KINGSVILLE — Texas A&M University-Kingsville sits at the top of a ranking list of 2022 Best Value Agribusiness Schools in Texas according to CollegeFactual.com.
College Factual is a website created to help students discover a college and career they love without debt holding them back, its website states.
The ranking included only eight universities across Texas. College Factual states the rankings are determined by looking at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and the overall quality of the program at the school.
College Factual states it costs about $19,635 for Texas Agribusiness students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
Dr. Roger Hanagriff, Associate Professor of Associate Professor for the department of Agriculture, Agribusiness, and Environmental Sciences, said the ranking of the college validates faculty and staff efforts.
"I think this is attributed to our excellent advisors helping students develop a customizable degree plan that meets their needs, our faculty that academically challenge students in diverse areas of expertise, our connections to real-world applications and engagement in undergraduate projects and research, and our overall department's efforts to help place students in jobs,” Hanagriff said. “We also cover a variety of learning environments that help meet students' needs. We’re honored to be recognized in this list of excellent agribusiness programs."
According to the website, Texas A&M-Kingsville also ranks fourth on the site’s “Best Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations Schools in Texas” list.
Dr. Benjamin Turner, Associate Professor for the department of Agriculture, Agribusiness, and Environmental Sciences & the King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management, said the recognition helps elevate the Agribusiness program to levels similar to other historic programs.
“It means a tremendous amount to our department to be recognized in this way. Texas A&M University-Kingsville has long been recognized for being a state or national leader in some of our most outstanding programs. The Wildlife Science or Citrus Science programs in our own College of Agriculture and Natural Resources come to mind,” he said.
Turner said prospective students can expect a very flexible and versatile degree plan at Texas A&M-Kingsville that is also challenging and demanding.
“With a mix of face-to-face, hybrid, and online classes, students are trained in tried-and-true Agribusiness courses that are grounded in real-life experience using marketing, finance, or strategic management case studies. The flexibility the program offers allows students to augment their training with a specialization in Ranch Management, not available through other Texas universities, or minors in general agriculture or animal science.”
“As one of only six public universities in Texas to achieve a Carnegie ranking of Doctoral university with high research productivity, TAMUK students are also involved in the latest research in agronomy, soil and water conservation, and agricultural economics and policy,” Turner added.
The site states 3,122 people earned their degree in agribusiness/agricultural business operations in the years 2019-2022, making the major the 228th most popular in the United States.
According to Payscale, a salary data company, the average base salary in the nation for agribusiness jobs is $79,000.
“This is indeed a great honor for TAMUK’s Agribusiness program to be ranked #1 among some very high caliber Agribusiness programs in the state of Texas,” said Dr. Shad Nelson, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and C.F. Dick Schendel Family Endowed Professor in Soil Science. “We have a great history of quality education, but what makes TAMUK stand out above others is just how excellent the program is for the cost of education.”
“We hire the best faculty, people who care about people. They care about every student during the training and mentoring college years, but more importantly ensure they are well prepared for the workforce when they leave,” Nelson said. “I am very proud to see the hard work of our gifted Agribusiness faculty be recognized in this way.”
To see the ranking list, visit https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/agriculture-ag-operations/agricultural-economics-business/agribusiness-agricultural-business-operations/rankings/best-value-avg-aid-income4/southwest/texas/.
