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2024 Best Animal Science Schools

76 Colleges in the United States
8,294 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
$30,680 Avg Early-Career Salary
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 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 76 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for animal science students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 8,294 degrees in animal science during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Animal Science School

Best Animal Science Schools 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.

Pick Your Animal Science Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Animal Science
Bachelor's Degrees in Animal Science
Master's Degrees in Animal Science
Doctor's Degrees in Animal Science

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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

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 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

11 Top Schools in Animal Science

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
298 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
11.4% Growth in Graduates

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 #44 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were roughly 298 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the animal science major at Texas A&M University - College Station make $11,061 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in animal science from Texas A&M University - College Station

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
225 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
$51,988 Median Starting Salary

Iowa State University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in animal science. Iowa State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ames. This university ranks 1st out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 225 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the animal science degree program at Iowa State University make $21,307 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in animal science from Iowa State University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
364 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
8.5% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of California - Davis if you want 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 #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were about 364 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, animal science degree recipients typically make about $27,988 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in animal science from University of California - Davis

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
$35,454 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in animal science has to look into University of Wisconsin - Madison. UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the large city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were about 61 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the animal science degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $4,774 above the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in animal science from University of Wisconsin - Madison

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
138 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
10.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 13 schools for overall quality in the state of South Dakota.

There were about 138 animal science students who graduated with this degree at South Dakota State in the most recent data year. Animal Science degree recipients from South Dakota State University earn a boost of about $10,117 above the typical income of animal science majors.

More information about a degree in animal science from South Dakota State University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
225 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
$31,223 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 225 animal science students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the animal science program report average early career income of $31,223.

More information about a degree in animal science from North Carolina State University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
108 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
$25,436 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.

There were about 108 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the animal science program earn about $25,436 for their early career.

More information about a degree in animal science from Cornell University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
136 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
8.1% Growth in Graduates

UGA is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #72 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UGA is a great university overall.

There were about 136 animal science students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year. Those animal science students who get their degree from University of Georgia make $2,372 more than the standard animal science student.

More information about a degree in animal science from University of Georgia

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
256 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
$33,928 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Manhattan, K -State is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 47 colleges for overall quality in the state of Kansas.

There were roughly 256 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 earn $3,248 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in animal science from Kansas State University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
170 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
5.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 170 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Animal Science degree recipients from Ohio State University - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of about $2,104 over the average income of animal science majors.

More information about a degree in animal science from Ohio State University - Main Campus

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
198 Animal Science Degrees Awarded
22.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were approximately 198 animal science students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, animal science degree recipients usually make around $32,152 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in animal science from Purdue University - Main Campus

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Animal Science students that almost earned our Best Animal Science Schools award.

Rank College Location
12 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
13 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
14 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
15 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
16 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
17 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
18 Auburn University Auburn, AL
19 University of Florida Gainesville, FL

Animal Science by Region

View the Best Animal Science Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

One of 18 majors within the Agriculture & Agriculture Operations area of study, Animal Science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Animal Science Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Animal Sciences, General 7,647
Dairy Science 216
Poultry Science 214
Animal Sciences, Other 153
Livestock Management 30
Animal Health 21
Agricultural Animal Breeding 10
Animal Nutrition 3

View All Animal Science Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians 8,646
Agricultural Economics & Business 8,098
General Agriculture 3,370
Horticulture 3,234
Plant Sciences 3,175
Agricultural Production 3,066
Food Science Technology 2,532
Agricultural Mechanization 1,280
Animal Services 990
Agricultural Public Services 845

View All Animal Science Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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