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The Department of Agronomy offers a degree of Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in agronomy. The curriculum is designed to provide a strong foundation in crop science, soil science, agricultural meteorology, and plant breeding.
The curriculum provides both flexibility and direction for students by offering four options: agroecology, crop management and business, plant breeding and biotechnology, and soil science and environmental quality. There are many opportunities for undergraduate students to be involved in research and international agriculture.
Graduates have the theoretical and practical knowledge needed for efficient and sustainable production of food, feed, fuel, and fiber. Graduates are skilled in critical thinking, problem solving, and communicating and working effectively with others. They understand the ethical, cultural, and environmental dimensions of issues facing professionals in agriculture and natural resources.
An agronomy major prepares students for employment in agricultural business and industry, agricultural service organizations, crop production and soil management, environmental and natural resource management, and farm management. Graduates pursue careers in the seed, fertilizer, and agricultural chemical industries as field agronomists, crop and soil management specialists, research technicians, sales and marketing specialists, and production managers. State and federal agencies employ agronomists as extension specialists, county extension directors, environmental and natural resource specialists, research associates, soil surveyors, soil conservationists, regulatory agencies as plant, food, and grain inspectors, science-based professional positions, graduate study, or research careers. Additional areas of work open to agronomists include integrated pest management, land appraisal, agricultural finance, turfgrass management, and the home lawn care industry.
The department offers an international scholar program leading to a credentialed title of "Agronomy International Scholar" for agronomy majors who have distinguished themselves in global understanding and international experience. Contact the department for requirements.
| ENGL 150 | Critical Thinking and Communication | 3 |
| ENGL 250 | Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition | 3 |
| SP CM 212 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
| or AGEDS 311 | Presentation and Sales Strategies for Agricultural Audiences | |
| LIB 160 | Information Literacy | 1 |
| One of the following: | 3 | |
| ENGL 302 | Business Communication | 3 |
| ENGL 309 | Proposal and Report Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 314 | Technical Communication | 3 |
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES: 6 CR.
| ECON 101 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
ETHICS/AGRICULTURAL ISSUES: 3 CR.
| AGRON 342 | World Food Issues: Past and Present | 3 |
| or AGRON 450 | Issues in Sustainable Agriculture | |
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES: 6-7 CR.
| STAT 104 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
| One of the following: | 3-4 | |
| MATH 140 | College Algebra | 3 |
| MATH 150 | Discrete Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences | 3 |
| MATH 160 | Survey of Calculus | 4 |
| MATH 165 | Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 181 | Calculus and Mathematical Modeling for the Life Sciences I | 4 |
PHYSICAL SCIENCES: 15-17 CR.
| CHEM 163 & 163L |
College Chemistry and Laboratory in College Chemistry |
5 |
| or CHEM 177 & 177L |
General Chemistry I and Laboratory in General Chemistry I |
|
| PHYS 111 | General Physics | 4-5 |
| or PHYS 115 | Physics for the Life Sciences | |
| GEOL 100 | The Earth | 3 |
| One of the following: | ||
| AGRON 259 | Organic Compounds in Plants and Soils | 3 |
| BBMB 221 | Structure and Reactions in Biochemical Processes | 3 |
| CHEM 231 & 231L |
Elementary Organic Chemistry and Laboratory in Elementary Organic Chemistry |
4 |
LIFE AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES: 7-8 CR.
| BIOL 212 & 212L |
Principles of Biology II and Principles of Biology Laboratory II |
4 |
| AGRON 320 | Genetics, Agriculture and Biotechnology | 3-4 |
| or BIOL 313 & 313L |
Principles of Genetics and Genetics Laboratory |
|
AGRONOMY CORE: 22.5-24 CR.
| AGRON 105 | Leadership Experience | R |
| AGRON 110 | Professional Development in Agronomy: Orientation | 0.5-1 |
| AGRON 180 | Global Agriculture in a Changing World | 3 |
| AGRON 181 | Introduction to Crop Science | 3 |
| AGRON 182 | Introduction to Soil Science | 3 |
| AGRON 183 | Crop and Soil Management Lab | 1 |
| AGRON 206 | Introduction to Weather and Climate | 3 |
| AGRON 210 | Professional Development in Agronomy: Career Planning | 1 |
| AGRON 310 | Professional Development in Agronomy: Work Experience | R |
| or | ||
| AGRON 311 | Professional Internship in Agronomy | 1 |
| AGRON 316 | Crop Structure-Function Relationships | 3 |
| AGRON 354 & 354L |
Soils and Plant Growth and Soils and Plant Growth Laboratory |
4 |
| AGRON 410 | Professional Development in Agronomy: Senior Forum | 1 |
ADVISING OPTION CHOICE
Complete a minimum of 25 cr. including 16 cr. from 300 level courses or above from approved list; no more than 4 cr. of any 490 may count toward graduation.
ELECTIVES:
25 credits, student choice
ADVISING OPTIONS
AGROECOLOGY
| AGRON 311 | Professional Internship in Agronomy | 1 |
| AGRON 392 | Systems Analysis in Crop and Soil Management | 3 |
| AGRON 450 | Issues in Sustainable Agriculture | 3 |
| AGRON 497 | Agroecology Field Course | 3 |
| Biological Science Choices: (Choose at least 2) 6 credits | ||
| AGRON 217 | Weed Identification | 1 |
| AGRON 317 | Principles of Weed Science | 3 |
| AGRON 334 | Forage Crop Management | 3 |
| AGRON 485 | Soil and Environmental Microbiology | 3 |
| ENT 376 | Fundamentals of Entomology and Pest Management | 3 |
| ENT 471 | Insect Ecology | 3 |
| HORT 424 | Sustainable and Environmental Horticulture Systems | 3 |
| HORT 484 | Organic Agricultural Theory and Practice | 3 |
| PL P 408 | Principles of Plant Pathology | 3 |
| Physical Science Choices: (Choose 2) | ||
| AGRON 360 | Environmental Soil Science | 3 |
| ENSCI 402 | Watershed Hydrology | 3 |
| AGRON 404 | Global Change | 3 |
| AGRON 405 | Environmental Biophysics | 3 |
| AGRON 406 | World Climates | 3 |
| AGRON 407 | Mesoscale Meteorology | 3 |
| AGRON 452 | GIS for Geoscientists | 3 |
| Social Science Choices: (Choose 1) | ||
| AGRON 342 | World Food Issues: Past and Present | 3 |
| ENSCI 484 | Ecosystem Ecology | 3 |
| SOC 325 | Transition in Agriculture | 3 |
CROP MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS
| AGRON 212 | Crop Growth, Productivity and Management | 3 |
| AGRON 212L | Field Application and Problem Solving in Crop Production | 1 |
| ENT 376 | Fundamentals of Entomology and Pest Management | 3 |
| PL P 408 | Principles of Plant Pathology | 3 |
| AGRON 217 | Weed Identification | 1 |
| AGRON 317 | Principles of Weed Science | 3 |
| Problem Solving: | ||
| AGRON 392 | Systems Analysis in Crop and Soil Management | 3 |
| Business Choices: (Choose 3) | ||
| ACCT 284 | Financial Accounting | 3 |
| ECON 102 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 230 | Farm Business Management | 3 |
| ECON 235 | Introduction to Agricultural Markets | 3 |
| Agronomic Choices: (Choose at least 2) 6 credits | ||
| AGRON 260 | Soils and Environmental Quality | 3 |
| AGRON 330 | Crop and Seed Identification Laboratory | 2 |
| AGRON 334 | Forage Crop Management | 3 |
| AGRON 338 | Seed Science and Technology | 3 |
| AGRON 360 | Environmental Soil Science | 3 |
| AGRON 421 | Introduction to Plant Breeding | 3 |
| AGRON 463 | Soil Formation and Landscape Relationships | 4 |
| TSM 333 | Precision Farming Systems | 3 |
PLANT BREEDING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
| MATH 165 | Calculus I | 4 |
| or MATH 181 | Calculus and Mathematical Modeling for the Life Sciences I | |
| MATH 166 | Calculus II | 4 |
| or MATH 182 | Calculus and Mathematical Modeling for the Life Sciences II | |
| CHEM 177 | General Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 177L | Laboratory in General Chemistry I | 1 |
| CHEM 178 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 178L | Laboratory in College Chemistry II | 1 |
| BIOL 314 | Principles of Molecular Cell Biology | 3 |
| STAT 401 | Statistical Methods for Research Workers | 4 |
| AGRON 421 | Introduction to Plant Breeding | 3 |
| Computer Science Choices: (Choose 1) | ||
| GEN 444 | Bioinformatic Analysis | 4 |
| COM S 207 | Fundamentals of Computer Programming | 3 |
| Problem Solving: | ||
| AGRON 392 | Systems Analysis in Crop and Soil Management | 3 |
| Agronomic Choices: (Choose 1) | ||
| AGRON 212 | Crop Growth, Productivity and Management | 3 |
| AGRON 338 | Seed Science and Technology | 3 |
| Interest Choices: (Choose 1) | ||
| BBMB 404 | Biochemistry I | 3 |
| BIOL 315 | Biological Evolution | 3 |
| GEN 410 | Analytical Genetics | 3 |
SOIL SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
| AGRON 260 | Soils and Environmental Quality | 3 |
| Problem Solving Choices: (Choose 1) | ||
| AGRON 360 | Environmental Soil Science | 3 |
| AGRON 392 | Systems Analysis in Crop and Soil Management | 3 |
| GIS Choices: (Choose 1) | ||
| ENSCI 345 | Natural Resource Photogrammetry and Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| C R P 451 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| AGRON 452 | GIS for Geoscientists | 3 |
| Interest Choices: (Choose 3) | ||
| AGRON 459 | Environmental Soil and Water Chemistry | 4 |
| AGRON 463 | Soil Formation and Landscape Relationships | 4 |
| AGRON 477 | Soil Physics | 3 |
| AGRON 485 | Soil and Environmental Microbiology | 3 |
| Interest Choices: (Choose 2) | ||
| ENSCI 301 | Natural Resource Ecology and Soils | 4 |
| ENSCI 402 | Watershed Hydrology | 3 |
| AGRON 404 | Global Change | 3 |
| AGRON 405 | Environmental Biophysics | 3 |
| AGRON 406 | World Climates | 3 |
| AGRON 407 | Mesoscale Meteorology | 3 |
- Applicant must have a B- or 3.70 (out of a possible 5.00) cumulative grade point average in academic subjects at secondary level. The following subjects are not included in the CGPA: drawing, military training, music, labor/vocational study, and physical education.
- Students who do not meet the CGPA requirement above but who rank in the top half of their high school graduating class will be given consideration upon receipt of their official rank from the school.
- TOEFL Internet-Based TOEFL (IBT) score of 71 with a minimum score of 17 in both the Writing and Speaking sections, Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT) score of 530
- IELTS Overall band score of 6.0 with no sub score below 5.5
Scholarships
- International Merit Scholarships
- Anne Doyle International Student Award
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