Back

Biological & Agricultural Engineering

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

This major applies engineering principles to living systems—plants, animals, microbes, ecosystems, and farms. Core classes cover biology, chemistry, fluid mechanics, and machine design, with electives in irrigation, food processing, bioenergy, or precision agriculture. Hands-on work might involve building irrigation systems, designing greenhouse climate controls, or using drones to monitor crops.

Many programs are based at land-grant universities with their own research farms, so field work is built into the curriculum.

What you'll do after college

Grads work for agribusinesses, food companies, equipment makers (like John Deere), government agencies (like the USDA), and consulting firms—designing efficient irrigation systems, sustainable food processing plants, biofuels operations, or smart-farming tools. The work blends time outdoors with engineering analysis and computer modeling.

Demand is steady because the world keeps needing food, and the field is increasingly relevant to climate adaptation and sustainability.

Famous graduates

  • George Washington Carver — Revolutionary agricultural scientist and inventor; B.S. in Agriculture from Iowa State University
  • Jay Keasling — Synthetic biology pioneer; B.S. in Agricultural Engineering and Biology from University of Nebraska

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$84,505
267
100–75%
$82,594
525
75–39%
$88,533
287
35–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$84,705
231
400–1240
$82,100
527
1240–1380
$89,146
249
1380–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings vs. selectivity rank

$75,704p10 $96,660p90 STEM Non-Research Public University Religious University Public University 1–15 Private University 1–30 Wentworth Institute of Technology · $83,926 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University · $80,521 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $81,190 Clemson University · $91,294 North Carolina A&T State University · $79,015 University of Maryland, College Park · $99,642 University of California, Davis · $84,939 Auburn University · $81,140 University of Tennessee, Knoxville · $89,927 Ohio State University · $74,845 Texas A&M University - College Station · $85,116 Virginia Tech · $81,085 Pennsylvania State University · $83,541 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry · $83,715 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $85,582 Oklahoma State University · $88,338 Rutgers University - New Brunswick · $88,137 University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff · $89,711 Oregon State University · $75,150 University of Arkansas · $86,106 University of Idaho · $83,977 University of Missouri · $82,000 University of Nebraska, Lincoln · $83,400 Western Michigan University · $101,344 Michigan State University · $81,729 Mississippi State University · $86,168 Iowa State University · $82,062 South Dakota State University · $83,782 University of Arizona · $78,641 University of Wisconsin - River Falls · $69,103 University of Hawaii at Manoa · $78,897 University of Kentucky · $98,090 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point · $103,295 North Dakota State University · $96,660 Utah State University · $74,922 Kansas State University · $88,529 Brigham Young University - Idaho · $85,569 University of Florida · $75,704 University of Georgia · $94,180 Purdue University · $86,975 North Carolina State University · $87,663 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $88,581 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $80,551 Cornell University · $96,123 STEM Non-Research: mean $83,926 Public University: mean $85,188 Religious University: mean $85,569 Public University 1–15: mean $85,609 Private University 1–30: mean $96,123 All colleges: p10 $75,704 All colleges: p90 $96,660
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Biological & Agricultural Engineering 46 1,079 56% / 44% 5% $84,452 98%
Agricultural and Biological Engineering 22 441 56% / 44% 3% $86,681 98%
Biological Systems Engineering 5 171 51% / 49% 3% $83,968 99%
Biological Engineering 7 99 45% / 55% 7% $84,746 96%
Biological and Agricultural Engineering 2 74 51% / 49% 3% $86,390 94%
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering 3 64 72% / 28% 5% $87,501 99%
Biosystems Engineering 2 60 45% / 55% 0% $79,890 98%
Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering 1 56 75% / 25% 0% $74,845 97%
Forest Engineering 1 49 71% / 29% 0% $74,520 97%
Biological and Ecological Engineering 1 27 52% / 48% 4% $76,292 97%
Bioprocess Engineering 1 20 65% / 35% 100% $83,640
Paper Science and Engineering 2 15 60% / 40% 0% $102,320 100%
Paper and Bioprocess Engineering 1 3 67% / 33% 0% $84,215