Animal Sciences at University of Massachusetts-Amherst

UMass Amherst's Animal Sciences program reports impressive outcomes—starting salaries around $40,000 that jump to $56,500 within four years—but the single-digit sample size means these numbers could swing dramatically year to year. What we can say: this ranks in the 95th percentile nationally for the field, and graduates carry about $27,000 in debt, which is reasonable given that first-year salary and well below the typical debt load for this major.

The 41% earnings growth trajectory is encouraging, particularly in a field where many graduates start in lower-paying positions at veterinary clinics or agricultural operations before advancing. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.67 suggests manageable monthly payments from day one. However, the fact that UMass is the only school in Massachusetts reporting data for this program makes state comparisons meaningless—we're essentially looking at one year's worth of outcomes from a handful of graduates.

For parents, the key question is whether your child genuinely wants to work with animals or pursue veterinary school. If yes, and they're Massachusetts residents getting in-state tuition, this looks solid based on available evidence. Just understand you're making this decision with very limited data points, and actual outcomes could vary significantly from what's reported here. The program's national ranking is promising, but treat that 95th percentile figure as directional rather than definitive.