Animal Science is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #92 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 85 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for animal science students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 8,178 degrees in animal science to qualified students.
Your choice of animal science school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for animal science schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
The animal science school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Animal Science Schools.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Schools for Animal Science in the United States
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the animal science degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Texas A&M University - College Station is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in animal science. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the midsize city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #42 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.
There were about 410 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent year we have data available. Those animal science students who get their degree from Texas A&M University - College Station earn $3,262 more than the typical animal science grad.
Iowa State University is a great decision for students interested in a degree in animal science. Iowa State is a very large public university located in the small city of Ames. This university ranks 2nd out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were about 262 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Animal Science degree recipients from Iowa State University receive an earnings boost of around $4,693 above the typical earnings of animal science graduates.
Cornell University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in animal science. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were about 84 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, animal science degree recipients typically earn an average of $36,204 in their early careers.
It's difficult to beat University of California - Davis if you wish to pursue a degree in animal science. UC Davis is a very large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were roughly 370 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, animal science degree recipients generally earn an average of $32,309 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were about 276 animal science students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the animal science program earn an average of $33,332 in the first couple years of working.
UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 176 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the animal science program make an average of $30,187 for their early career.
Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 140 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the animal science program at Michigan State University make $6,418 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the remote town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 13 schools for overall quality in the state of South Dakota.
There were approximately 133 animal science students who graduated with this degree at South Dakota State in the most recent year we have data available. Animal Science degree recipients from South Dakota State University get an earnings boost of about $9,970 over the average earnings of animal science graduates.
UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were about 59 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Those animal science students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $9,480 more than the typical animal science graduate.
UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.
There were approximately 116 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the animal science program report average early career wages of $34,073.
Located in the small city of Manhattan, K -State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of Kansas.
There were roughly 267 animal science students who graduated with this degree at K -State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the animal science major at Kansas State University get $3,994 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
UGA is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Athens. This university ranks 3rd out of 68 colleges for overall quality in the state of Georgia.
There were approximately 113 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year. After graduation, animal science degree recipients typically make around $31,769 in their early careers.
Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Virginia Tech is a great school overall.
There were approximately 185 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the animal science program report average early career income of $28,729.
Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were about 162 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the animal science program make around $35,318 in the first couple years of working.
Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 156 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the animal science program report average early career earnings of $34,337.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo. This university ranks 22nd out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 165 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, animal science degree recipients usually make around $33,879 in their early careers.
UF is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville. A Best Colleges rank of #56 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UF is a great university overall.
There were approximately 162 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the animal science program state that they receive average early career wages of $31,294.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Credit for the banner image above goes to Billy Hathorn.
Your choice of animal science school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for animal science schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
