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Pet care specialist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a pet care specialist. Pet care specialists usually study biology, business, or psychology. 38% of pet care specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 30% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 4,149 real pet care specialist resumes to see exactly what pet care specialist education sections show.
The most common colleges for pet care specialists are the Arizona State University and the Arizona State University.
There are also many online pet care specialist courses to help get the education required to be a pet care specialist.
There are certain pet care specialist certifications that you should consider. These pet care specialist certifications include OSHA Safety Certificate and Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS).
What education do you need to become a pet care specialist?
What degree do you need to be a pet care specialist?
- Bachelor's, 38%
- High School Diploma, 30%
- Associate, 22%
- Diploma, 5%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a pet care specialist?
- Biology, 12%
- Business, 11%
- Psychology, 10%
- General Studies, 9%
- Other Majors, 58%
Most common colleges for pet care specialists
| Pet care specialist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Arizona State University | 10.43% |
| University of Phoenix | 9.82% |
| Michigan State University | 7.98% |
| University of Pennsylvania | 6.75% |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 6.13% |
Best majors for pet care specialists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology | 11.7% |
| 2 | Business | 11.2% |
| 3 | Psychology | 10.2% |
| 4 | General Studies | 8.7% |
| 5 | Medical Assisting Services | 7.4% |
Best colleges for pet care specialists
The best colleges for pet care specialists are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University.
A pet 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 pet 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 pet care specialists.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$10,595
Enrollment
30,184
3. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
4. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
5. Becker College
Worcester, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$39,200
Enrollment
1,725
6. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
8. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$17,653
Enrollment
16,405
9. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
10. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
20 best online courses for pet 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. Dog CPR, First Aid + Safety for pet pros + dedicated owners
Essential training to keep your dogs safe, attract clients & gain skills & confidence to take action in an emergency...
4. Pet First Aid (Advanced)
Learn essential knowledge and skills to be able to confidently carry out emergency first aid on a pet animal...
5. 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...
6. Palliative Care Always
Palliative Care Always is a specialization for health care practitioners, patients and caregivers. We’ve designed this specialization to demonstrate how palliative medicine integrates with patient care, and to help you develop primary palliative care skills. Over the next five courses, you will develop skills in symptom management, goals of care and effective communication to improve the quality of life for patients and families suffering with serious illness. Our hope is that you feel...
7. Animal & Pet Reiki Energy Healing Certification Course
Animal & Pet Reiki using energy healing is both easy to do and rewarding for all! Obtain certification upon completion!...
8. Animal Psychology/ Pets Behaviour - ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE
Learn about behaviour in dogs, dealing with cats, rabbit behaviour, cats and dogs psychology, aggression in dogs, pet...
9. Newborn Baby Care
A newborn baby is an amazing beautiful life filled with hope. Unfortunately, many babies die or experience preventable harm even in 21st century. It is imperative that babies who are born healthy get off to a healthy start in the first month of life. There are some easy tenets of care to implement that help ensure that babies and families get off to a healthy start no matter where they are in the world. In this specialization learners will acquire the skills necessary for newborn baby care to...
10. 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...
11. Providing Trauma-Informed Care
Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...
12. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer
Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...
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. The Business of Health Care
This Specialization was designed to help you keep pace with the rapidly changing world of health and health care. Through partnership with Wharton and Penn Medicine, you’ll learn from experts in business acumen, health care management, and health care policy to develop the skills you’ll need to successfully navigate the quickly evolving landscape of this fast-growing field.* By the end of this specialization, you will have a strong foundational understanding of the American health care system,...
15. Dog & Cat Behavior Problems
Learn the essential training techniques you'll need to raise a pet dog or cat and fix common behavior problems...
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. 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...
18. Caring for Others
Caring for Others examines how society cares for its at-risk members and the experiences of its caregivers. This specialization addresses questions such as: How much suffering is in the world today? Does digital media sensitize/desensitize us to the anguish of distant others? What are the different types of paid care work? How do care workers manage their emotions? And much more. This specialization is relevant to individuals interested in becoming a helping professional as well as anyone...
19. 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...
20. 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...
Top 10 most affordable universities for pet care specialists
The most affordable schools for pet care specialists are Hunter College of the City University of New York, california state university - long beach, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for pet 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 pet care specialists.
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. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
3. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
4. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
5. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
6. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
7. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
8. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Pomona, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,353
Cost of attendance
21,302
9. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
10. USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,587
Cost of attendance
13,043
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for pet care specialists
The hardest universities for pet care specialists to get into are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University.
Some great schools for pet 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 pet 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. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
3. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
5. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
6. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
7. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
8. Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,465
9. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
Admissions rate
26%
SAT average
1,427
10. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,443
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for pet care specialists
The easiest schools for pet care specialists to get into are AdventHealth University, life university, and bluefield college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a pet 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 pet care specialists.
1. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
2. Life University
Marietta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
94%
SAT average
979
3. Bluefield College
Bluefield, VA • Private
Admissions rate
95%
SAT average
980
4. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
5. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
6. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
7. Pennsylvania State University - Fayette (The Eberly Campus)
Lemont Furnace, PA • Private
Admissions rate
80%
SAT average
1,067
8. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
9. Centenary University
Hackettstown, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
67%
SAT average
987
10. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
Average pet care specialist salary by education level
| Pet care specialist education level | Pet care specialist salary |
|---|---|
| High School Diploma or Less | $29,997 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $33,851 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $31,969 |
Pet care specialist 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