Majors
Best Colleges for Plant Sciences, by Earnings
77 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Plant Sciences, about 1,993 degrees a year. Across the 44 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $56,448 four years after finishing.
| Rank | College | State | Median earnings, 4 years out | Degrees a year | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | CA | $82,487 | 55 | 31.3% |
| 2 | South Dakota State University | SD | $78,494 | 36 | 98.3% |
| 3 | California State University-Fresno | CA | $77,034 | 63 | 95.3% |
| 4 | University of California-Davis | CA | $72,335 | 19 | 41.8% |
| 5 | California State University-Chico | CA | $68,629 | 22 | 92.7% |
| 6 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | CA | $66,714 | 33 | 75.2% |
| 7 | Texas A&M University | TX | $66,513 | 42 | 57.4% |
| 8 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $63,279 | 27 | 42.4% |
| 9 | University of Missouri | MO | $62,957 | 43 | 78.5% |
| 10 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | NE | $61,946 | 50 | 87.5% |
| 11 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | TN | $61,587 | 36 | 41.6% |
| 12 | Arkansas State University | AR | $61,397 | 15 | 82.3% |
| 13 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville | WI | $61,085 | 23 | 89.4% |
| 14 | Iowa State University | IA | $60,997 | 112 | 88.7% |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls | WI | $59,732 | 20 | 81.7% |
| 16 | University of Minnesota-Crookston | MN | $59,240 | 16 | 87.9% |
| 17 | Cornell University | NY | $58,960 | 19 | 8.8% |
| 18 | Kansas State University | KS | $58,603 | 52 | 81.7% |
| 19 | Oregon State University | OR | $57,950 | 83 | 77.3% |
| 20 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus | OR | $57,950 | 2 | 63.1% |
| 21 | Ohio State University | OH | $56,812 | 27 | 60.6% |
| 22 | Virginia Tech | VA | $56,630 | 44 | 54.8% |
| 23 | Southeast Missouri State University | MO | $56,265 | 16 | 73.5% |
| 24 | Chadron State College | NE | $53,484 | 20 | |
| 25 | University of Florida | FL | $53,270 | 52 | 24.2% |
| 26 | Clemson University | SC | $52,844 | 10 | 38.3% |
| 27 | University of Minnesota | MN | $52,707 | 29 | 79.8% |
| 28 | University of Wyoming | WY | $52,652 | 22 | 96.9% |
| 29 | Pennsylvania State University | PA | $52,329 | 36 | 60.6% |
| 30 | Auburn University | AL | $52,104 | 45 | 45.9% |
| 31 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | MA | $51,912 | 38 | 59.7% |
| 32 | North Carolina State University | NC | $51,696 | 57 | 41.7% |
| 33 | SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill | NY | $51,399 | 32 | 84% |
| 34 | Mississippi State University | MS | $50,653 | 34 | 77.6% |
| 35 | West Virginia University | WV | $50,249 | 35 | 89% |
| 36 | Delaware Valley University | PA | $48,031 | 7 | 93.2% |
| 37 | Michigan State University | MI | $47,404 | 23 | 84.8% |
| 38 | University of Idaho | ID | $47,392 | 22 | 75.5% |
| 39 | Missouri State University-Springfield | MO | $47,267 | 44 | 90.5% |
| 40 | Montana State University | MT | $45,392 | 16 | 82.1% |
| 41 | Colorado State University | CO | $42,034 | 75 | 88.5% |
| 42 | Temple University | PA | $35,728 | 4 | 80.4% |
| 43 | University of Vermont | VT | $34,672 | 19 | 65.3% |
| 44 | University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez | PR | $30,252 | 34 | 56.5% |
33 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.
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Frequently asked questions
Which college has the highest-paid Plant Sciences graduates?
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ($82,487), South Dakota State University ($78,494), California State University-Fresno ($77,034), University of California-Davis ($72,335), California State University-Chico ($68,629) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.
How much do Plant Sciences majors make?
The median across 44 colleges is $56,448 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $30,252 to $82,487.
Which colleges have the biggest Plant Sciences programs?
By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Iowa State University (112), West Texas A & M University (87), Oregon State University (83), Colorado State University (75), California State University-Fresno (63).
Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?
Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.
Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Plant Sciences". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.
