A microcredential is evidence of completing a short course with a specific focus (Debiais-Sainton, 2020; Olcott Jr., 2022). The course may or may not be offered for postsecondary credit, with a final assessment validating competency-based learning. This credential is not a postsecondary degree but may stack toward one. The ability to obtain microcredentials within secondary and postsecondary education courses, particularly CTE courses, is rising (Alvarado, 2023; Olcott Jr., 2022). Primarily delivered as online courses, these programs allow participants to customize their learning experience, enhancing their in-person learning (Hodge, 2023). Many advanced degrees or industry roles require third-party certifications to obtain employment and maintain relevancy, such as passing the American Bar Association or Professional Engineers exams (Olcott Jr., 2022). These credentials build upon the degrees’ coursework to indicate a person’s ability to combine theory and practice.

This exploratory research sought to catalog microcredentials available in agriculture, food, and natural resources (AFNR). Research criteria included: programs must be located in the U.S., offer a short course in an AFNR subject or skill, and provide a certificate or digital badge for professional recognition. Four Google searches were conducted during October 2024 using variations in similar search terms. A search for “microcredentials+in+agriculture” returned 129,000 items, with only two of the top ten matching criteria for a microcredential. Searching “microcredentials+in+animal+science” returned 91,600 results, with two results matching the criteria. Searching “microcredentials+in+plant+science” returned 114,000 results, with seven of the top ten matching the research criteria. A final search for “certifications+in+agriculture” was conducted as previous research indicated that “certification” was generally synonymous with microcredential. This search returned 40,100,000 results, with only three of the top ten items meeting the research criteria. This research indicated few AFNR microcredential programs are available in the U.S. or are not marketing themselves as such.