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General Animal Sciences

Types of Degrees General Animal Sciences Majors Are Earning

People majoring in General Animal Sciences can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	21
Associate’s Degree	182
Bachelor’s Degree	6,660
Master’s Degree	492
Doctor’s Degree	172

What General Animal Sciences Majors Need to Know

Coursework for General Animal Sciences emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Animal Sciences graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in General Animal Sciences emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a General Animal Sciences program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to General Animal Sciences careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Animal Sciences graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.2 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Scheduling Work and Activities	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Animal Sciences professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
ESRI ArcGIS software	Geographic information system	—
Geographic information system GIS software	Geographic information system	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Order management software	Procurement software	—
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)	Web page creation and editing software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Animal Sciences graduates include:

• Adjunct Instructor
• County Extension Agent
• Farm Business Management Agent
• Home Services Consultant
• Family and Consumer Sciences Educator (FACS Educator)
• Extension Service Specialist
• Agriculture Consultant
• Teacher
• Home Agent
• County Agent
• Farm Management Advisor
• Feed Management Advisor
• Farm Demonstrator
• Extension Agent
• Cooperative Extension Agent

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Animal Sciences graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	47.9%
Bachelor’s degree	14.9%
Doctoral degree	13.3%
Post-doctoral training	4.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	4.3%
Postsecondary certificate	4.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.7%
Less than a high school diploma	2.7%
Some college courses	0.9%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Animal Sciences?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 82.4% of General Animal Sciences degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	6,211	82.4%
Men	1,324	17.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Animal Sciences graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	4,971	66.0%
Asian	249	3.3%
Hispanic or Latino	1,283	17.0%
Black or African American	328	4.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	24	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	6	0.1%
Two or More Races	335	4.4%
Race Unknown	127	1.7%
International Students	212	2.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Animal Sciences Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of General Animal Sciences graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$34,873
4 years	$43,315
5 years	$54,045

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $54,045 — roughly 55% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online General Animal Sciences Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for General Animal Sciences. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	3	3
Bachelor’s	2	5
Master’s	2	3

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in General Animal Sciences Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Animal Sciences graduates earn a median of $43,315 four years after completion — roughly 14% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Animal Sciences	01.09
Agricultural Animal Breeding	01.0902
Animal Health	01.0903
Animal Nutrition	01.0904
Animal Sciences, Other	01.0999
Dairy Science	01.0905
Livestock Management	01.0906
Poultry Science	01.0907
Agronomy and Crop Science	01.1102
Plant Sciences, General	01.1101
Animal/Livestock Husbandry and Production	01.0302
Apiculture	01.0310

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.