Plant Sciences Degree
50 schools compared · Average earnings $42,710/yr
Schools Offering
50
Avg Grad Earnings
$42,710/yr
Avg DegreeWorth Score
50/100
AI Automation Risk
High
46% task exposure
Best Schools for Plant Sciences
Top 50 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | AI Risk | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA |
75 70–78 |
$60,443/yr | High | 27.2x |
| 2 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA |
73 68–73 |
$63,129/yr | High | 15.7x |
| 3 | South Dakota State University Brookings, SD |
73 68–73 |
$58,787/yr | High | 17.1x |
| 4 | Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR |
70 66–69 |
$49,536/yr | High | 14.9x |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville Platteville, WI |
69 64–71 |
$47,910/yr | High | 18.2x |
| 6 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, WI |
68 65–68 |
$48,791/yr | High | 14.5x |
| 7 | Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO |
68 63–68 |
$48,546/yr | High | 14.6x |
| 8 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA |
68 64–68 |
$46,152/yr | High | 16.2x |
| 9 | California State University-Chico Chico, CA |
68 62–71 |
$43,944/yr | High | 20.9x |
| 10 | University of Minnesota-Crookston Crookston, MN |
67 64–66 |
$57,915/yr | High | 10.9x |
| 11 | Kansas State University Manhattan, KS |
67 63–67 |
$50,115/yr | High | 13.1x |
| 12 | Iowa State University Ames, IA |
66 63–65 |
$49,393/yr | High | 11.9x |
| 13 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE |
66 62–67 |
$47,716/yr | High | 13.5x |
| 14 | Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO |
66 62–67 |
$47,170/yr | High | 13.6x |
| 15 | University of Idaho Moscow, ID |
66 61–67 |
$44,559/yr | High | 14.8x |
| 16 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA |
66 62–66 |
$44,038/yr | High | 15.0x |
| 17 | North Dakota State University-Main Campus Fargo, ND |
65 62–65 |
$49,048/yr | High | 10.3x |
| 18 | Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS |
64 61–63 |
$45,994/yr | High | 11.0x |
| 19 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC |
63 59–65 |
$42,008/yr | High | 14.0x |
| 20 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL |
62 57–63 |
$36,372/yr | High | 17.2x |
| 21 | University of Wyoming Laramie, WY |
62 56–64 |
$36,062/yr | High | 18.2x |
| 22 | Washington State University Pullman, WA |
61 58–61 |
$47,531/yr | High | 8.1x |
| 23 | University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO |
60 56–61 |
$46,627/yr | High | 9.4x |
| 24 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL |
59 54–62 |
$45,411/yr | High | 9.5x |
| 25 | Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX |
59 56–60 |
$45,163/yr | High | 7.6x |
| 26 | Chadron State College Chadron, NE |
59 55–60 |
$36,558/yr | High | 13.6x |
| 27 | Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH |
58 54–59 |
$42,712/yr | High | 9.4x |
| 28 | University of Georgia Athens, GA |
58 54–58 |
$40,794/yr | High | 8.1x |
| 29 | Clemson University Clemson, SC |
57 54–58 |
$46,395/yr | High | 6.2x |
| 30 | Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN |
57 54–57 |
$37,716/yr | High | 8.9x |
| 31 | University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR |
57 52–59 |
$30,053/yr | High | 18.2x |
| 32 | University of California-Davis Davis, CA |
56 53–57 |
$43,873/yr | High | 6.2x |
| 33 | Auburn University Auburn, AL |
56 51–59 |
$39,024/yr | High | 10.5x |
| 34 | Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO |
56 53–56 |
$36,173/yr | High | 10.4x |
| 35 | Montana State University Bozeman, MT |
56 51–58 |
$33,311/yr | High | 13.3x |
| 36 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA |
55 52–57 |
$42,861/yr | High | 7.0x |
| 37 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR |
55 50–57 |
$38,397/yr | High | 9.6x |
| 38 | West Virginia University Morgantown, WV |
55 53–54 |
$37,454/yr | High | 8.7x |
| 39 | Texas A & M University-Kingsville Kingsville, TX |
55 49–59 |
$34,744/yr | High | 12.8x |
| 40 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN |
54 51–55 |
$40,355/yr | High | 7.0x |
| 41 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR |
54 49–56 |
$38,397/yr | High | 8.9x |
| 42 | University of Delaware Newark, DE |
52 48–53 |
$39,362/yr | High | 5.1x |
| 43 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO |
52 48–53 |
$36,980/yr | High | 6.2x |
| 44 | Utah State University Logan, UT |
51 42–58 |
$28,091/yr | High | 14.8x |
| 45 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA |
50 45–51 |
$37,170/yr | High | 4.4x |
| 46 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ |
49 45–50 |
$36,362/yr | High | 4.3x |
| 47 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI |
49 44–51 |
$35,701/yr | High | 6.3x |
| 48 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN |
48 44–51 |
$35,216/yr | High | 5.9x |
| 49 | University of Vermont Burlington, VT |
45 41–47 |
$33,221/yr | High | 3.4x |
| 50 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY |
38 33–40 |
$32,236/yr | High | 0.9x |
Highest Earning Plant Sciences Programs
Schools where Plant Sciences graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.
| School | 1-Year Earnings | DW Score | AI Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | $63,129/yr | 73 | High |
| California State University-Fresno | $60,443/yr | 75 | High |
| South Dakota State University | $58,787/yr | 73 | High |
| University of Minnesota-Crookston | $57,915/yr | 67 | High |
| Kansas State University | $50,115/yr | 67 | High |
| Arkansas State University | $49,536/yr | 70 | High |
| Iowa State University | $49,393/yr | 66 | High |
| North Dakota State University-Main Campus | $49,048/yr | 65 | High |
| University of Wisconsin-River Falls | $48,791/yr | 68 | High |
| Southeast Missouri State University | $48,546/yr | 68 | High |
Best ROI for Plant Sciences
Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Plant Sciences.
| School | ROI Multiple | Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| California State University-Fresno | 27.2x | $60,443/yr | 75 |
| California State University-Chico | 20.9x | $43,944/yr | 68 |
| University of Wyoming | 18.2x | $36,062/yr | 62 |
| University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez | 18.2x | $30,053/yr | 57 |
| University of Wisconsin-Platteville | 18.2x | $47,910/yr | 69 |
| University of Florida | 17.2x | $36,372/yr | 62 |
| South Dakota State University | 17.1x | $58,787/yr | 73 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 16.2x | $46,152/yr | 68 |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 15.7x | $63,129/yr | 73 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | 15.0x | $44,038/yr | 66 |
Related Majors
Explore similar fields of study.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Plant Sciences graduates earn?
Across 50 schools, Plant Sciences graduates earn an average of $42,710 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $28,091 to $63,129 depending on the school.
What is the AI automation risk for Plant Sciences?
Plant Sciences is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 46% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means some career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.
Which school has the best Plant Sciences program?
Based on our DegreeWorth Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), California State University-Fresno ranks #1 for Plant Sciences with a score of 75/100 and graduate earnings of $60,443/yr.
Is a Plant Sciences degree worth it?
On average, Plant Sciences graduates earn 11.4x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a strong return on investment.
About This Data
This page aggregates Plant Sciences programs across 50 schools using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034), and AI automation risk research from OpenAI and academic institutions.
The DegreeWorth Score (0–100) combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and return on investment. Each school's program page includes three AI scenarios (optimistic, base case, pessimistic) showing how automation could affect 10-year earnings.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034
(employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE.
Last updated 2025.