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.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Agricultural Education maps to CIP 13.1301, Agricultural Teacher Education, within the EDUCATION family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to teach vocational agricultural programs at various educational levels.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Agricultural Education is awarded as
Of the 1,042 Agricultural Education credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Associate2%16
- Bachelor's62%645
- Graduate37%381
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Methods for teaching agriculture, including lesson planning, lab and shop instruction, and student assessment
- Plant and soil science, crop production, and greenhouse and horticulture practices
- Animal science fundamentals covering nutrition, husbandry, and livestock evaluation
- Agricultural mechanics skills such as welding, small engines, electricity, and equipment safety
- Designing and supervising supervised agricultural experience (SAE) projects with students
- Advising student leadership organizations like FFA and coaching career development events
- Agribusiness, farm records, and basic agricultural economics for the classroom
- Classroom and laboratory safety management, including shop and equipment protocols
- Natural resources, soil and water conservation, and environmental stewardship topics
Typical careers
- Career and technical education teacher (agriculture)
- High school agriculture teacher
- Middle school agriscience teacher
- FFA advisor
- Cooperative extension educator
- Agricultural literacy and outreach coordinator
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 career/technical education teachers, secondary school median $63,910).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Agricultural Education, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary | $61,490 | 8,800 | +0.7% | Bachelor's degree |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School | $63,910 | 6,200 | -1.8% | Bachelor's degree |
| Education Teachers, Postsecondary | $72,090 | 5,600 | +2.1% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School | $63,620 | 900 | -2% | Bachelor's degree |
| Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | $86,350 | 800 | +4.1% | Doctoral or professional degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 5 of these 5 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Agricultural Education does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Agricultural Education major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Agricultural Education program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Agricultural Education department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Agricultural Education program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Agricultural Education credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- University of FloridaFL · 85
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoCA · 60
- California State University-FresnoCA · 52
- Abraham Baldwin Agricultural CollegeGA · 51
- Murray State UniversityKY · 50
- South Dakota State UniversitySD · 44
- Oklahoma State University-Main CampusOK · 41
- Texas Tech UniversityTX · 41
- Iowa State UniversityIA · 35
- Ohio State University-Main CampusOH · 34
- California State Polytechnic University-PomonaCA · 33
- New Mexico State University-Main CampusNM · 33
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Agricultural Education credentials were awarded
One state has a distinct enough set of Agricultural Education colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Agricultural Education schools by state
- Agricultural Education in California
- Agricultural Education in Florida
- Agricultural Education in Georgia
- Agricultural Education in Illinois
- Agricultural Education in Maryland
- Agricultural Education in Massachusetts
- Agricultural Education in New York
- Agricultural Education in North Carolina
- Agricultural Education in Pennsylvania
- Agricultural Education in Texas
Related majors
Agricultural Science
Agricultural Science studies how crops, livestock, and soils are produced and improved, for students who want to apply biology and chemistry to farming and food systems.
Secondary Education
Secondary Education prepares you to teach a subject to middle- and high-school students, blending content mastery with classroom instruction methods, and suits people who want to teach teens rather than young children.
Animal Science
Animal Science studies the breeding, nutrition, and husbandry of agricultural animals and the production and processing of animal products.
Horticulture
Horticulture applies plant science to growing garden, food, ornamental, landscape, and nursery crops, from propagation and breeding to greenhouse and field production.
Agribusiness
Agribusiness pairs farming and agricultural science with business management, preparing students to run the operations, finances, and markets that move food and crops from field to buyer.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Agricultural Education degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Education & Library careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Agricultural Education degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Agricultural Education path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.