Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding

Types of Degrees Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many agricultural & horticultural plant breeding graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Doctor’s Degree	24
Master’s Degree	17

What Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, agricultural and horticultural plant breeding majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.

Skills for Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding Majors

When studying agricultural and horticultural plant breeding, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• 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.

Abilities for Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding Majors

A major in agricultural and horticultural plant breeding will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with agricultural and horticultural plant breeding:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Agricultural Sciences Professors	7.9%	$84,640
Soil and Plant Scientists	9.0%	$63,950

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding?

This major attracts more men than women. About 59% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of agricultural and horticultural plant breeding majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	11
International Students	3
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding. About 17.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding

Some degrees associated with agricultural and horticultural plant breeding may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to agricultural and horticultural plant breeding have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	8.6%
Master’s Degree	20.5%
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.	0.4%
Doctoral Degree	49.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	20.4%

Online Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding 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)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	4	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	4	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to agricultural and horticultural plant breeding.

Major	Number of Grads
Agronomy & Crop Science	1,268
Horticultural Science	854
Plant Science, General	668
Range Science & Management	196
Plant Protection & Integrated Pest Management	159
Plant Sciences, Other	118

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.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Lufa Farms under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.