Course directory
What you can study in agriculture, what each course covers, and where it leads afterwards.
Course structures are stable and are written out here. Named colleges are not, because a college list nobody has checked misleads a student badly. Use the official lists on the institute page for those.- B.Sc. Agriculture, 4 years
The main agriculture degree in India. It covers crop science, soil, plant protection, animal husbandry, extension and farm economics, and it ends with a period of village and field work.
- Entry
- Class 12 with science, through a state or national entrance test
- Leads to
- Government field posts, bank agriculture officer roles, input companies, postgraduate study
DegreeAfter class 12 - B.Sc. Horticulture, 4 years
The same shape as the agriculture degree but built around fruit, vegetables, flowers and plantation crops, including nursery work, post harvest handling and processing.
- Suits
- Anyone near a horticulture belt or planning to grow high value crops
DegreeAfter class 12 - B.V.Sc. and A.H., 5 years
Veterinary science and animal husbandry. It is a professional degree with a compulsory internship, and it is what qualifies somebody to treat animals.
- Entry
- Class 12 with biology, through a national or state counselling round
- Leads to
- Practice, government veterinary service, dairy and poultry companies
DegreeAfter class 12 - B.Tech. Agricultural Engineering, 4 years
Machinery, irrigation, soil and water conservation, farm structures and processing. Closer to an engineering degree than to an agriculture one.
- Suits
- Anyone drawn to machines and water rather than to crops
DegreeAfter class 12 - Diploma in agriculture, 2 to 3 years
A shorter practical qualification offered by state polytechnics and agricultural universities. It gets you into field assistant and extension work sooner, and several states allow a diploma holder to enter the degree in the second year.
- Worth checking
- Whether your state allows lateral entry into the degree
DiplomaAfter class 10 or 12 - M.Sc. in an agriculture subject, 2 years
Specialisation in agronomy, soil science, plant pathology, entomology, horticulture, extension or agricultural economics. Research funded posts usually need this or more.
- Entry
- A national or university entrance examination after the degree
Postgraduate - Short skill courses
Weeks rather than years. Beekeeping, mushroom growing, nursery raising, dairy management, soil testing and drone operation are all taught at Krishi Vigyan Kendras and state institutes, often free.
- Where
- Your district Krishi Vigyan Kendra, and state agriculture department training centres
- Suits
- A working farmer adding one thing rather than changing career
Short courseNo entrance test
Choosing between them
- The agriculture degree is the widest door. Almost every government post and bank officer role accepts it.
- Horticulture pays off where you already live near a fruit, vegetable or plantation belt.
- Veterinary science is a professional degree with an internship. It is a longer commitment and a narrower one.
- A diploma gets you working sooner, and several states let a diploma holder enter the degree in the second year. Check yours before you decide it is a smaller choice.
- A short course at your Krishi Vigyan Kendra costs weeks rather than years and is often free.
What each degree teaches, semester by semester, is on the syllabus page. The exams that lead into these are on the exams page.