Ranking the Best Agriculture Colleges Around the World in 2024
It’s time again for the world’s best agriculture colleges to raise their hands. Who’s at the head of the class? Some schools stand out more than others, according to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which has just released its latest QS World University Ranking by Subject report. Scan the photo gallery below to count down the World’s Top 50 Agriculture & Forestry Colleges for 2024.
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50. Colorado State University
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo by Carol Miller
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49. Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (China)
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Image courtesy of Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University
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48. University of Helsinki (Finland)
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of University of Helsinki
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47. University of Western Australia
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #43
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Western Australia
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46. Aarhus University (Denmark)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #39
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Aarhus University
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45. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Brazil)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #46
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Universidade Estadual de Campinas
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44. Technical University of Munich (Germany)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #33
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Technical University of Munich
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43. Oregon State University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #31
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Oregon State University
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42. Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Poland)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #41
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Warsaw University of Life Sciences
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41. South China Agricultural University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #48
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of South China Agricultural University
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40. Nanjing Agricultural University (China)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #38
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Nanjing Agricultural University
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39. Penn State University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #34
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Penn State University
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38. Universit Paris-Saclay (France)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #26
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Universit Paris-Saclay
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37. UMass Amherst
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #30
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of UMass Amherst
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36. University of Tokyo
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #35
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Tokyo
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35. Zhejiang University (China)
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Zhejiang University
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34. University of Minnesota
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #32
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota
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33. University of Melbourne (Australia)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #42
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Melbourne
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32. University of Sao Paulo (Brazil)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #28
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Sao Paulo
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31. University of Hohenheim (Germany)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #21
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Hohenheim
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30. North Carolina State University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #22
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of North Carolina State University
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29. KU Leuven (Belgium)
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of KU Leuven
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28. Ohio State University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #25
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the Ohio State University
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27. University of Reading (U.K.)
Last year's QS by Subject ranking: #16
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Reading
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26. University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna (Austria)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #17
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna
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25. University of Göttingen (Germany)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #27
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of University of Göttingen
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24. University of Guelph (Canada)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #24
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Guelph
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23. University of British Columbia
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #20
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of British Columbia
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22. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #18
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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21. University of Florida
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #23
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of University of Florida
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20. L'Institut Agro (L'Institut Agro Dijon, L'Institut Agro Montpellier, L'Institut Agro Rennes-Angers) - France
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Image courtesy of L'Institut Agro
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19. The University of Queensland (Australia)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #19
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of The University of Queensland
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18. University of Wisconsin-Madison
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #10
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison
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17. Texas A&M University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #15
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University
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16. Michigan State University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #14
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Michigan State University
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15. University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #13
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the University of Copenhagen
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14. Iowa State University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #9
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Iowa State University
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13. University of California-Berkeley
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #12
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of University of California-Berkeley
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12. ETH Zurich- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #8
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of ETH Zurich- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
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11. Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #6
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences
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10. University of Cambridge (U.K.)
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of University of Cambridge
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9. China Agricultural University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #11
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of China Agricultural University
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8. Ghent University (Belgium)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #7
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Ghent University
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7. University of Oxford (U.K.)
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of University of Oxford
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6. Purdue University
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #5
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Purdue University
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5. Harvard University
Not ranked in Top 50 of last year's QS by subject list.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Harvard University
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4. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #3
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3. Cornell
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #4
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Cornell University
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2. UC Davis
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #2
Since the ranking by subject in Agriculture & Forestry was first launched by QS more than a decade ago, UC Davis has finished at either No. 1 or No. 2.
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of UC Davis
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1. Wageningen University (The Nertherlands)
Last year's QS by subject ranking: #1
The school in The Netherlands scores the top spot again -- now eight years running!
Click here to learn more about this school.
Photo courtesy of Wageningen University & Research
View all
50. Colorado State University
49. Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (China)
48. University of Helsinki (Finland)
47. University of Western Australia
46. Aarhus University (Denmark)
45. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Brazil)
44. Technical University of Munich (Germany)
43. Oregon State University
42. Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Poland)
41. South China Agricultural University
40. Nanjing Agricultural University (China)
39. Penn State University
38. Universit Paris-Saclay (France)
37. UMass Amherst
36. University of Tokyo
35. Zhejiang University (China)
34. University of Minnesota
33. University of Melbourne (Australia)
32. University of Sao Paulo (Brazil)
31. University of Hohenheim (Germany)
30. North Carolina State University
29. KU Leuven (Belgium)
28. Ohio State University
27. University of Reading (U.K.)
26. University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna (Austria)
25. University of Göttingen (Germany)
24. University of Guelph (Canada)
23. University of British Columbia
22. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
21. University of Florida
20. L'Institut Agro (L'Institut Agro Dijon, L'Institut Agro Montpellier, L'Institut Agro Rennes-Angers) - France
19. The University of Queensland (Australia)
18. University of Wisconsin-Madison
17. Texas A&M University
16. Michigan State University
15. University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
14. Iowa State University
13. University of California-Berkeley
12. ETH Zurich- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
11. Norwegian University of Life Sciences
10. University of Cambridge (U.K.)
9. China Agricultural University
8. Ghent University (Belgium)
7. University of Oxford (U.K.)
6. Purdue University
5. Harvard University
4. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
3. Cornell
2. UC Davis
1. Wageningen University (The Nertherlands)
Compiled and presented annually by the U.K.-based education marketing and networking company, the comprehensive listing is based on a methodology that measures multiple indicators from universities across the globe covering 55 different disciplines. According to QS, this year’s ranking features different academic programs from 1,559 institutions – 64 universities of which are new.
Five indicators are used to determine subject rankings. They are as follows: Academic reputation; Employer reputation; Research citations per paper (via Elsevier’s Scopus); H-index; and International research network (by broad faculty area).
RELATED CONTENT: 2024 Ranking for the Top 25 U.S. Colleges in Agricultural Sciences
2024 marks the 12th consecutive year the organization has produced rankings specifically for the field of Agriculture & Forestry.
A few quick notes from the Top 50:
- 9 schools made this year’s Top 50 who were not included in 2023
- 3 of those schools made the Top 10
So, what are the best agriculture colleges in the world right now? See multiple new entries that made the Top 10; which schools that made a comeback to the list; and more. The biggest question is: Was Wageningen University finally dethroned from its top spot?
Scan the photo gallery above to count down the World’s Top 50 Agriculture & Forestry Colleges for 2024.
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Paul Rusnak is the Senior Online Editor of American Vegetable Grower, American Fruit Grower, and Greenhouse Grower magazines, all Meister Media Worldwide brands. He is based in Northeast Florida. See all author stories here.