medals, 14 Nobel Prizes, 118 NCAA titles, and 14 faculty MacArthur Fellows are proof of how the school obtains great heights. 

At UCLA, research is essential to develop solutions in improving the quality of life not only in the country but all over the world. The school offers Biophysics Program to give training and research opportunities to students who are interested in using cutting edge technologies in studying fundamental processes of physics and biology provided by the institute, along with a staff of faculty members that are more than qualified physicists, scientists, and educators, and a flexible curriculum that takes into account the students’ individual needs. The school provides high-end facilities and equipment to students to bring beneficial results to the community. 

Acceptance Rate

12.32

Student to Faculty Ratio

18:1

University of California, Berkeley prides itself for being 4th best university all-over America. This institute aims to educate future leaders around the world on prominent issues, inspire them to create innovative visions, and support these visions by providing tools that are sufficient to sustain positive changes in the economy. 

The biophysics degree at Berkeley is nothing short of exceptional. It has abundant resources in physics and biology such as laboratories, scientific instruments, and other advanced equipment. The collaborative culture of biology and physics contributed to several milestones of Berkeley faculty members and previous Biophysics graduate students. These achievements, along with the department’s high standard academic excellence add up to the development of exploring physics-based approaches to biology for current and future students and faculty of Berkeley. 

Acceptance Rate

16.25

Student to Faculty Ratio

20:1

Students who are looking for an academic institution with deep traditions on creating brighter futures for its learners will find the University of Michigan the right place to enroll. Their mission is to serve the community and the nation through profound academic values and by developing leaders of tomorrow who will change the course of living in the present and enrich the future. 

To those in pursuit of a science-based curriculum and research, Michigan University offers a top ranked degree in biophysics. This degree concentration allow biophysicists in the school to operate in well-equipped facilities with the goal of knowing the dynamics, structures, interactions, and functions of biological systems. Biophysics fosters awareness on the processes of the physical properties of specific molecules and their biological functions. Implementing a world-class pace of academic proficiency along with resourceful facilities and technology, the university trains students to accomplish significant breakthroughs that can contribute to the quality of life in the modern world. 

Acceptance Rate

22.91

Student to Faculty Ratio

11:1

Carnegie Mellon University is an internationally recognized research institute that spearheads top-ranked programs in robotics, engineering, computer science, public policy, business, sciences, fine arts, and humanities. They are well-versed in centralizing the development of the students’ efficiency in academics by challenging them in a multidisciplinary approach and collaborative learning as new methods of teaching take place in the modern world. 

Its greatest prides are its innovative science-based programs that confer to the university’s reputation as a sufficient research institution. It offers leading-edge course programs like biophysics that produce significant explorations on molecular and cellular biology in a quantitative approach while utilizing the analytical tools of physics. Physicists in the program unify the areas of physics and biology to achieve desirable results to contribute to the innovation of research and betterment of society. 

Acceptance Rate

15.44

Student to Faculty Ratio

10:1

Emory University is a first-class research university dedicated to bringing smart and talented individuals into the ranks of progress and academic excellence. The core mission of Emory University is to work together with their fearless researchers and their unremitting pursuit of knowledge to work towards a better world.

Emory University offers a pioneering biophysics department whose research focuses on experimental and theoretical physics. The Department of Physics provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses for students who wish to pursue a major and career in the physical world. The undergraduate offers six programs while students of its graduate programs are exposed to University’s research opportunities and pursuits.

Acceptance Rate

15.6

Student to Faculty Ratio

9:1

Northeastern University is a private research institution that focuses on learning through experience and outstanding broad research progress. Northeastern University has invested a total of US$182.6 million in research funding in its research facilities and has led 9 interdisciplinary research institutions.

The university has an academy of sciences, with excellent and leading courses in various branches such as biology and physics. Over 150 years of scientific research and concentration in Science, the University’s research facility has been a beacon for discovery and endless pursuit of knowledge of the world and the Universe in its entirety. The college’s Physic department offers to equip students with tools and resources in answering the most controversial questions in the field of Physics.

Acceptance Rate

18.05

Student to Faculty Ratio

14:1

Being one of the largest independent, nonprofit academic institutions in the United States, Boston University thrives in making a world more diverse, inclusive, and a better place by opening doors to students with potential to become great leaders, educators, and scientists in the next working generation. Boston is selective with a status of 32.6% acceptance rate.

The school offers a degree in biophysics, which is an essential gateway of innovative learning and discoveries to produce problem-solving solutions to the world’s most prominent issues today. Focusing on the fields of biology and physics, this degree focuses on the application of techniques in experimental physics, biochemistry, and molecular biology which aims to understand how molecules interact and modify the biological system. The university also recognizes well-qualified students and provides sponsored training grants to employ their skills and further develops it in the field of biophysics. 

Acceptance Rate

18.94

Student to Faculty Ratio

10:1

Driven with the motto Pro Humanitate meaning “for humanity”, Wake Forest University aims to use the knowledge, talents, and compassion acquired in the series of teaching to better the lives of others. It provides a diverse learning environment to its clients, valuing knowledge, service, and experience, preparing students to be proactive. 

The University offers a degree program in Biophysics, a curriculum designed to hone the next generation of scientists, biophysicists, educators, and leaders through an interdisciplinary training in quantitative biological sciences. To ensure that students can persevere in the competitive research environment, qualified candidates of the program must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 in their Physics courses after graduation and no grade less than C in General Physics. Also, they recognize exemplary students from underrepresented minorities and students with disabilities to avail their cutting-edge program, with training grants at hand to support their endeavor. 

Acceptance Rate

29.6

Student to Faculty Ratio

10:1

Scripps College is an academic institution for women, a top-ranked liberal arts academy located in Claremont, California. Their mission is to educate female minds and develop their talent and psyche through supporting a community of scholars and use their skills to become leaders of service, integrity, and creativity.  They offer top degrees in biophysics that are gateways for students who are interested in molecular and cellular biology, biomechanical, organismal, and/or physiologic sequences, in the grounds of biology and physics. This program requires a minimum of 16 courses, and a thesis during the senior year to produce efficient findings that can benefit diverse audiences. Sixty percent of the students receive financial aids to sustain their academic needs. They are expected to reach academic milestones. 

Acceptance Rate

32

Student to Faculty Ratio

10:1

Top Science Degrees in Biophysics

For students interested in earning a biophysics degree, it is important to overlay your personal priorities with the degree options early in the process. If you goal is to teach at a research university, a doctorate degree will be your goal. The fastest way to earn a doctorate degree may be utilizing a dual degree or accelerated program to expedite the process without sacrificing quality.

Take the time to really understand your priorities and then request information from accredited colleges below to begin your research. Spending time upfront to determine what is most important to you will pay dividends for years to come. The best biophysics graduate programs and undergraduate degrees include:

Undergraduate Student Biophysics Bachelor Degrees

Bachelors degrees is an undergraduate degree in biophysics are conferred as a Bachelor Science (BS). Traditional biophysics degree programs take 4-years of full-time matriculation to complete. Degrees at this level blend liberal arts education with core science classes to provide a well-rounded education with a holistic worldview. General education courses will often include creative writing, philosophy, history, sociology, and psychology.

Core classes in biophysics will vary by school and program resources. However, students can expect to take courses similar to the following: introduction to biomedical research, introduction to computing, biochemistry, bioinformatics, protein engineering, biological molecules, cellular physiology, molecular physiology, computational biology, cell biophysics, single molecule analysis, biological chemistry, structural biology, molecular biophysics, and nucleic acids. Bachelor's degrees will often mix lectures with seminars, labs, research, and internships.

Master Biophysics Degree Programs

A masters degree in biophysics is a 2-year program for full-time students and longer for part-time students. Graduate degrees in the field are conferred as a Master of Science (MS) with a heavy emphasis on research science. Biophysics masters students often have a background in biomedical physics, computer science, chemistry, physics, molecular biology, and/or high-level mathematics.

Courses will typically consist of advanced computer modeling, chemistry, and biology coupled with a series of electives determined by each student. In most cases, students will be required to research and present an original thesis.

Biophysics PhD

Doctorate biophysics degree programs will be conferred as a PhD which is a terminal degree with no additional degrees beyond to attain. PhD programs will take 3-5 years to complete as a function of curricular design, course load, and time invested to complete the dissertation project. Doctorate degree programs will most frequently allow students to select an area of specialty.

Areas of specialty in the biophysics PhD program can include molecular imaging, cellular oncology, molecular oncology, medical imaging, and therapeutic medical physics. Graduates will be well equipped to teach at the college-level or join organizations large and small to make a substantive impact on research initiatives.

Courses in Integrated Life Sciences

In terms of degree requirements, biophysics majors will have studied degree holders will have typically studied the following courses while in college:

Online Colleges Offering Degrees in Biophysics

Employment & Biophysics Career

Biological physicists or biophysicists are highly trained college graduates. In a hyper-competitive field of study, professionals can further specialize in the field or leverage latent skills in similar careers. Biological physicists can go on to teach in high school or college after graduate. Alternatively, they can dive deep into specialized field such as private biological research analyst, genomics, virologist, biological technician, forensic analyst, immunologist, biomedical engineer, toxicologist, microbiologist, epidemiologist, food scientist, surgeon, or nutritional scientist.

Biophysics Students Job Outlook

Careers for biophysics look bright. In fact, research performed by the U.S. Department of Labor and BLS estimate an above average growth rate of 11% in the coming ten-year span of time. As a baseline, a composite of all jobs in the U.S. during this reporting period will be six percent. With a rate of growth approximately twice the national average, jobs and job opportunities for biophysicists should be robust.

How Much Money Do Biophysicists Make?

The median biophysicist salary is currently $91,190 per year with a mean annual income of $105,410 annually.  Compared to the national average, biophysics will average nearly triple the median annual income of other employees.  Expect a range of income as the top ten percent will make three times as much as the bottom ten percent of earners in this field.

Income as a biological physicist will depend on several key factors.  Factors that shape income for highly specialized professionals like a biophysicist include type of college degree attained, work experience, the type of organization which you are employed, geographic location, overall job responsibilities, and demands of the job.  The amount of money you will make as a biophysicist will depend on a number of factors.  Items that move the proverbial compensation needle include work experience, type of college degree obtained, job demand, job duties, geographic location, organization type, and hours worked.

Additional Biophysics Resources

For additional resources, tools, and insights into the biophysicists field of study there are quality associations to research.  The most popular and widely known associations include the Biophysics Society found here.  This association awards, meetings, publications, and career tools to help junior and senior members of this diverse community.

Featured: UBC and Harvard Integrated Life

In addition to the list of top ranked biophysics degrees above, we have received exceptional feedback from students and alumni about the Harvard Integrated Life and UBC programs. The teaching teams, research focus, and overall program strength are worthy of a deeper inspection.

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