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Dairy Science Major

Dairy Science

143 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
10 Master's Degrees Annually
#608 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Dairy Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dairy science graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree 100
Associate Degree 24
Basic Certificate 16
Master’s Degree 8
Doctor’s Degree 4
Undergraduate Certificate 2

What Dairy Science Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to dairy science were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Dairy Science Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in dairy science should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

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  • Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

Skills for Dairy Science Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to dairy science:

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  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Dairy Science Majors

Dairy Science majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Dairy Science Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with dairy science:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Agricultural Sciences Professors 7.9% $84,640
Animal Scientists 4.9% $58,380
First-Line Supervisors of Animal Husbandry and Animal Care Workers 2.1% $46,960

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Dairy Science?

100 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
73% Percent Women
15% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
The major attracts more women than men. About 73% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of dairy science majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 0
Black or African American 2
Hispanic or Latino 10
White 81
International Students 2
Other Races/Ethnicities 5

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Dairy Science, too. About 2.0% of those with this major are international students.

Some careers associated with dairy science require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for dairy science careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma 0.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 12.2%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 14.2%
Some College Courses 2.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 3.9%
Bachelor’s Degree 18.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 1.1%
Master’s Degree 10.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 0.2%
Doctoral Degree 28.3%
Post-Doctoral Training 8.7%

Online Dairy Science Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 1 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 4 0
Bachelor’s Degree 0 0
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 4 0
Post-Master’s 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 2 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dairy science.

Major Number of Grads
Animal Sciences, General 7,680
Animal Sciences, Other 204
Poultry Science 177
Animal Health 130
Livestock Management 33
Animal Nutrition 10
Agricultural Animal Breeding 8

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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