Best degree programs for Animal Scientists, ranked by enrollment
17 college programs and 228 schools train Animal Scientists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $68,940 median wage, 3,100 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
17 college programs at 228 schools train animal scientists, graduating 12,041 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Animal Sciences, General. The job pays a median of $68,940 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About animal scientists
Conduct research in the genetics, nutrition, reproduction, growth, and development of domestic farm animals.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
17 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Animal Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 01.0901 | 7,897 | 65.6% | 124 | $33,926 | $21,748 |
| 2 | CIP 01.0000 | 2,983 | 24.8% | 143 | $39,350 | $20,340 |
| 3 | Animal Sciences, Othermain feeder CIP 01.0999 | 274 | 2.3% | 10 | $33,926 | $21,748 |
| 4 | Animal Healthmain feeder CIP 01.0903 | 230 | 1.9% | 9 | $33,926 | $21,748 |
| 5 | CIP 01.1106 | 137 | 1.1% | 19 | $42,861 | $20,500 |
| 6 | Poultry Sciencemain feeder CIP 01.0907 | 134 | 1.1% | 9 | $33,926 | $21,748 |
| 7 | Dairy Sciencemain feeder CIP 01.0905 | 121 | 1.0% | 14 | $33,926 | $21,748 |
| 8 | CIP 01.8110 | 63 | 0.5% | 6 | $30,855 | $21,335 |
| 9 | CIP 30.3401 | 50 | 0.4% | 3 | — | — |
| 10 | CIP 01.8108 | 46 | 0.4% | 6 | $30,855 | $21,335 |
| 11 | Agricultural Animal Breedingmain feeder CIP 01.0902 | 31 | 0.3% | 3 | $33,926 | $21,748 |
| 12 | CIP 01.8107 | 30 | 0.2% | 4 | $30,855 | $21,335 |
| 13 | CIP 01.8106 | 29 | 0.2% | 4 | $30,855 | $21,335 |
| 14 | Animal Nutritionmain feeder CIP 01.0904 | 11 | 0.1% | 1 | $33,926 | $21,748 |
| 15 | CIP 01.8109 | 3 | 0.0% | 2 | $30,855 | $21,335 |
| 16 | CIP 01.8103 | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $30,855 | $21,335 |
| 17 | CIP 01.8199 | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $30,855 | $21,335 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What animal scientists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $132,830 | 40 | 0.13× | 25 | 2,076 |
| California | — | 140 | 0.37× | 8 | 976 |
| Illinois | $47,930 | — | — | 11 | 544 |
| Iowa | $75,290 | 60 | 2.04× | 9 | 309 |
| Kansasmoderate | $80,090 | — | — | 3 | 307 |
| Kentucky | — | 30 | 0.84× | 7 | 293 |
| Pennsylvania | $77,660 | 90 | 0.72× | 6 | 262 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $84,310 | 280 | 4.75× | 4 | 259 |
| Ohio | — | 90 | 0.81× | 6 | 238 |
| Michiganmoderate | $60,010 | 80 | 0.90× | 3 | 186 |
| Nebraska | $55,300 | 210 | 10.49× | 5 | 175 |
| South Dakotalimited | $77,300 | 90 | 9.69× | 1 | 172 |
| Arkansas | — | 60 | 2.50× | 6 | 154 |
| Minnesotamoderate | $88,640 | 100 | 1.70× | 4 | 131 |
| Georgia | — | 60 | 0.60× | 5 | 121 |
| Washingtonlimited | $83,160 | 40 | 0.50× | 1 | 121 |
| Marylandlimited | $77,750 | 190 | 3.48× | 2 | 108 |
| North Dakotamoderate | $72,100 | 40 | 5.04× | 3 | 58 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Study nutritional requirements of animals and nutritive values of animal feed materials.
- Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and the public.
- Develop improved practices in feeding, housing, sanitation, or parasite and disease control of animals.
- Advise producers about improved products and techniques that could enhance their animal production efforts.
- Conduct research concerning animal nutrition, breeding, or management to improve products or processes.
- Study effects of management practices, processing methods, feed, or environmental conditions on quality and quantity of animal products, such as eggs and milk.
- Research and control animal selection and breeding practices to increase production efficiency and improve animal quality.
- Determine genetic composition of animal populations and heritability of traits, using principles of genetics.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1
- Science4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Writing4.0
- Active Learning3.9
- Active Listening3.9
- Speaking3.9
- Monitoring3.8
Knowledge areas
- Biology4.6
- Mathematics4.1
- English Language4.1
- Chemistry4.0
- Food Production3.8
- Education and Training3.5
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Speech Clarity4.0
Core activities
- Analyzing Data or Information4.5
- Working with Computers4.5
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.4
- Getting Information4.4
- Processing Information4.3
- Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Animal Scientist
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 20 majors mapped to Animal Scientists17 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0000Agriculture, General
- 01.0310Apiculture(no graduates reported)
- 01.0901Animal Sciences, General
- 01.0902Agricultural Animal Breeding
- 01.0903Animal Health
- 01.0904Animal Nutrition
- 01.0905Dairy Science
- 01.0907Poultry Science
- 01.0999Animal Sciences, Other
- 01.1106Range Science and Management
- 01.8103Large Animal/Food Animal and Equine Surgery and Medicine
- 01.8105Veterinary Anatomy(no graduates reported)
- 01.8106Veterinary Infectious Diseases
- 01.8107Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology
- 01.8108Veterinary Pathology and Pathobiology
- 01.8109Veterinary Physiology
- 01.8110Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health
- 01.8111Veterinary Toxicology and Pharmacology(no graduates reported)
- 01.8199Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Other
- 30.3401Anthrozoology
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Animal Scientist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Animal Sciences, General, which awarded 7,897 degrees in 2024-25, 65.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Animal Scientist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 17 programs to this occupation. The largest are Animal Sciences, Agriculture, Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Plant Sciences, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 12,041 people a year.
How much do animal scientists earn?+
The median is $68,940 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $44,350 at the 10th percentile to $166,000 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for animal scientists growing?+
BLS projects a +5.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
228 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 17 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do animal scientists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Animal Scientist, Research Scientist, Animal Nutritionist, Beef Cattle Nutritionist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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