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International Agriculture

Types of Degrees International Agriculture Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing International Agriculture may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	75
Master’s Degree	132

What International Agriculture Majors Need to Know

Programs in International Agriculture emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that International Agriculture graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in International Agriculture emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Biology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills developed in a International Agriculture program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Active Learning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to International Agriculture careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, International Agriculture graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by International Agriculture professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Spreadsheet software	Spreadsheet software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for International Agriculture graduates include:

• Irrigation Teacher
• Farm Management Teacher
• Poultry Husbandry Teacher
• Aquaculture Professor
• Agricultural Engineering Technology Instructor
• Agricultural Economics Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• College Professor
• Farm Instructor
• Agricultural Science Teacher
• Animal Anatomy Teacher
• Agriculture Professor
• Animal Physiology Teacher
• Floriculture Teacher
• Agricultural Education Professor

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	43.2%
Post-doctoral training	21.1%
Bachelor’s degree	19.0%
Master’s degree	12.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.1%
Postsecondary certificate	2.0%
Post-master’s certificate	0.7%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in International Agriculture?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 60.4% of International Agriculture degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	125	60.4%
Men	82	39.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of International Agriculture graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	84	40.6%
Asian	5	2.4%
Hispanic or Latino	11	5.3%
Black or African American	4	1.9%
Two or More Races	7	3.4%
Race Unknown	71	34.3%
International Students	25	12.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do International Agriculture Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of International Agriculture graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$52,222
4 years	$46,231
5 years	$58,234

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $58,234 — roughly 12% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online International Agriculture Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for International Agriculture. 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
Master’s	1	0

^{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 International Agriculture Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, International Agriculture graduates earn a median of $46,231 four years after completion — roughly 22% 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
Agriculture Ag Operations	01
Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services	01.05
Agricultural and Food Products Processing	01.04
Agricultural Business and Management	01.01
Agricultural Mechanization	01.02
Agricultural Production Operations	01.03
Agricultural Public Services	01.08
Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other	01.99
Agriculture, General	01.00
Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs	01.13
Animal Sciences	01.09
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	01.06

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.