Best Agricultural Engineering Programs in the South (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Engineering Colleges in the South
Regional list from Agricultural Engineering Programs in the United States
This page ranks the 9 Agricultural Engineering programs in the South by the median earnings of Agricultural Engineering graduates four years after completing. University of Maryland-College Park leads the list with median earnings of $93,440 four years after completing, followed by Clemson University at $88,338 and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University at $88,315.
Across the listed programs, the figure ranges from $93,440 to $64,791, with a median of $85,141. For 1 of the 9 programs the earnings figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one.
Every program on the list is at a public institution. Texas A&M University-College Station ranks 25th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.
University of Georgia posts the lowest average net price at $13,936, while University of Kentucky has the highest admission rate, admitting 93% of applicants.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Program Earnings | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Admission rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Maryland-College Park · College Park, MD | $93,440 | $15,678 | $2,962 | 44.8% |
| University of Maryland-College Park reports median earnings of $93,440 for its Agricultural Engineering graduates four years after completing, the highest on this list. | |||||
| 2 | Clemson University · Clemson, SC | $88,338 | $22,253 | $13,607 | 38.3% |
| Clemson University ranks 2nd on this page, with an admission rate of 38% and median earnings of $88,338 for its Agricultural Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 3 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Blacksburg, VA | $88,315 | $24,953 | $11,689 | 54.8% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University left with a median of $21,500 in federal loans, while its Agricultural Engineering completers earned a median of $88,315 four years after completing. | |||||
| 4 | Texas A&M University-College Station · College Station, TX | $85,393 | $21,315 | $12,784 | 57.4% |
| Texas A&M University-College Station holds an Azimuth composite rank of 25th among nonprofit four-year institutions and reports median earnings of $85,393 for its Agricultural Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 5 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville · Knoxville, TN | $85,141 | $18,976 | $10,029 | 41.6% |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville posts an average net price of $18,976 and median earnings of $85,141 for its Agricultural Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 6 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh · Raleigh, NC | $84,848 | $17,303 | $6,382 | 41.7% |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh reports median earnings of $84,848 for its Agricultural Engineering graduates four years after completing, with an average net price of $6,382 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 7 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus · Stillwater, OK | $83,517 | $17,447 | $12,243 | 75.0% |
| Oklahoma State University-Main Campus admits 75% of applicants and its Agricultural Engineering graduates earn a median of $83,517 four years after completing. | |||||
| 8 | University of Kentucky · Lexington, KY | $68,605 | $18,851 | $12,182 | 92.9% |
| University of Kentucky ranks 8th on this list, with a median of $22,500 in federal loans across all of its borrowers who completed and earnings of $68,605 for its Agricultural Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 9 | University of Georgia · Athens, GA | $64,791 | $13,936 | $8,085 | 37.7% |
| An average net price of $13,936 makes University of Georgia the lowest on the page, and its Agricultural Engineering graduates earn a median of $64,791 four years after completing. | |||||
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Agricultural Engineering graduates four years after completing, highest first. Only programs with a reported earnings cohort in the South appear. The figure reflects federally aided completers of the program who were working and not enrolled. For 1 of the 9 listed programs the figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one. The metric does not adjust for graduate school enrollment, cost, or who enrolls, and it is not a measure of teaching quality. The spread from University of Maryland-College Park to the bottom of the list is $28,649, with a gap of $5,102 between University of Maryland-College Park and Clemson University.
Job market context in the South
Graduates of Agricultural Engineering programs in the South enter a labor market that links to occupations such as Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary and Agricultural Engineers. The median annual wage across those occupations is $114,529, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $78,923. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 9.2% higher, with 6,150 projected openings a year, or about 2,036 openings a year for every hundred graduates, suggesting more projected openings than graduates. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. These market figures describe the occupations, not the earnings of any listed program's graduates, which the ranking measures directly.