Today’s “Deep Dive,” where we look into the renowned programs within larger universities, is an interesting case. With all due respect to Texas A&M University, it is not necessarily one of the schools that frequently draws students to our blog wondering how they can make the cut.
Recent posts in this series have focused on the prestige of certain disciplines at competitive colleges — like Neuroscience at UMich, Computer Science at Dartmouth, Foreign Language at Middlebury, Aeronautics at Rice, Business at Penn, Public Health at UNC, and Music Business at NYU — but Texas A&M isn’t grouped in with these schools more broadly. With an undergraduate enrollment of nearly 60 thousand students and an acceptance rate of 63%, the average high-performing student probably doesn’t have this College Station school on their shortlist. But, as we touched on in our introductory post for this series, there is a phenomenon of stand-out programs in otherwise “low-ranking” institutions. Not to quote ourselves or anything, but here’s how we put it originally (and we stand by it):
People (read: snobs) usually think that the more selective a school is, the better its programs are across the board. And it’s not untrue that a school like Harvard, attracting the top scholars from their fields to their faculty, is academically rigorous regardless of your major. But it’s also true that many schools generally considered less illustrious as a whole have individual programs that are highly distinguished for one reason or another.
That major caveat applies to today’s focus — agricultural studies at Texas A&M. If you’re a top student looking to study crop breeding, livestock management, soil science, agricultural engineering, or the economics of ranching and farming, this is absolutely a premiere destination on your list.
The History of Agricultural Science at A&M
Ok, we promise not to continue citing ourselves in this article, but at risk of sounding like a broken record, we will reiterate that many superior programs within larger universities can credit legacy and long-term thinking for their success — likewise, A&M is pretty spectacular in agricultural science because it was the school’s initial focus and they’ve been educating students in this field for a long time. In this case, actually, it’s astoundingly literal; Texas A&M goes by its initials now, but its original name was the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.
Founded in 1871, Texas A&M was the result of the 1862 Morrill Act which established “land-grant” institutions and declared that their "leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanic arts." (Note that, as A&M’s Sociology Department points out, the “donated” public lands were actually “expropriated, often violently or fraudulently, from over 250 tribes, bands, and communities throughout the United States,” but we digress… many such cases in U.S. higher education!)
Basically, when it comes to Agribusiness, Agricultural Communications & Journalism, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Leadership & Development, Agricultural Science, Agricultural Systems Management, or Animal Science (just to name a few of Texas A&M’s offered majors), they’re not new to this — they’re true to this.
The State of Agricultural Science at A&M Today
So let’s get into the stats! A century and a half later, Texas A&M is at the top of the pack in the life sciences arena. In fact, they are ranked #1 (in a tie) for THE Best Undergraduate Biological / Agricultural Engineering Programs — and frankly, this is even more compelling because of how it compares with Texas A&M’s ranking overall (only #51 in National Universities and #21 in Top Public Schools).
They have singular research organizations — like the Agricultural & Food Policy Center (or AFPC) and the Agribusiness, Food and Consumer Economics Research Center (or AFCERC), which “partners with industry, government agencies and other organizations to provide timely, unique, and professional research on a wide variety of issues relating to agriculture, food, and the nation.”
Beyond having access to impressive institutional resources, you’d find yourself in a robust, like-minded community. Of its nearly 60k undergrads, 17% of graduates major in Engineering and 8% major in “Agricultural / Animal / Plant / Veterinary Science and Related Fields,” meaning many of your peers will be putting their heads together to solve the same problems that drew you in, too.
Basically? The agricultural programs at Texas A&M University are about as strong as they could be. And if that’s for you, congratulations, and a hearty harvest to us all!
If you’re looking for the best college for your aspirations, get in touch with us today for personalized guidance.