Agricultural Education major

Agricultural Education: courses, careers, and where to study

Agricultural Education prepares future teachers to lead school agriculture programs, pairing knowledge of plants, animals, and mechanics with the pedagogy and licensure to teach it.

Agricultural Education trains teachers to run the three-part model that defines school agriculture programs: classroom and laboratory instruction, supervised agricultural experience projects students manage outside class, and a student leadership organization such as FFA. Coursework blends agricultural content like plant and soil science, animal science, agricultural mechanics, welding and small engines, agribusiness, and natural resources with teaching methods, curriculum planning, classroom management, and student teaching in a placement school. Where Agricultural Science centers on producing and improving crops, livestock, and soils as a working scientist or producer, this major centers on teaching that subject matter, learning how students develop and how to assess them. Unlike Secondary Education, which prepares you to teach a single academic subject, Agricultural Education spans a broad cluster of applied agriculture content and hands-on shop, greenhouse, and lab settings.

Most teaching roles in public schools call for a bachelor's degree and a state teaching license, which typically involves a supervised student-teaching term and passing required content and pedagogy exams; requirements and program approval vary by state, and a program accredited under the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation can simplify the path. Graduates often teach middle or high school agriculture, advise FFA chapters, and supervise students' projects; others move into extension education, agricultural literacy and outreach, agency or industry training, or community college instruction, sometimes after graduate study. Demand differs by region, district funding, and whether a school maintains an agriculture program, so openings cluster in some states more than others. A major builds a foundation in content and teaching practice, but it is not a guarantee of a specific job; verify current licensure rules with your state board.

In federal data for the closely related occupation of career/technical education teachers, secondary school, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $63,910 and projects employment to decline about 1.8% from 2024 to 2034; a bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.