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Animal care technician education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an animal care technician. Animal care technicians usually study biology, medical assisting services, or animal science. 45% of animal care technicians hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 5,943 real animal care technician resumes to see exactly what animal care technician education sections show.
The most common colleges for animal care technicians are the Colorado State University and the Colorado State University.
There are also many online animal care technician courses to help get the education required to be an animal care technician.
There are certain animal care technician certifications that you should consider. These animal care technician certifications include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Laboratory Animal Technician (LAT).
What education do you need to become an animal care technician?
What degree do you need to be an animal care technician?
- Bachelor's, 45%
- High School Diploma, 22%
- Associate, 21%
- Diploma, 5%
- Other Degrees, 7%
What should I major in to become an animal care technician?
- Biology, 19%
- Animal Science, 11%
- Psychology, 7%
- Other Majors, 51%
Most common colleges for animal care technicians
| Animal care technician common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Colorado State University | 10.99% |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 7.45% |
| University of Pennsylvania | 7.09% |
| Purdue University | 6.38% |
| University of Phoenix | 5.67% |
Best majors for animal care technicians
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology | 18.8% |
| 2 | Medical Assisting Services | 11.9% |
| 3 | Animal Science | 11.4% |
| 4 | Psychology | 7.4% |
| 5 | Business | 7.3% |
Best colleges for animal care technicians
The best colleges for animal care technicians are Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Johns Hopkins University.
An animal care technician 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 technicians. 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 technicians.
1. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
2. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
5. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$17,653
Enrollment
16,405
6. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
7. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
8. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
9. University of Colorado Denver
Denver, CO • Private
In-state tuition
$9,283
Enrollment
11,892
10. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
20 best online courses for animal care technicians
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1. 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...
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. The Key to Happiness: Self Care
Discover Self Care as a tool for creating positive change in your mental health, behaviours, and well-being...
5. 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...
6. 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...
7. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health
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8. Self-Care Life Coach Certification (Boundary Setting)
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9. 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...
10. 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...
11. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer
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12. Essential Energy Care for Empaths
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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. 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...
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. 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...
17. 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...
18. 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...
19. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
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20. 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...
Top 10 most affordable universities for animal care technicians
The most affordable schools for animal care technicians are Hunter College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for animal care technicians 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 technicians.
1. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
2. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
3. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
5. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
6. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
7. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
8. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
9. Louisiana State University at Alexandria
Alexandria, LA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,668
Cost of attendance
14,488
10. University of Missouri - Kansas City
Kansas City, MO • Private
In-state tuition
$8,178
Cost of attendance
20,934
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for animal care technicians
The hardest universities for animal care technicians to get into are Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Johns Hopkins University.
Some great schools for animal care technicians 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 technicians 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. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
3. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
6. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
7. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
8. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
9. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
10. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,443
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for animal care technicians
The easiest schools for animal care technicians to get into are AdventHealth University, barry university, and d'youville college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an animal care technician 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 technicians.
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. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
4. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
5. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
6. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
7. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
8. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
9. Nyack College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
999
10. Our Lady of the Lake University
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,002
Average animal care technician salary by education level
| Animal care technician education level | Animal care technician salary |
|---|---|
| High School Diploma or Less | $28,842 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $31,375 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $30,150 |
Animal care technician education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common personal care and attendants questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025