<p>
[quote]
The OP also specifically said he/she was interested in getting an MD.
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</p>
<p>A joint MD/PhD program is very much a research science graduate program. It is a different kettle of fish than a conventional med school, practicing physician career path.</p>
<p>If you're very smart, very rich and would welcome challange, this is the best for you:</p>
<p><a href="http://ib.berkeley.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://ib.berkeley.edu/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://mcb.berkeley.edu/site/%5B/url%5D">http://mcb.berkeley.edu/site/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://mollie.berkeley.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://mollie.berkeley.edu/</a></p>
<p>And how do you know that, Sansai? Experience?</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>I've learned that from people who have gone there.</p>
<p>quite honestly, bio is such a popular major, that just about every school has at the very least a decent department.</p>
<p>undergrad #1=Stanford
mainly for the undergrad independent research opportunities and available funding, which are tops in the nation</p>
<p>Grad #1 = Harvard, Berkeley, MIT</p>
<p>Mainly for the depth and breadth of the state-of-the-art research,
Not to mention, constantly-updating, nonstop-learning, “world-famous” faculty and research staffs (very important for such a rapidly evolving field as biology).</p>
<p>For example, let’s look at Berkeley’s Biology Department. They subdivides biology dept into three specialized biology depts. (for details, click the links that sansai provided) for in-depth research/study for grad/undergrad; this tells me the progressive, forward-looking, research oriented spirit of Berkeley’s biology dept. I am afraid undergrad bio-majors at a certain small LAC will very much miss this specialized opportunity, thus their specialized undergrad research experiences. </p>
<p>At a higher level, a significant overlap between Biology & Chemistry exists. As a matter of fact, the term “biochemistry” was coined due to this reason. And we all know Berkeley’s Chemistry is # 1 in the world!!!</p>
<p>what about undergrad in Princeton? Does Princeton provides decent research opportunities? It seems like most people don't mention Princeton when they are talking about strong bio undergrad?? I'm more interested in colleges on the East Coast so probably won't consider Stanford even though it is really a great great college. </p>
<p>thank you guys! very insightful responses and it really gave me a better picture of undergrad bio in different colleges.</p>
<p>Gourman Report undergraduate biology ranking </p>
<p>Biology rankings from Gourman Report
Caltech
MIT
Yale
Harvard
Wisconsin
UC San Diego
UC Berkeley
U Colorado
Columbia
Stanford
U Washington
U Chicago
Duke
Wash U St Louis
UCLA
U Michigan
Cornell
U Penn
Purdue
Indiana U
UNC Chapel Hill
U Utah
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
Princeton
UC Irvine
Notre Dame
UC Santa Barbara
UVA
Brown
U Illinois Urbana Champaign
U Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
U Oregon
SUNY Stony Brook
U Rochester
Tufts
U Minnesota
SUNY Buffalo
U Texas Austin
Florida State
Michigan State
USC
U Connecticut
UC Riverside
Rice
Iowa State
SUNY Albany
Case Western
Boston U
Ohio State
NYU
U Iowa
Penn State
Emory
Brandeis
U Kansas
Rutgers New Brunswick
Tulane
US Air Force Academy
U Missouri Columbia</p>
<p>"The University of Wisconsin has one of the deepest bioscience resources in the US. They are leading in several areas of biotech and have the most bioresearch funding in the US.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/packages/biotech/">http://www.news.wisc.edu/packages/biotech/</a>"</p>
<p>I would say schools in the SF Bay area like UC Berkeley and Stanford, MIT and Harvard for Boston, and UC San Diego are the best because they are academic institutions that supply the talent for those biotech clusters.</p>