Equine Studies

What Equine Studies Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to equine studies were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Equine Studies Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in equine studies should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Skills for Equine Studies Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to equine studies:

• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities for Equine Studies Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a equine studies student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Equine Studies Major?

People with a equine studies degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Agricultural Sciences Professors	7.9%	$84,640

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Equine Studies

Some careers associated with equine studies require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to equine studies have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	14.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	27.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.9%
Some College Courses	10.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	1.6%
Master’s Degree	5.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.3%
Doctoral Degree	21.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	10.5%

Online Equine Studies Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	9	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	30	2
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Equine Studies

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to equine studies.

Major	Number of Grads
Dog/Pet/Animal Grooming	428
Animal Training	130
Agricultural & Domestic Animal Services	46
Taxidermy/Taxidermist	9

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Corey Hensley under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.