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Major · Education

Licensure-track training for rural high-school ag classrooms and FFA programs

Agricultural Teacher Education (CIP 13.1301) prepares you to teach vocational agricultural programs at secondary and postsecondary levels, ending in supervised student teaching that feeds a state teaching license. About 655 students complete it across 75 colleges, with bachelor’s grads earning $51,376 and associate’s-only completers $34,368.

Schools offering
75
Annual completions
655
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$50k

About this major

Agricultural Teacher Education (CIP 13.1301) prepares you to teach vocational agricultural programs at secondary and, with graduate work, postsecondary levels. Coursework runs across three tracks: agricultural content (animal and plant science, soils, agricultural mechanics, agribusiness, food systems), education-school requirements (adolescent development, classroom management, curriculum design, methods specific to teaching agriculture, special-education and English-learner instruction), and a full-semester supervised student-teaching placement that doubles as your introduction to running an FFA chapter, supervising Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects, and preparing teams for Career Development Events (CDEs). Programs are explicitly designed to satisfy state initial-licensure requirements, which is why the major lives in education-school catalogs alongside other content-area teacher-prep tracks.

The major fits students with a working background in agriculture — 4-H or FFA participation, a family farm, or summers spent on ag-research crews — who want to keep working in agriculture but as a teacher rather than a producer. Day-to-day classroom work rewards patience with novice learners, comfort moving between a chalkboard lesson and a tractor-shop demonstration, and the willingness to handle the bureaucratic side of public-school employment: licensure exams, observation cycles, and state-curriculum alignment. Strong ag-content knowledge matters, but so does the temperament to advise an FFA chapter into the evenings and on weekends during competition season.

One grounded observation about scale and structure: 655 students complete this CIP across 75 colleges, with bachelor’s grads earning $51,376 and associate’s-only completers $34,368 — a gap reflecting the bachelor’s-plus-licensure floor for K-12 ag teaching. The headline ($63,910 for CTE secondary teachers) sits below STEM-teacher pay but comes paired with stable rural-district demand, defined-benefit pensions, and frequent signing bonuses in ag states. Top producers — Cal State Fresno (52), Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (51), University of Florida (39), South Dakota State (36), Cal Poly Pomona (33), Iowa State (30), Oklahoma State (30) — are land-grant universities and state polytechnics with mature ag-extension programs and on-campus farms. The small completions total partly reflects administrative grouping: many universities report agricultural-education students under the broader Agricultural Education-General CIP (01.0801) rather than 13.1301 specifically.

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
Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary $61k +0.7% Bachelor's degree
Career/technical education teachers, secondary school $64k -1.8% Bachelor's degree
Education teachers, postsecondary $72k +2.1% Doctoral or professional degree
Career/technical education teachers, middle school $64k -2.0% Bachelor's degree
Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary $86k +4.1% Doctoral or professional 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

$50k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$34k

Bachelor's

$51k

Who this major is for

Good signs this major fits: you grew up in or around agriculture and want to teach the next generation of ag students rather than leave the field for a city career; you’re comfortable with the year-long student-teaching commitment and the rigid state-licensure pathway that comes with the credential; you find the FFA-chapter advisor role appealing rather than burdensome, since coaching CDE teams and supervising SAE projects sits squarely inside the job; you’re drawn to land-grant or ag-state schools (Cal State Fresno, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech) where the major is most established and student-teaching placements connect to working high-school ag programs; and you’re open to teaching in rural districts where chronic shortages translate into signing bonuses, loan-forgiveness programs, and faster hiring.

Reasons to pause: entry pay starts modest and varies sharply by region — $40,000-$50,000 in lower-paying Southern and Plains districts versus $60,000+ in higher-paying ag regions — and the named SOC growth figures (-1.8% for CTE secondary, -2% for CTE middle school) reflect overall K-12 enrollment decline. The market is also genuinely niche: only a fraction of US high schools run a full agricultural program, and those that do usually employ one or two ag teachers, so geographic flexibility matters. If your interest leans toward agricultural content rather than K-12 teaching specifically, the broader Agricultural Education-General CIP (01.0801, the cross-referenced sibling) leaves more room for Cooperative Extension Service work, USDA roles, and agribusiness destinations without committing you to the licensure track. Verify state approval and exam-pass-rate data with your target program before enrolling — for licensure-driven majors, that detail outranks ranking lists.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Agricultural Teacher Education

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA 0 52 52
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Tifton, GA 0 51 51
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 0 39 39
South Dakota State University Brookings, SD 0 36 36
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA 0 33 33
Iowa State University Ames, IA 0 30 30
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK 0 30 30
Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX 0 27 27
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 0 25 25
North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC 0 23 23
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Physical Education Teaching and Coaching

4,787 completions/yr

Teacher Education, Multiple Levels

3,430 completions/yr

Music Teacher Education

3,229 completions/yr

English/Language Arts Teacher Education

1,846 completions/yr

Social Studies Teacher Education

1,336 completions/yr

Mathematics Teacher Education

1,090 completions/yr

Art Teacher Education

1,062 completions/yr

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas, Other

912 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Agricultural Teacher Education majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework splits across three buckets. Agricultural content fills a substantial slice — animal and plant science, soils, agricultural mechanics, agribusiness and ag economics, food systems, and sometimes natural resources or horticulture. Education coursework layers on adolescent development, classroom management, curriculum design, methods specific to teaching agriculture, and special-education and English-learner instruction. The capstone is a full-semester supervised student-teaching placement in a real high-school ag program, where you co-advise the local FFA chapter, supervise Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects, and prepare students for Career Development Events (CDEs).
Do I need a state teaching license, and how does that work?
Yes — to teach in a US public secondary school you need a state-issued teaching license, and ag teachers usually hold an agricultural-education or career-and-technical-education credential specific to that subject. The standard package is a bachelor’s from a state-approved educator-prep program, passing scores on the Praxis or a state equivalent, an agriculture content-area exam, supervised student teaching, and a background check. Some states also require an additional pedagogy assessment such as edTPA. Reciprocity exists when moving across states but is partial — verify your destination state accepts your program before enrolling.
What jobs do graduates actually land?
The named entry-level destinations are CTE secondary teachers ($63,910 median, -1.8% projected growth) and CTE middle school teachers ($63,620, -2%) — both list a bachelor’s as the typical credential. Many graduates also move into 4-H Extension agent and county Cooperative Extension Service roles, which sit in the USDA-affiliated land-grant university system and aren’t coded under the K-12 SOCs. Postsecondary destinations — agricultural sciences teachers postsecondary ($86,350, 4.1% growth) and education teachers postsecondary ($72,090, 2.1%) — pay more but require a doctorate and are mid-career outcomes, not entry-level.
Where are the strongest Agricultural Teacher Education programs?
Land-grant universities and state polytechnics dominate. California State University-Fresno graduates the largest cohort at 52 per year, followed by Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (51) in Georgia and the University of Florida (39). South Dakota State (36), Cal Poly Pomona (33), Iowa State (30), Oklahoma State (30), Texas Tech (27), Nebraska-Lincoln (25), and North Carolina A&T (23) round out the top ten. Geography matters because licensure is state-specific and because school districts that hire ag teachers cluster in agricultural states — staying in-state for your training generally simplifies the licensure pathway.
Why are there only 655 completions a year across 75 colleges?
The number is small partly because many universities roll agricultural-education students into the broader Agricultural Education-General CIP (01.0801, listed as a cross-reference in the program data) rather than reporting them under 13.1301 specifically. The major is also genuinely niche — only a fraction of US high schools offer a full agricultural program, and those that do typically employ one or two ag teachers. The combined effect is a small but stable producer base concentrated at land-grant universities, with persistent demand from rural and ag-state districts that struggle to fill openings.
Is there really a shortage of agricultural teachers?
Yes, particularly in rural districts. The American Association for Agricultural Education has flagged unfilled ag-teacher positions in most states for years, and ag-state school districts often offer signing bonuses, housing assistance, or loan-forgiveness incentives to attract certified teachers. The named SOC growth figures (-1.8% and -2%) reflect overall K-12 enrollment decline rather than ag-specific demand. Entry pay tracks the local district scale — typically $40,000-$50,000 in lower-paying Southern and Plains states, climbing past $60,000 in higher-paying ag regions, with master’s completion and pension benefits significantly improving total compensation over a career.