undergradly.
Major · Biological & Biomedical Sciences

A pre-grad-school ramp into plant science and agency research

Botany/Plant Biology (CIP 26.0301) is the undergraduate program that studies plants, plant microbes, and the ecosystems that sustain them. About 318 students complete it across 44 institutions, with bachelor’s grads earning $52,987 — modest entry pay that reflects how often the named higher-paying careers require a master’s or doctorate.

Schools offering
44
Annual completions
318
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$53k

About this major

Botany/Plant Biology (CIP 26.0301) is the biological-sciences program built around the scientific study of plants, related microbial organisms, and plant habitats. The CIP definition covers plant anatomy, phytochemistry, cytology, plant genetics, plant morphology and physiology, plant ecology, plant taxonomy and systematics, paleobotany, and applications of biophysics and molecular biology. Most programs deliver this as wet-lab courses, greenhouse and growth-chamber work, herbarium specimen study, and field plots across full growing seasons, capped by a senior research project tied to a faculty grant.

Students who do well here arrive curious about how plants work from chloroplast biochemistry to forest-canopy ecology. The major rewards comfort with multi-month experimental timelines, patience for taxonomy and field identification, and willingness to layer R, Python, and GIS on top of the bio core. Bachelor’s-level destinations cluster at USDA-ARS and USDA-NRCS plant-science technician roles, USFS forest-tech contracts, state department of agriculture inspector positions, Cooperative Extension slots, and seed-company QC technician roles at Corteva, Bayer Crop Science, and Syngenta.

One grounded observation about scale: 318 students complete this CIP across 44 institutions, with bachelor’s grads earning $52,987. The small national footprint reflects administrative grouping rather than student interest, since most plant-bio undergraduates at four-year universities are reported under Biology, General (CIP 26.0101, 83,027 completions). Soil and plant scientists at $71,410 with 5.4% growth is the strongest bachelor’s-accessible track, while Postsecondary biology teachers ($83,460, doctoral) and Natural sciences managers ($161,180, mid-career) sit further along the curve. Top producers include Oregon State (49), NC State (28), Cal Poly Humboldt (23), and UC Berkeley (21).

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Biological science teachers, postsecondary $83k +7.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Biological scientists, all other $93k +1.2% Bachelor's degree
Soil and plant scientists $71k +5.4% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$53k

Who this major is for

Strong fit signals: you arrived curious about plants as biological systems rather than as decoration; you can see yourself running plot trials at a USDA-ARS field station or curating herbarium specimens during summers; a USDA-NRCS technician role or Cooperative Extension slot sounds like a satisfying first job; you’ll layer R, GIS, and plant-genomics tools onto the taxonomy and physiology core, which opens climate-tech and ag-biotech roles at firms like Indigo, Climate Corp, Pairwise, and Inari; and Soil and plant scientist work at a $71,410 median with 5.4% growth reads as the right mid-career shape.

Reasons to pause: bachelor’s grads earn $52,987, and the higher-paying tracked titles require graduate credentials. Postsecondary biology teaching at $83,460 carries a doctoral requirement, and the Natural sciences manager wage of $161,180 reflects mid-career placement after years of research, not entry. Students who want maximum biology flexibility for pre-med or biotech may find Biology, General (CIP 26.0101, 83,027 completions) keeps more doors open while still teaching plant biology along the way. Verify your target program has the herbarium access, field stations, USDA-ARS or land-grant partnerships, and seasonal-tech feeder relationships that turn the major into the agency or graduate-school ramp it promises to be.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Botany/Plant Biology

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 0 49 49
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC 0 28 28
California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA 0 23 23
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 0 21 21
University of California-Davis Davis, CA 0 16 16
Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN 0 16 16
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 14 14
Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH 0 13 13
University of Vermont Burlington, VT 0 13 13
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 0 13 13
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biology/Biological Sciences, General

83,027 completions/yr

Neuroscience

9,625 completions/yr

Biochemistry

8,736 completions/yr

Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology

3,392 completions/yr

Nutrition Sciences

3,240 completions/yr

Microbiology, General

2,120 completions/yr

Human Biology

2,094 completions/yr

Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other

2,089 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Botany/Plant Biology majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition centers on plants, plant microbes, and plant-habitat ecology, with coursework in plant anatomy, phytochemistry, cytology, plant genetics, morphology and physiology, plant taxonomy and systematics, paleobotany, and applications of biophysics and molecular biology. Programs blend wet-lab work with greenhouse hours, herbarium specimen study, and field plots that often run a full growing season. Statistics, R, and GIS show up in the upper division as quantitative ecology and genomics enter every modern lab. A senior research project tied to a faculty grant is the norm at top producers like Oregon State and NC State.
What jobs do graduates land at the bachelor’s level?
The packet names four BLS occupations and the realistic bachelor’s-entry roles are Soil and plant scientists ($71,410 median, 5.4% growth) and Biological scientists, all other ($93,330, 1.2% growth). Real-world destinations include USDA-ARS or USDA-NRCS plant-science technician roles, USFS forest-tech positions, state department of agriculture inspectors, Cooperative Extension educator slots, native-plant nursery growers, and seed-company QC technicians at Corteva, Bayer Crop Science, Syngenta, or BASF Ag. Botanical-garden and herbarium roles exist but most curator titles require a master’s.
Do I need a master’s or PhD?
For most of the named tracked-career titles, yes. Postsecondary biological science teaching ($83,460, 7.3% growth) requires a doctorate, and the Natural sciences manager wage of $161,180 reflects mid-career placement after years of research-lead experience. Plant-pathology and plant-genetics faculty and lead-scientist roles at USDA-ARS or land-grant ag-experiment stations are graduate tracks by default. The bachelor’s opens technician, grower, extension, and inspector lanes; the master’s or PhD opens the botanist, plant scientist, and tenure-track titles.
Why is the national footprint so small at 318 graduates?
Most students who study plant biology at four-year universities get filed under Biology, General (CIP 26.0101, 83,027 completions) rather than under the dedicated Botany/Plant Biology code. The 318-completion figure across 44 institutions reflects administrative grouping more than student interest, since many large plant-bio departments report into the broader biology umbrella. Land-grant universities and a handful of programs with strong herbarium and field-station traditions still report under 26.0301, including Oregon State (49 bachelor’s graduates), NC State (28), Cal Poly Humboldt (23), and UC Berkeley (21). Treat the small footprint as a labeling artifact, not as evidence of an exclusive cohort.
How does this differ from Plant Sciences (CIP 01.1101)?
Botany/Plant Biology (26.0301) sits in the biological-sciences family and emphasizes plant science as basic biology — anatomy, physiology, genetics, taxonomy, ecology, paleobotany. Plant Sciences, General (01.1101) sits in the agriculture family and skews toward food-system production, agronomy, soil management, and seed-industry pipelines at land-grant universities. The packet flags 01.1101 as a cross-reference for a reason: pick 26.0301 if you want a biology-side ramp into research, herbarium, conservation, or graduate work; pick 01.1101 if you want the agribusiness, USDA-extension, and seed-company pipeline as the primary career goal.
Where do climate-tech and gene-editing fit into Botany now?
Drought-resilient and disease-resistant crop work, carbon-credit agronomy at firms like Indigo Ag and Climate Corp, and gene-editing crop startups like Pairwise and Inari are creating plant-genomics and quantitative-ecology lanes that sit alongside the traditional agency and herbarium tracks. The Soil and plant scientists occupation is projected to grow 5.4%, the strongest signal in the packet for bachelor’s-accessible work. Students who layer R, Python, GIS, and genomics tools onto the bio core stand out for both graduate admissions and the small but expanding set of climate-tech and ag-biotech roles.