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Animal care specialist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an animal care specialist. Animal care specialists usually study biology, medical assisting services, or animal science. 46% of animal care specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 23% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,854 real animal care specialist resumes to see exactly what animal care specialist education sections show.
The most common colleges for animal care specialists are the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania.
There are also many online animal care specialist courses to help get the education required to be an animal care specialist.
What education do you need to become an animal care specialist?
What degree do you need to be an animal care specialist?
- Bachelor's, 46%
- Associate, 23%
- High School Diploma, 21%
- Diploma, 4%
- Other Degrees, 6%
What should I major in to become an animal care specialist?
- Biology, 15%
- Animal Science, 10%
- Business, 9%
- Other Majors, 54%
Most common colleges for animal care specialists
| Animal care specialist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Pennsylvania | 8.18% |
| University of Wisconsin Colleges | 7.27% |
| University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | 6.36% |
| Ohio State University | 6.36% |
| Santa Fe College | 6.36% |
Best majors for animal care specialists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology | 14.6% |
| 2 | Medical Assisting Services | 12.0% |
| 3 | Animal Science | 10.0% |
| 4 | Business | 8.7% |
| 5 | Zoology | 7.7% |
Best colleges for animal care specialists
The best colleges for animal care specialists are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
An animal care specialist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for animal care specialists. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become animal care specialists.
1. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
2. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
3. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Enrollment
34,564
4. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
5. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$10,595
Enrollment
30,184
6. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
7. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
8. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,830
Enrollment
29,474
9. Lincoln Memorial University
Harrogate, TN • Private
In-state tuition
$22,010
Enrollment
1,861
10. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Enrollment
33,495
20 best online courses for animal care specialists
Advertising disclosure
1. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...
2. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
3. Providing Trauma-Informed Care
Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...
4. Self-Care Life Coach Certification (Boundary Setting)
Empower Your Life Coach Your Clients to Develop Self-Care, Self-Love, Boundary Setting and How to Say No...
5. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
6. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...
7. The Key to Happiness: Self Care
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8. Pet First Aid (Advanced)
Learn essential knowledge and skills to be able to confidently carry out emergency first aid on a pet animal...
9. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
10. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
11. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health
Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...
12. Essential Energy Care for Empaths
Advanced Practices for Sensing, Cleaning and Protecting Your Energy Body...
13. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care
In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...
14. Thinking About Care
Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will...
15. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
16. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
17. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...
18. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities
A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...
19. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...
20. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation
Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...
Top 10 most affordable universities for animal care specialists
The most affordable schools for animal care specialists are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for animal care specialists are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for animal care specialists.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
3. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
5. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
6. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
7. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
8. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
9. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
10. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Pomona, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,353
Cost of attendance
21,302
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for animal care specialists
The hardest universities for animal care specialists to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for animal care specialists are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for animal care specialists based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,471
5. Tufts University
Medford, MA • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,461
6. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
7. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
8. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
9. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
10. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for animal care specialists
The easiest schools for animal care specialists to get into are AdventHealth University, barry university, and notre dame de namur university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an animal care specialist without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for animal care specialists.
1. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
4. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
5. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
6. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
7. Our Lady of the Lake University
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,002
8. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
9. Life University
Marietta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
94%
SAT average
979
10. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
Average animal care specialist salary by education level
| Animal care specialist education level | Animal care specialist salary |
|---|---|
| Doctorate Degree | $70,235 |
Animal care specialist education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common healthcare practitioner and technical questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025