| Graduate Study
Two areas of concentration are offered in this graduate field of study: tropical agronomy and tropical soil science. The first is designed for candidates whose primary interests lie with crops; the second for students who wish to place greater emphasis on soils. Agronomy students may specialize in tropical crop and pasture production, cropping systems, agrometeorology, agroforestry, crop physiology, plant breeding, or plant-soil relationships. Courses offered in botany, horticulture, plant pathology, and agricultural biochemistry, combined with courses offered in agronomy and soil science, will provide considerable flexibility in the development of a program suited to a student's career objectives. In the soil science concentration, students may specialize in tropical soil genesis and classification, soil chemistry, soil physics, soil mineralogy, soil salinity, soil management, soil and water conservation, soil fertility, and soil microbiology.
Successful graduates have pursued a variety of careers within the industrial, educational, and research sectors. Employment opportunities are promising on the international scene.
Both the MS and PhD degrees are offered. Plan A is available to all MS students, but Plan B is restricted to intended PhD candidates. Plan C is designed for selected students.
Entrance Requirements
Applicants must present a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 18 undergraduate credit hours in either agronomy or soil science. All applicants are expected to meet stated course requirements for department undergraduate majors as a minimum. Certain courses from related subject matter fields may be allowed to fulfill this requirement. Related fields for agronomy are animal sciences, botany, chemistry, climatology, forestry, genetics, horticulture, plant pathology, plant physiology, soil science, and zoology. Related subject matter fields for soil science are biosystems engineering, agronomy, botany, chemistry, civil engineering, geosciences, mathematics, microbiology, physical geography, and physics. A minimum TOEFL score of 520 is required of foreign students. All applicants must submit at least two letters of recommendation at the time of application. The GRE is required for all applicants.
The MS and PhD programs in tropical agronomy and soil science are recognized Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) regional graduate programs. Residents of Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming are eligible, upon admission, to enroll at tuition rates for Hawai'i residents.
Areas of Specialization
Areas of specialization and courses available in each are as follows:
Agricultural Systems Analysis and Methodologies
AGRN 603 Experimental Design (4)
AGRS 492 Internship (4)
AGRS 651 Techniques of Plant/Soil Analysis (3)
AGRS 654 Communications in Agriculture (1)
AGRS 671 International Agricultural Systems (2)
Agroforestry/Forest Ecology
AGRN 480 Agroforestry Systems (3)
AGRN 680 Forest Agroforest Ecosystem Analysis (3)
Crop Production and Cropping Systems
AGRN 200 Introduction to Crop Science (3)
AGRN 460 Cropping Systems (3)
AGRN 610 Crop Photosynthetic Production (3)
AGRN 660 Cropping Systems Analysis (3)
AGRN 710 Mineral Nutrition of Tropical Crops (3)
Land Resource Components and Processes
AGRS 661 Agricultural Meteorology (4)
SOIL 304 Fundamentals of Soil Science (4)
SOIL 430 Soil Chemistry (3)
SOIL 460 Soil Physics (3)
SOIL 485 Microbial Ecology (3)
SOIL 604 Advanced Soil Microbiology (4)
SOIL 640 Advanced Soil Chemistry (3)
SOIL 660 Hydrologic Processes in Soils (3)
SOIL 670 Soil Formation & Classification (4)
SOIL 671 Soil & Clay Mineralogy (3)
Natural Resource Management-Environmental Quality
AGRS 630 Agriculture & the Environment (2)
AGRS 631 Sustainable Agriculture Seminar (2)
SOIL 450 Soil Fertility (4)
SOIL 461 Soil, Erosion, & Conservation (3)
SOIL 650 Advanced Soil Fertility (4)
New Concepts and Research in Agronomy and Soil Science
AGRS 491 Topics in Agronomy & Soil Science (V)
AGRS 499 Directed Study (V)
AGRS 500 Master's Plan B/C Studies (1)
AGRS 691 Advanced Topics in Agronomy & Soil Science (V)
AGRS 691 Advanced Topics in Agronomy and Soil Science (V)
AGRS 699 Directed Research (V)
AGRS 700 Thesis Research (V)
AGRS 701 Seminar in Advanced Agronomy & Soil Science (1)
AGRS 800 Dissertation Research (V)
Master's Degree
A diagnostic examination is required of all MS students and those PhD students who did not receive their MS from this department. The exam is given during the week preceding the first day of instruction in the first semester of enrollment. The examination consists of six parts: botany, chemistry, mathematics, physics, crop science, and soil science. The results of these tests are used to determine the need for remedial courses in the student's program.
Degree Requirements
Candidates are generally expected to follow the Plan A (thesis) program. Under this plan, 30 credit hours are required including 6 credit hours of thesis and a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work. A majority of these must be from agronomy and soil science courses, with 8 credit hours from agronomy and soil science courses at the 600 level and 4 other credits in other courses numbered 600 or above. No more than 2 credit hours of directed research (AGRS 699) are allowed toward the required 600-level credit hours, but 5 credit hours are allowed toward the 24 course credit hours. Mathematical preparation through calculus is required of all MS candidates.
All MS candidates must complete a minimum of 2 credit hours of seminar, including 1 credit hour of AGRS 654 Communications in Agriculture and at least 1 credit in AGRS 701 Seminar in Advanced Agronomy and Soil Science.
The Plan B (non-thesis) option is available only to intended PhD candidates as explained under PhD requirements. The requirements for Plan B are explained in the "Graduate Education" section of this Catalog.
The Plan C (examination) option is open to selected students on the recommendation of their graduate program committee. Criteria for selection include previous academic records, interviews, level of performance in the diagnostic examination, and prior research experience (see the "Graduate Education" section of this Catalog for information).
Doctoral Degree
The PhD in agronomy and soil science is awarded only for original scholarly achievement. The dissertation, which is a significant original contribution to basic knowledge in the candidate's field, is required. Only students with above average academic records in predoctoral programs will be accepted into the program. Mathematical preparation at least to the level of differential and integral calculus is strongly recommended. Students accepted as intended PhD candidates directly from BS programs are required to perform successfully in an MS Plan B program. Upon completion of the MS Plan B, such students will be evaluated for admission to the PhD program in the same manner as other intended candidates who receive MS Plan A or Plan C degrees from this department.
A PhD program will have a major in either agronomy or soil science with a minor area of study that consists of courses principally outside the department as a complement. The minor allows the student to expand areas of proficiency.
Degree Requirements
For all PhD students, a minimum of 24 credit hours in courses numbered 600 or above is required for the major, not including seminar, directed research, thesis/dissertation research, or courses taken to fulfill the minor requirement. A majority of the 24 credit hours must be taken in agronomy and soil science courses with at least one course in agronomy (not including AGRN 603) for soils majors and at least one course in soils for agronomy majors. The candidate's committee will determine how many credit hours earned previously in an MS program can be applied to the PhD credit requirement. Candidates must register for seminar at least one semester of each year in which they are registered as full-time or equivalent, except the final year, in which the dissertation defense can be substituted for seminar. PhD candidates who have not had AGRS 654 Communications in Agriculture or its equivalent may take this course during their first year as a substitute for 1 credit hour of AGRS 701. Mathematical preparation at least through calculus is required of all PhD candidates.
The minor for both the agronomy and the soil science concentrations will consist of a total of at least four courses at the 400 level or above outside the concentration area, with at least two courses at the 600 level. Each of these courses should represent a minimum load of 2 credit hours. The minor should complement the concentration area and include related courses that combine logically under the minor designated by the candidate and approved by the candidate's committee. Minor courses will be predominantly those offered in other departments. Statistics courses, such as ZOOL 631 and AREC 310, which are foundations for other graduate-level courses in statistics, may not be included in the minor as they are fundamental to any well-rounded program in either concentration.
After admission to candidacy and the completion of most courses in the candidate's program, the candidate must take written and oral comprehensive examinations covering all subjects considered relevant to the concentration and the minor. A final oral examination, which includes a public defense of the dissertation, is required of all candidates.
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