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2024 Best Animal Science Bachelor's Degree Schools

74 Colleges in the United States
7,268 Bachelor's Degrees
$29,616 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in animal science, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #64 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 74 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for animal science students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 7,268 bachelor's degrees in animal science during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Animal Science School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Animal Science Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of animal science for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality animal science program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for animal science students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Animal Science Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Animal Science Bachelor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Animal Science in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in animal science. 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 for a Bachelor's in Animal Science

1
253 Annual Graduates
$32,078 Median Starting Salary
$18,906 Median Student Debt

Texas A&M University - College Station is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in animal science. Located in the medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those animal science students who get their bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University - College Station receive $2,462 more than the typical animal science grad.

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

2
210 Annual Graduates
$35,828 Median Starting Salary
$21,500 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in animal science needs to look into Iowa State University. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Animal Science bachelor's degree recipients from Iowa State University receive an earnings boost of approximately $6,212 above the average income of animal science majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from Iowa State University

3
358 Annual Graduates
$27,988 Median Starting Salary
$13,625 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat University of California - Davis if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in animal science. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduating, animal science bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $27,988 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from University of California - Davis

4
110 Annual Graduates
$40,797 Median Starting Salary
$23,162 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat South Dakota State University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in animal science. South Dakota State is a fairly large public university located in the remote town of Brookings.

Bachelor's recipients from the animal science program at South Dakota State University earn $11,181 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from South Dakota State University

5
50 Annual Graduates
$35,454 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.

Those animal science students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $5,838 more than the typical animal science grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from University of Wisconsin - Madison

6
194 Annual Graduates
$31,223 Median Starting Salary
$22,689 Median Student Debt

NC State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Raleigh.

After graduation, animal science bachelor's recipients usually earn around $31,223 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from North Carolina State University

7
98 Annual Graduates
$25,436 Median Starting Salary
$14,100 Median Student Debt

Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the animal science program make around $25,436 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from Cornell University

8
114 Annual Graduates
$33,052 Median Starting Salary
$22,250 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those animal science students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Georgia receive $3,436 more than the typical animal science graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from University of Georgia

9
225 Annual Graduates
$33,928 Median Starting Salary
$22,757 Median Student Debt

K -State is a large public university located in the small city of Manhattan.

Animal Science bachelor's degree recipients from Kansas State University receive an earnings boost of about $4,312 over the average income of animal science graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from Kansas State University

10
155 Annual Graduates
$34,236 Median Starting Salary
$23,301 Median Student Debt

Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus.

Animal Science bachelor's degree recipients from Ohio State University - Main Campus earn a boost of approximately $4,620 over the average earnings of animal science graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from Ohio State University - Main Campus

11
185 Annual Graduates
$32,152 Median Starting Salary
$20,500 Median Student Debt

Purdue is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette.

Those animal science students who get their bachelor's degree from Purdue University - Main Campus make $2,536 more than the standard animal science grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in animal science from Purdue University - Main Campus

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Animal Science students that almost earned our Best Animal Science Bachelor's Degree 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 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
17 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
18 Auburn University Auburn, AL

Animal Science by Region

View the Best Animal Science Bachelor's Degree 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

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Animal Science is one of 18 different types of Agriculture & Agriculture Operations programs to choose from.

Animal Science Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Animal Sciences, General 6,871
Poultry Science 164
Dairy Science 143
Animal Sciences, Other 84
Animal Health 5
Livestock Management 1

Majors Similar to Animal Science

Related Major Annual Graduates
Agricultural Economics & Business 5,097
General Agriculture 2,105
Plant Sciences 1,970
Food Science Technology 1,413
Agricultural Production 767
Agricultural Public Services 648
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians 593
Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs 478
Other Agriculture 387
Horticulture 339

Notes and References

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