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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

$92,038
281
100–79%
$88,402
505
79–39%
$96,149
287
35–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$87,912
274
400–1240
$93,442
484
1240–1370
$91,816
243
1380–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings by acceptance rate and institution category

$81,247p10 $98,702p90 STEM, Business & Military Public University Religious University 20–30% 10–20% 0–10% SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry · $87,369 Wentworth Institute of Technology · $91,967 University of Georgia · $112,672 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $92,903 North Carolina State University · $90,038 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $89,096 University of Tennessee, Knoxville · $95,485 Clemson University · $93,339 Purdue University · $90,998 University of Maryland, College Park · $96,471 University of California, Davis · $90,264 Auburn University · $86,174 Ohio State University · $88,740 North Carolina A&T State University · $83,064 Texas A&M University - College Station · $92,867 Virginia Tech · $93,056 Pennsylvania State University · $93,239 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $86,500 Rutgers University - New Brunswick · $90,767 University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff · $92,787 Oklahoma State University · $88,443 University of Arkansas · $86,106 University of Idaho · $81,247 Oregon State University · $79,641 University of Nebraska, Lincoln · $91,212 Western Michigan University · $101,341 Michigan State University · $92,512 University of Arizona · $77,823 Mississippi State University · $88,262 South Dakota State University · $93,317 University of Wisconsin - River Falls · $64,810 Iowa State University · $98,702 University of Hawaii at Manoa · $82,706 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point · $124,199 North Dakota State University · $88,401 Utah State University · $88,894 University of Kentucky · $86,939 Kansas State University · $94,785 Brigham Young University - Idaho · $94,237 University of Florida · $90,660 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $100,290 Florida A&M University · $74,236 Cornell University · $96,307 STEM, Business & Military: mean $89,668 Public University: mean $90,772 Religious University: mean $94,237 20–30%: mean $95,475 10–20%: mean $74,236 0–10%: mean $96,307 All colleges: p10 $81,247 All colleges: p90 $98,702
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Biological & Agricultural Engineering 45 1,073 56% / 44% 5% $90,083 99%
Agricultural and Biological Engineering 22 441 56% / 44% 3% $90,094 99%
Biological Systems Engineering 5 171 51% / 49% 3% $95,183 100%
Biological Engineering 6 93 45% / 55% 8% $88,797 98%
Biological and Agricultural Engineering 2 74 51% / 49% 3% $91,452 99%
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering 3 64 72% / 28% 5% $93,473 100%
Biosystems Engineering 2 60 45% / 55% 0% $81,998 100%
Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering 1 56 75% / 25% 0% $88,740 99%
Forest Engineering 1 49 71% / 29% 0% $75,656 100%
Biological and Ecological Engineering 1 27 52% / 48% 4% $86,872 95%
Bioprocess Engineering 1 20 65% / 35% 100% $87,364
Paper Science and Engineering 2 15 60% / 40% 0% $112,770 100%
Paper and Bioprocess Engineering 1 3 67% / 33% 0% $87,402
Biotechnology 1 0 $90,700
Biotechnology Engineering 1 0 $91,549