California State University, Northridge’s master’s in biology program was nationally ranked 13th in the top 25 biology graduate programs — for financial aid awarded — by GraduatePrograms.com, surpassing Vanderbilt University and Johns Hopkins University in the online guide to graduate school education.

Program rankings were compiled using data gathered from Sept. 1, 2012, to March 31, 2015, based on reviews posted by more than 3,000 biology graduate students participating in more than 300 graduate programs nationwide.

GraduatePrograms.com defines the financial aid portion in their polls as, “If you received financial aid from your school, how pleased are you with your package (grants, scholarships, etc.) and the application process?”

“[This ranking] greatly enhances student success and enhances the reputation of CSUN as an outstanding institution for graduate education,” said biology department chair Larry Allen. “It means that we make every effort to support our graduate students in their studies financially, as well as academically.”

Allen said he believes that this ranking demonstrates the department’s emphasis on its students’ academic success. “It means that graduate students can devote most of their time to their studies and to their research projects, instead of having to seek employment elsewhere,” he said. “Employment outside of CSUN greatly slows progress toward the completion of their theses, thereby hindering student success.”

In addition, Allen said that the ranking will enhance the reputation of the CSUN biology graduate program and greatly aid in the recruitment of top master’s student candidates from all over the country.

CSUN’s department of graduate studies has provided many financial aid opportunities for students, including conference travel funding, thesis support and fee waivers. In addition, many of the biology faculty members have research grants and support their students with research assistantships.

“These opportunities enable our graduate students to concentrate almost exclusively on their academics, network in professional societies through attendance at scientific meetings and complete their research-based master’s theses in a timely manner with few distractions,” Allen said.

To view the master’s in biology rankings on GraduatePrograms.com, visit http://www.graduateprograms.com/top-biology-for-financial-aid/.