Best Associate's in Agricultural Teacher Education Programs in 2026

All 5 programs reviewed from the IPEDS database, ranked on graduation rate, affordability, and more. CIP 13.1301.

An associate's degree in agricultural teacher education program is a transfer and pre-education track, not a standalone teaching license. It combines introductory agriculture coursework, such as animal science, plant and soil science, and agricultural mechanics, with early education classes and general education, all at community-college prices. It suits students with an agriculture or FFA background who want to teach ag in schools eventually but want an affordable, hands-on start before committing to a four-year program.

5Programs analyzed
$5,073Median in-state tuition
50%Median graduation rate
$66,270Median wage, career and technical education teachers
  • In-state tuition typically runs from $3,150 to $9,158 a year, with a median near $5,073.
  • 5 of 5 ranked programs sit at public universities.
  • We rank on graduation rate first, then selectivity and affordability, all from federal IPEDS data.
  1. 1

    Southwestern Community College

    Creston, IAPublic

    66score
    • 59%Grad rate
    • $7,596/yrIn-state tuition
    • $7,848/yrOut-of-state tuition
    • 1,566Undergrads
    • 1Grads/yr
    • Associate of Arts, Agriculture Education transfer major
    About the program

    Southwestern Community College offers an Agriculture Education transfer major leading to a 64 credit Associate of Arts. The program is designed as the first two years of study for transfer to a four-year college or university, preparing students for their junior year toward careers as secondary agriculture educators or other agricultural roles. It is a transfer pathway, not an initial teaching license; certification would be completed at the receiving bachelor's institution. Course plans follow a semester-by-semester outline. This associate-level agricultural teacher education program prepares graduates for work as career in Iowa.

    Why it ranks here

    Its rank is built from three numbers: graduation rate, admission rate, and in-state tuition, in that order of weight. Its strongest card is completion: a 59% graduation rate lands it in the top 1% of programs nationwide, and since finishing counts for the most, that does much of the work. The one drag is price, $7,596 in state, above the national median, so it earns its rank on outcomes rather than affordability. That combination is what puts it in the top handful here.

    Program page
  2. 2

    Northeastern Junior College

    Sterling, COPublic

    64score
    • 56%Grad rate
    • $5,073/yrIn-state tuition
    • $7,610/yrOut-of-state tuition
    • 1,684Undergrads
    • 1Grads/yr
    • Associate of General Studies or Associate of Science
    • On-campus
    About the program

    Agricultural education at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling comes in two forms, an Associate of General Studies with an Agricultural Education Concentration at 60 credits and an Associate of Science with an Agricultural Education Designation at 63 credits. Both draw on a broad base that reaches across science, math, communications, leadership, management, and technology, giving students range rather than a narrow track. The learning is decidedly hands-on, blending classroom and laboratory instruction with field-based teaching experiences and active involvement in FFA. The curriculum also keeps an eye on where the industry is heading, weaving in emerging topics such as cloning, satellite mapping, bio-fuels, and alternative energies. The result is a foundational two-year credential that mixes agricultural science with the leadership and teaching skills the field increasingly asks for. Earning an associate degree in agricultural teacher education is a common route toward becoming one of Colorado's career.

    Why it ranks here

    Where it lands is a story about completion first, then selectivity, then cost. Start with the outcome that matters most, 56% of students graduate, top 25% among programs nationwide, which is the biggest reason it sits where it does. Tuition is middle of the road for programs nationwide at $5,073 in state, so cost neither helps nor hurts its standing. Together, that is one of the strongest profiles on the page.

    Program page
  3. 3

    Copiah-Lincoln Community College

    Wesson, MSPublic

    61score
    • 50%Grad rate
    • $3,700/yrIn-state tuition
    • $4,700/yrOut-of-state tuition
    • 2,932Undergrads
    • 3Grads/yr
    • Agricultural Education, Leadership, & Communication (academic/university transfer pathway)
    • On-campus
    About the program

    Offered through Co-Lin's Science Division, this two-year academic transfer program in Agricultural Education, Leadership, and Communication packs 66 credit hours into a recommended four-semester map that reads like the front half of a bachelor's degree. Students work through English composition, general biology, chemistry, and college algebra alongside agriculture courses such as Plant Science and Animal Science, rounded out by agricultural economics, psychology, and public speaking, a mix that keeps both the sciences and the communication side of the field in play. The whole design points toward transfer, aligning with the statewide articulation agreement so credits carry cleanly to a Mississippi four-year university, where students finish the degree and any teaching certification. On its own it does not grant a teaching license. Coursework is delivered on campus in Wesson. Graduates of this agricultural teacher education program at the associate level often go on to work as career.

    Why it ranks here

    Its rank is built from three numbers: graduation rate, admission rate, and in-state tuition, in that order of weight. On completion, the heaviest factor, it lands mid-pack among programs nationwide at 50%, solid without being a standout. Cost only helps its case: at $3,700 in state, tuition runs below the national median, so students are not paying a premium for those results. Together, that is one of the strongest profiles on the page.

    Program page
  4. 4

    Northwest College

    Powell, WYPublic

    59score
    • 49%Grad rate
    • $3,150/yrIn-state tuition
    • $9,450/yrOut-of-state tuition
    • 1,486Undergrads
    • 1Grads/yr
    • Agriculture Education, A.S.
    • On-campus
    About the program

    Northwest College offers the Agriculture Education, A.S., a 60 credit hour Associate of Science housed in the Agribusiness department and delivered on campus with Fall and Spring entry terms. The degree is designed for transfer into a bachelor's program for students who intend to pursue secondary agriculture teaching or extension service work, so it is not itself a licensure credential. The program page frames its purpose around a national shortage of agriculture educators, positioning the associate degree as an early step toward that career. As an associate degree in agricultural teacher education, it is one of the programs that lead to careers as career in Wyoming.

    Why it ranks here

    Where it lands is a story about completion first, then selectivity, then cost. The sticking point is completion, the factor we weigh most heavily: at 49% the graduation rate trails the national median, which caps how high it can climb. Cost only helps its case: at $3,150 in state, tuition runs below the national median, so students are not paying a premium for those results. Strong on the measures that matter most, it earns a place near the top.

    Program page
  5. 5

    Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute

    Wooster, OHPublic

    0score
    • 43%Grad rate
    • $9,158/yrIn-state tuition
    • $35,936/yrOut-of-state tuition
    • 493Undergrads
    • 9Grads/yr
    • Associate of Science in Agriscience Education
    • On-campus
    About the program

    Ohio State University's Agricultural Technical Institute offers an Associate of Science in Agriscience Education on its Wooster campus, a transfer-minded first step for students headed toward teaching agriculture. Through the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership, the on-campus curriculum pairs agricultural science and production coursework with a broad general education foundation in areas such as biology, chemistry, economics, and English. That mix gives students both technical grounding and the academic breadth a four-year program expects. The associate degree completes roughly half of the coursework toward a Bachelor of Science in Agriscience Education at the Columbus campus, so it is designed to move students onward rather than stand alone. Licensure is not conferred here; it comes with the bachelor's degree that follows. Graduates of this agricultural teacher education program at the associate level often go on to work as career.

    Why it ranks here

    Its rank is built from three numbers: graduation rate, admission rate, and in-state tuition, in that order of weight. The sticking point is completion, the factor we weigh most heavily: at 43% the graduation rate trails the national median, which caps how high it can climb. The one drag is price, $9,158 in state, above the national median, so it earns its rank on outcomes rather than affordability. Together, that is one of the strongest profiles on the page.

    Program page
How we rank

Each program is scored 0 to 100 against the other associate's programs in its specialty: graduation rate (55%) and affordability by in-state tuition (45%). Scores are percentile-based within the specialty, so they compare like with like, and a program missing a field gets the neutral median. Because an associate's in elementary education is a two-year transfer degree offered almost entirely by open-admission community colleges, selectivity is not used. Earnings are excluded because they depend on transferring and finishing a bachelor's degree. Every associate's program in the specialty is ranked and shown, with no per-state cap.

  • Graduation rate: 55%
  • Affordability (in-state tuition): 45%

What careers can you get with an associate's in Agricultural Teacher Education?

Graduates most often go on to work as career and technical education teachers. Nationally, the median wage for that occupation is $66,270, with most earning between $50,040 and $101,340, and roughly 111,420 people employed across the United States, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Agriculture teachers are reported within career and technical education teachers.

Read the full guide on how to become a career and technical education teacher, or see career and technical education teachers pay by state →

$66,270Median annual wage
$50,040 to $101,34010th to 90th percentile
111,420Employed nationally

Sources: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (SOC 25-2032), and BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. Wages are national and not school-specific.

Career and Technical Education Teachers Salary by State in 2026

Median annual wage for career and technical education teachers, by state. Highest is Washington at $101,180, lowest is Puerto Rico at $53,160.

StateMedian wage
Washington$101,180
Connecticut$100,810
Massachusetts$98,020
New Jersey$83,770
Rhode Island$81,820
California$80,620
New York$79,820
Delaware$79,230
Ohio$79,230
Vermont$79,220
Georgia$78,760
Oregon$78,380
Maryland$78,320
Alaska$78,130
Maine$78,050
Illinois$77,950
Michigan$77,400
New Hampshire$76,320
Pennsylvania$75,760
Virginia$75,580
Wisconsin$74,310
Colorado$72,750
Utah$72,380
South Carolina$72,120
Minnesota$71,650
New Mexico$66,750
Texas$64,610
Nevada$64,510
Nebraska$63,180
Arizona$62,980
Wyoming$62,570
Florida$62,140
Arkansas$61,780
Tennessee$61,700
North Dakota$61,500
Louisiana$61,300
Kentucky$61,130
Idaho$60,510
Alabama$59,470
Missouri$59,300
Oklahoma$58,800
North Carolina$58,600
Kansas$58,300
Mississippi$57,910
West Virginia$57,760
Iowa$57,660
Indiana$56,390
South Dakota$56,070
Montana$55,190
Puerto Rico$53,160

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

How much an associate's in Agricultural Teacher Education program costs

Published in-state tuition across the 5 ranked associate's programs typically runs from $3,150 to $9,158 a year, with a median near $5,073. Most of that spread is public versus private: public universities charge state residents the least, while private colleges set a single sticker price that applies to everyone. 5 of the 5 programs here are public, which is usually where the lowest in-state numbers come from.

Sticker price is rarely what a student pays. Grants and scholarships lower the net cost, and future teachers have aid written specifically for them: the federal TEACH Grant provides up to $4,000 a year to students who agree to teach a high-need subject in a low-income school, and many states add service scholarships and loan-forgiveness programs for people who commit to the classroom. Two costs to watch are out-of-state tuition, which at public schools often runs two to three times the resident rate, and mandatory fees and living expenses, which the tuition figure leaves out entirely.

What none of this changes is the paycheck at the end. The median wage for career and technical education teachers is $66,270 regardless of where the degree was earned, so two graduates can reach the same salary having paid very different tuition to get there. That is exactly why affordability, essentially graduation rate per tuition dollar, is one of the factors we weight rather than an afterthought.

Sources: tuition and program data from IPEDS; the TEACH Grant from Federal Student Aid; wages from BLS OEWS.

Ways to earn your associate's in Agricultural Teacher Education

An associate's in Agricultural Teacher Education is usually the first two years of a longer teaching path rather than a destination in itself. Most are delivered on campus, since even early coursework often includes in-person classroom observation. Many are designed explicitly as a transfer, or pre-education, track that maps onto a four-year degree.

The move that saves the most money is articulation: completing general-education and introductory teaching coursework at a community college, then transferring those credits into a bachelor's program to finish the degree and student teaching. Statewide transfer agreements in many states guarantee that an approved associate's applies in full, so it pays to choose a program with a clear articulation pathway to the university you eventually want to attend.

An associate's on its own does not lead to a standard teaching license, which is the norm for this level rather than a shortcoming. What it does do is open the door to classroom roles now, paraprofessional and teacher-aide positions, and in some states a step toward early-childhood or substitute credentials while you keep studying toward the bachelor's.

Sources: online and program counts from IPEDS; alternative-certification pathways per the US Department of Education.

How to use an associate's in agricultural teacher education program to become a teacher

The associate's is the first two years of a longer path that ends with a bachelor's degree and a state teaching license.

  1. 1

    Earn the associate's degree

    Complete roughly 60 credits blending agricultural science, agricultural mechanics, introductory education, and general education. Strong technical and academic grades set you up for a smooth transfer.

  2. 2

    Transfer your credits into a bachelor's program

    Move your coursework into a four-year agricultural education degree, ideally through an articulation agreement that guarantees the credits count. Finishing the first two years at a community college can noticeably reduce the total cost of the degree.

  3. 3

    Build agriculture and leadership experience

    Stay active in supervised agricultural experiences, internships, or organizations like collegiate FFA or Postsecondary Agricultural Student groups. Ag teachers also run programs and student chapters, so leadership experience matters.

  4. 4

    Finish the bachelor's, methods courses, and student teaching

    Complete upper-level agriculture content, agricultural education methods, and a supervised student-teaching placement in a school ag program. This is where you learn to run classrooms, labs, and a career and technical program.

  5. 5

    Pass licensure exams and apply for your state license

    Take your state's required teaching and content or career-technical exams, then submit your license application. Only after this step can you be a licensed agricultural education teacher.

Requirements summarized from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and each state's department of education. Exact requirements vary by state.

Frequently asked questions about an Associate's in Agricultural Teacher Education

Does an associate's in agricultural education make you a licensed ag teacher?

No, an associate's in agricultural teacher education program does not make you a licensed ag teacher, since teaching agriculture in a public school almost always requires a bachelor's degree, student teaching, and a state license, often a career and technical education credential. The associate's is a first step that transfers toward that bachelor's, not a teaching license by itself.

How do associate's in agricultural education credits transfer into a bachelor's degree?

The credits transfer into a bachelor's degree because your general education and introductory agriculture and education courses are built to move into a four-year agricultural education program, frequently through a statewide articulation agreement between two-year and four-year schools. These agreements can guarantee that specific credits apply so you enter the bachelor's with about two years done. Confirm the exact transfer plan with your target university before you enroll.

How long does an associate's in agricultural education take?

An associate's in agricultural teacher education program generally takes about two years for full-time students, while part-time students who work or farm may take longer. Keep in mind this is only the first half of the path, since the bachelor's and licensing typically add roughly two more years.

Will starting an associate's in agricultural education at a community college save you money in 2026?

Yes, starting at a community college saves you money in most cases, since community college tuition is usually much lower than university tuition, so completing your first two years there can cut the overall cost of becoming an ag teacher. The savings depend on your credits transferring cleanly, so follow an articulation agreement and plan early.

What can you do with just an associate's in agricultural education?

With just the associate's degree, you can pursue entry-level roles in agriculture, such as farm or ranch technician work, agribusiness support, cooperative extension aide positions, or agricultural sales. It does not qualify you to be the lead teacher of a school agriculture program. Most graduates treat it as a stepping stone while they finish the bachelor's.

Is an associate's in agricultural education worth it if you want to teach agriculture?

The associate's is worth it if you want to teach agriculture and prefer a smart, affordable way to begin, especially if you want hands-on agriculture experience and lower tuition before a full teacher-prep program. Career and technical education teachers at the secondary level, the destination for this path, earned a median wage of $66,270, though that reflects the bachelor's-and-license career rather than the associate's alone. Go in knowing the license and that pay come only after the four-year degree.

Answers draw on IPEDS, the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, and each state's department of education.

Data sources for our Associate's in Agricultural Teacher Education ranking