Best Soil programs in Oregon, ranked by enrollment
Conduct research in breeding, physiology, production, yield, and management of crops and agricultural plants or trees, shrubs, and nursery stock, their growth in soils, and control of pests; or study the chemical, physical, biological, and.
7 schools in Oregon run programs that feed this job, graduating 296 people a year. The job pays a median of $85,150 in Oregon across about 620 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Oregon that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
10 programs in Oregon that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Oregon (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Oregon page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horticultural Sciencemain feeder CIP 01.1103In Oregon → | 74 | 25.0% | 1 | $42,861 | $20,500 |
| 2 | CIP 01.0000In Oregon → | 72 | 24.3% | 4 | $39,350 | $20,340 |
| 3 | Botany/Plant Biologymain feeder CIP 26.0301In Oregon → | 48 | 16.2% | 1 | $33,009 | $21,975 |
| 4 | Range Science and Managementmain feeder CIP 01.1106In Oregon → | 43 | 14.5% | 2 | $42,861 | $20,500 |
| 5 | Agronomy and Crop Sciencemain feeder CIP 01.1102In Oregon → | 27 | 9.1% | 2 | $42,861 | $20,500 |
| 6 | CIP 01.1004In Oregon → | 14 | 4.7% | 2 | $51,883 | $21,000 |
| 7 | Botany/Plant Biology, Othermain feeder CIP 26.0399In Oregon → | 7 | 2.4% | 1 | $33,009 | $21,975 |
| 8 | CIP 01.0308In Oregon → | 5 | 1.7% | 2 | $36,083 | $17,395 |
| 9 | Plant Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 01.1101In Oregon → | 3 | 1.0% | 1 | $42,861 | $20,500 |
| 10 | Soil Science and Agronomy, Generalmain feeder CIP 01.1201In Oregon → | 3 | 1.0% | 1 | $50,408 | $22,424 |
Top 7 schools in Oregon
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 7 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR Public · 9 feeder programs | 234 | Horticultural Science | $38,397 | 70% | — | 77% |
| 2 | Treasure Valley Community College Ontario, OR Public · 3 feeder programs | 39 | Range Science and Management | — | 37% | — | — |
| 3 | Linfield University McMinnville, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Viticulture and Enology | — | 70% | $26,243 | 85% |
| 4 | Chemeketa Community College Salem, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Viticulture and Enology | — | 21% | — | — |
| 5 | Linn - Benton Community College Albany, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Agriculture, General | — | 29% | — | — |
| 6 | Klamath Community College Klamath Falls, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Agriculture, General | — | 43% | — | — |
| 7 | Southwestern Oregon Community College Coos Bay, OR Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture | — | 40% | — | — |
All 7 schools in Oregon
Every school in Oregon with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon State University | Corvallis | Public | 234 | 9 |
| Treasure Valley Community College | Ontario | Public | 39 | 3 |
| Linfield University | McMinnville | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Chemeketa Community College | Salem | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Linn - Benton Community College | Albany | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Klamath Community College | Klamath Falls | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Southwestern Oregon Community College | Coos Bay | Public | 2 | 1 |
What soil and plant scientists earn in Oregon
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $78,850. Oregon pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Oregon employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Oregon
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Soil and Plant Scientists page.
How to become a Soil
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.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Oregon
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 19 majors mapped to Soil and Plant Scientists18 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0000Agriculture, General
- 01.0308Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture
- 01.1004Viticulture and Enology
- 01.1101Plant Sciences, General
- 01.1102Agronomy and Crop Science
- 01.1103Horticultural Science
- 01.1104Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding
- 01.1105Plant Protection and Integrated Pest Management
- 01.1106Range Science and Management
- 01.1199Plant Sciences, Other
- 01.1201Soil Science and Agronomy, General
- 01.1202Soil Chemistry and Physics
- 01.1203Soil Microbiology(no graduates reported)
- 01.1299Soil Sciences, Other
- 26.0301Botany/Plant Biology
- 26.0305Plant Pathology/Phytopathology
- 26.0307Plant Physiology
- 26.0308Plant Molecular Biology
- 26.0399Botany/Plant Biology, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing soil and plant scientists programs in Oregon.
What degree do you need to become a Soil?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Horticultural Science, which awarded 74 degrees in Oregon in 2024-25, 25.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Soil?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 10 programs to this occupation. The largest are Plant Sciences, Agriculture, Botany/Plant Biology, Food Science and Technology, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 296 people a year in Oregon.
How much do soil and plant scientists earn in Oregon?+
The median is $85,150 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.0% above the U.S. median of $78,850. 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 soil and plant scientists growing?+
BLS projects a +5.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 1,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Oregon?+
7 institutions in Oregon reported graduates from at least one of the 10 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 soil and plant scientists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Scientist, Agronomist, Research Scientist, Research Soil Scientist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1013.
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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