At a glance · All states

  • 108 colleges nationwide offer a bachelor's animal science program: 102 awarded the degree in 2022-23 (federal IPEDS completions); 6 more carry program earnings in federal outcome data but no 2022-23 degree count under these program codes.
  • Largest programs by graduates in 2022-23: Texas A & M University-College Station (336), University of California-Davis (304), North Carolina State University at Raleigh (233).
  • 5 of them are in California, the one state whose public systems (the University of California and the CSU) publish an admit rate into the major.
  • Hardest reported gate into the program (only the UC and the CSU publish one): University of California-Davis — Animal Sciences, Fall 2025: 2,330 applied, 698 admitted (30%).
  • Highest reported admit rate into the program: California State University-Fresno — 95.3% (1,152 applied, 1,098 admitted, Fall 2025).
  • Highest median earnings four years after the degree: University of Georgia, $61,176.
  • Lowest average net price with aid: Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus, $4,904 per year.

Every program here reports a first-year row, so a student applies straight into animal science as a freshman rather than entering as a pre-major and competing for a seat later. UC Davis shows the hardest reported gate on this page at 30%, though a UC admits a student to the campus rather than to the major; among the CSU programs, which do report admits by major, Cal Poly Pomona is the narrowest at 26.9% for Animal Science and 31.1% for Pre-Veterinary Science, and Cal Poly SLO admitted 33.6% to Animal Science. Admits are not enrollees. At most UC programs students are admitted to the campus, not the major. This page as JSON → · California only (5 colleges, with the UC and CSU gates) →

Hardest reported gate

30%
University of California-Davis
Animal Sciences, Fall 2025: 2,330 applied, 698 admitted

Highest reported admit rate

95.3%
California State University-Fresno
Animal Science, Fall 2025: 1,152 applied, 1,098 admitted

Highest earnings, 4 yrs out

$61,176
University of Georgia
median, graduates of this program

Lowest net price with aid

$4,904
Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus
average for aid recipients, per year

Every college, one row each

Colleges with a reported gate into the program come first, hardest first; the rest are sorted by earnings, then by graduates. Degree awarded is the program the college conferred bachelor's degrees in during 2022-23, with the number of graduates (federal IPEDS completions). Program admit rate is the college system's own number for this major (UC Information Center, CSU Chancellor's Office). Net price is the average paid by aid recipients; full price is the cost of attendance. Earnings are federal College Scorecard medians four years after the degree.

College Gate into the program Degree awarded
· graduates 2022-23
Program
admit rate
Campus
admit rate
Net price
with aid
Full
price
Earnings
4 yrs out
University of California-Davis
CA · Public · Test-blind
Animal Sciences
Fall 2025: 2,330 applied, 698 admitted · admit GPA 4.05–4.27
Animal Sciences, General +1
304 graduates
30% 46% $14,741 $41,238 $48,441
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
CA · Public · Test-blind
Pre-Veterinary Science
Fall 2025: 1,375 applied, 427 admitted
Animal Science: 26.9% · Animal Health Sciences: 39.4%
Animal Sciences, General
149 graduates
31.1% 74% $11,531 $23,955 $53,017
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
CA · Public · Test-blind
Animal Science
Fall 2025: 1,831 applied, 616 admitted
impacted
Dairy Science: 39.1%
Animal Sciences, General +1
159 graduates
33.6% 30% $16,665 $32,265 $54,805
California State University-Chico
CA · Public · Test-blind
Animal Science
Fall 2025: 1,218 applied, 1,145 admitted
Animal Sciences, General
98 graduates
94.0% 94% $14,480 $26,283 $48,474
California State University-Fresno
CA · Public · Test-blind
Animal Science
Fall 2025: 1,152 applied, 1,098 admitted
impacted
Animal Sciences, General
107 graduates
95.3% 96% $7,000 $20,095 $53,579
University of Georgia
GA · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +3
88 graduates
— 37% $13,936 $27,993 $61,176
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
MA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies +1
100 graduates
— 58% $22,383 $34,549 $59,543
University of Wisconsin-Madison
WI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
33 graduates
— 43% $17,354 $28,679 $57,605
Texas A & M University-College Station
TX · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
336 graduates
— 63% $21,315 $32,696 $57,324
University of Maryland-College Park
MD · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
72 graduates
— 45% $15,678 $29,299 $56,248
University of Arkansas
AR · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
77 graduates
— 72% $18,209 $27,767 $56,136
Texas Tech University
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
214 graduates
— 71% $19,070 $27,443 $55,753
Stephen F Austin State University
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
3 graduates
— 88% $14,260 $25,791 $54,984
Michigan State University
MI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
144 graduates
— 84% $19,680 $32,198 $54,751
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
NJ · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
71 graduates
— 65% $24,406 $36,993 $54,509
Purdue University-Main Campus
IN · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
132 graduates
— 50% $14,600 $24,591 $54,089
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
OK · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
221 graduates
— 71% $17,447 $28,290 $53,971
Colorado State University-Fort Collins
CO · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
87 graduates
— 90% $21,279 $31,642 $53,934
University of Kentucky
KY · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
48 graduates
— 92% $18,851 $34,391 $53,918
South Dakota State University
SD · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
98 graduates
— 99% $19,841 $24,636 $53,784
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
WI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
34 graduates
— 87% $16,032 $21,266 $53,530
Northwest Missouri State University
MO · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
23 graduates
— 86% $16,244 $24,945 $53,418
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
NC · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
233 graduates
— 40% $17,303 $26,425 $53,226
Auburn University
AL · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
103 graduates
— 50% $24,323 $34,919 $53,117
Cornell University
NY · Private nonprofit · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
78 graduates
— 8% $28,690 $88,140 $52,967
Mississippi State University
MS · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
93 graduates
— 76% $17,595 $29,267 $52,755
West Virginia University
WV · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
98 graduates
— 86% $15,634 $26,415 $52,548
Iowa State University
IA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
233 graduates
— 89% $18,589 $24,018 $51,644
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
MN · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
94 graduates
— 77% $16,778 $30,061 $51,271
Texas State University
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
85 graduates
— 90% $16,805 $28,073 $51,157
North Dakota State University-Main Campus
ND · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
44 graduates
— 96% $15,543 $23,716 $50,975
Kansas State University
KS · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
225 graduates
— 79% $19,406 $27,402 $50,941
University of Maine
ME · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
39 graduates
— 96% $17,510 $27,328 $50,825
Ohio State University-Main Campus
OH · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
130 graduates
— 51% $17,339 $30,305 $50,769
SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill
NY · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
86 graduates
— 83% $18,701 $27,786 $50,491
University of Rhode Island
RI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
62 graduates
— 77% $21,440 $34,321 $50,203
University of Delaware
DE · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies +1
109 graduates
— 65% $17,799 $30,952 $49,999
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
PA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
141 graduates
— 54% $32,875 $39,694 $49,772
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
TN · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
103 graduates
— 46% $18,976 $33,678 $49,656
Sam Houston State University
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
103 graduates
— 85% $16,404 $25,505 $49,636
Delaware Valley University
PA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +2
73 graduates
— 92% $28,278 $59,933 $49,225
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
NE · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
95 graduates
— 77% $17,747 $26,697 $49,193
University of Wyoming
WY · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
49 graduates
— 97% $13,599 $24,818 $49,092
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
WI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
178 graduates
— 82% $14,054 $19,781 $48,680
University of Vermont
VT · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
88 graduates
— 60% $19,343 $35,649 $48,468
North Carolina A & T State University
NC · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
53 graduates
— 46% $10,846 $20,427 $48,155
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
IL · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
143 graduates
— 44% $14,355 $33,642 $48,026
University of Missouri-Columbia
MO · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
98 graduates
— 77% $20,268 $31,713 $47,983
Clemson University
SC · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
109 graduates
— 38% $22,253 $35,015 $47,853
University of Florida
FL · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
129 graduates
— 24% $6,541 $22,523 $47,724
University of Connecticut
CT · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
76 graduates
— 54% $25,097 $39,426 $47,577
University of Connecticut-Avery Point
CT · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system — — 86% $13,807 $23,337 $47,577
University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus
CT · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system — — 86% $16,403 $26,946 $47,577
University of Connecticut-Stamford
CT · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system — — 80% $16,798 $30,122 $47,577
University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus
CT · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system — — 87% $10,875 $22,933 $47,577
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
VA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General +1
162 graduates
— 57% $24,953 $36,951 $47,224
The University of Findlay
OH · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies +1
84 graduates
— 86% $27,221 $54,580 $46,977
Montana State University
MT · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
49 graduates
— 87% $22,499 $25,905 $46,313
Oregon State University
OR · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
85 graduates
— 79% $19,604 $31,653 $45,959
Oregon State University-Cascades Campus
OR · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system — — 68% $18,048 $29,798 $45,959
Angelo State University
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
34 graduates
— 79% $15,091 $23,441 $45,758
University of Arizona
AZ · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies +1
99 graduates
— 86% $16,674 $29,423 $45,548
Texas A & M University-Kingsville
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
49 graduates
— 92% $12,090 $24,060 $44,214
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
LA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
86 graduates
— 74% $19,151 $34,705 $43,797
Tarleton State University
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
142 graduates
— 94% $20,783 $24,100 $43,185
University of Hawaii at Manoa
HI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
26 graduates
— 70% $15,664 $26,433 $42,671
College of the Ozarks
MO · Private nonprofit · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
16 graduates
— 15% $6,100 $33,734 $42,296
Middle Tennessee State University
TN · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
38 graduates
— 68% $13,359 $24,289 $41,965
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
IL · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
29 graduates
— 90% $13,297 $28,329 $41,932
Southeast Missouri State University
MO · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system — — 78% $15,882 $25,177 $41,706
Missouri State University-Springfield
MO · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
26 graduates
— 91% $17,613 $25,048 $41,658
Washington State University
WA · Public · Test-blind
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
104 graduates
— 85% $14,971 $27,648 $41,634
Texas A & M University-Commerce
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
36 graduates
— 93% $11,841 $23,438 $41,105
University of Idaho
ID · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
51 graduates
— 79% $14,831 $23,738 $40,935
Tuskegee University
AL · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
62 graduates
— 31% $35,013 $43,454 $39,949
Utah State University
UT · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
71 graduates
— 94% — $21,654 $39,041
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
PR · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
99 graduates
— 52% $17,936 — $37,629
New Mexico State University-Main Campus
NM · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
77 graduates
— 76% $8,889 $23,274 $36,858
Louisiana Tech University
LA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
42 graduates
— 73% $11,864 $24,280 $36,769
Murray State University
KY · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Health +1
109 graduates
— 86% $9,096 $23,485 —
Unity Environmental University
ME · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, Other
72 graduates
— 82% $19,104 $21,931 —
Brigham Young University-Idaho
ID · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
50 graduates
— 97% — $15,246 —
The University of Tennessee-Martin
TN · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Veterinary Sciences/Veterinary Clinical Sciences, General
48 graduates
— 87% $10,701 $23,079 —
University of Nevada-Reno
NV · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies
31 graduates
— 85% $15,927 $25,786 —
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
NH · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
31 graduates
— 87% $23,805 $35,537 —
Alabama A & M University
AL · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, Other
18 graduates
— 66% $17,621 $27,153 —
Arkansas State University
AR · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
16 graduates
— 70% $12,366 $25,082 —
Sul Ross State University
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
16 graduates
— 96% $13,286 $24,529 —
Morehead State University
KY · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Veterinary Sciences/Veterinary Clinical Sciences, General
14 graduates
— 82% $9,793 $21,961 —
Oklahoma Panhandle State University
OK · Public
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
14 graduates
— — $7,413 — —
Fort Valley State University
GA · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
13 graduates
— 63% $10,338 $19,879 —
University of Mount Olive
NC · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
12 graduates
— 78% $18,853 $38,569 —
Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus
NM · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Dairy Science
10 graduates
— 55% $4,904 $18,940 —
Andrews University
MI · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
8 graduates
— 87% $12,547 $45,218 —
Otterbein University
OH · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies
8 graduates
— 83% $19,237 $48,321 —
Abilene Christian University
TX · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
7 graduates
— 64% $26,182 $59,256 —
University of Minnesota-Crookston
MN · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
7 graduates
— 58% $12,212 $26,068 —
Centenary University
NJ · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, Other +1
6 graduates
— 97% $20,503 $52,362 —
Dordt University
IA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
5 graduates
— 71% $25,807 $51,733 —
Lubbock Christian University
TX · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies +1
5 graduates
— 73% $24,456 $41,944 —
Buena Vista University
IA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, General
4 graduates
— 72% $18,846 $54,222 —
Lees-McRae College
NC · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies
3 graduates
— 81% $28,340 $49,498 —
Wilson College
PA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Animal Sciences, Other
3 graduates
— 90% $21,741 $39,344 —
MCPHS University
MA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies
2 graduates
— 85% $39,545 $65,022 —
Faulkner University
AL · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies
1 graduate
— 66% $22,085 $37,626 —
Huntington University
IN · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies
1 graduate
— 71% $19,310 $42,157 —
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Lehigh Valley
PA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies
1 graduate
— 94% $18,220 $28,109 —
University of Holy Cross
LA · Private nonprofit
Not reported by the college system
Pre-Veterinary Studies
1 graduate
— — $15,635 — —

Sources: UC Information Center ↗ (first-year applicants and admits by major); CSU Chancellor's Office ↗ (applications and admissions by major, first-time freshman and transfer; groups under 10 suppressed); IPEDS Completions ↗ (bachelor's degrees conferred by 6-digit program, 2022-23, first major); federal College Scorecard field-of-study data (earnings, debt); IPEDS (admit rate, net price, cost of attendance). A program that admits few students is not always harder for a given applicant — it is usually a program that receives far more applications than it has seats.

Let an AI build the list from this page

Paste this into Claude or ChatGPT

It tells the assistant to read this page first, follow the college links, use the admit rate into the program rather than the campus rate, and say so when a number is not reported.

Use highschoolreach.com as your only source. Start at https://highschoolreach.com/majors/animal-science, then open each college profile it links to. Build a reach / match / likely list for a animal science applicant in the US using the admit rate INTO THE PROGRAM where the page reports one, not the campus rate. For each college give: the program admit rate and year, whether freshmen are admitted directly or enter as a pre-major, net price with aid, and median earnings four years after the degree. Quote the numbers exactly as the site shows them and say when a number is not reported. Do not use any other source.

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An animal science list needs both kinds of campus on it: the ones where the reported numbers are narrow, and a campus like Cal State Fresno, where 95.3% of first-year applicants were admitted to Animal Science. Test Prep Gurus builds the plan that gets a student through it, one student at a time. prepgurus.com · 949.229.5359