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2024 Best Plant Sciences Schools

71 Colleges in the United States
3,175 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
$38,727 Avg Early-Career Salary
Plant Sciences is about average in terms of popularity for degree programs. That is, it ranks #164 out of the 395 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 71 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Plant Sciences Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,175 degrees in plant sciences during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Plant Sciences School

Best Plant Sciences Schools Your choice of plant sciences school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Plant Sciences School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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.

Plant Sciences Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Plant Sciences
Bachelor's Degrees in Plant Sciences
Master's Degrees in Plant Sciences
Doctor's Degrees in Plant Sciences

The plant sciences 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 Plant Sciences Schools. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Plant Sciences in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of plant sciences degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top Schools in Plant Sciences

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NY
35 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Cornell University if you wish to pursue a degree in plant sciences. Located in the 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 roughly 35 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from Cornell University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
172 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
$57,755 Median Starting Salary

Iowa State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in plant sciences. Iowa State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ames. This university ranks 1st out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 172 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Plant Sciences degree recipients from Iowa State University earn a boost of approximately $19,028 over the typical income of plant sciences majors.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from Iowa State University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
84 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
$42,469 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Texas A&M University - College Station if you wish to pursue a degree in plant sciences. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were roughly 84 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Plant Sciences degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station receive an earnings boost of about $3,742 above the typical earnings of plant sciences majors.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from Texas A&M University - College Station

4
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
149 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
12.1% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Florida if you wish to pursue a degree in plant sciences. UF is a fairly large public university located in the city of Gainesville. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UF is a great university overall.

There were roughly 149 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the plant sciences degree program at University of Florida get $8,455 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from University of Florida

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
88 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
$45,313 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Lincoln, UNL is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 19 colleges for overall quality in the state of Nebraska.

There were approximately 88 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at UNL in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the plant sciences degree program at University of Nebraska - Lincoln get $6,586 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from University of Nebraska - Lincoln

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In WI

UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were about 19 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from University of Wisconsin - Madison

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
12.1% Growth in Graduates

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

There were about 66 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at South Dakota State in the most recent year we have data available. Plant Sciences degree recipients from South Dakota State University receive an earnings boost of approximately $11,486 over the average earnings of plant sciences majors.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from South Dakota State University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
54 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
$50,514 Median Starting Salary

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo. This university ranks 17th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 54 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Those plant sciences students who get their degree from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo make $11,787 more than the typical plant sciences graduate.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
122 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
22.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large 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 about 122 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the plant sciences program earn an average of $37,111 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from North Carolina State University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Plant Sciences Degrees Awarded
6.8% Growth in Graduates

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 74 plant sciences students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the plant sciences major at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $10,419 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in plant sciences from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Plant Sciences Schools award.

Rank College Location
11 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
12 University of California - Davis Davis, CA
13 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
14 Washington State University Pullman, WA
15 University of Georgia Athens, GA
16 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
17 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA

Plant Sciences by Region

View the Best Plant Sciences 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, Plant Sciences has other similar majors worth exploring.

Plant Sciences Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Agronomy & Crop Science 1,153
Horticultural Science 823
Plant Science, General 668
Range Science & Management 190
Plant Protection & Integrated Pest Management 179
Plant Sciences, Other 108
Agricultural & Horticultural Plant Breeding 54

View All Plant Sciences Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians 8,646
Animal Science 8,294
Agricultural Economics & Business 8,098
General Agriculture 3,370
Horticulture 3,234
Agricultural Production 3,066
Food Science Technology 2,532
Agricultural Mechanization 1,280
Animal Services 990
Agricultural Public Services 845

View All Plant Sciences Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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