| Affiliations
The department’s agroforestry and forest ecology
programs are complemented by a special memorandum of understanding with
the School of Forestry at the University of Idaho and at the University
of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Advising
Undergraduate students are advised by the
department’s undergraduate adviser. Undergraduate options are detailed
in the following section. Graduate students are advised initially by an
adviser or by the department’s graduate program chair.
Undergraduate Study
Agronomists and soil scientists utilize fundamental
knowledge in physics, chemistry, biology and physiology, genetics, and
meteorology to solve basic and applied problems of field crops and
soils. Crop and soil scientists work together to investigate problems in
plant nutrition, soil fertility, groundwater quality, soil erosion and
conservation, agroforestry, and cropping systems. Together they strive
to match the requirements of crops to the characteristics of soils and
climates. This program offers a BS degree in agronomy and soil science.
Bachelor’s Degree
Requirements
Prior to entrance into the program, students should
have the equivalent of two years of high school algebra.
• Students must
complete a total of 128 credit hours
• Students must complete General Education Core requirements
including the following:
AREC 310
BOT 101/101L or BIOL 171/171L
CHEM 161/161L and 162/162L
ECON 130
• Required courses for
all options:
AGRN 200
CHEM 152/152L
ENG 209
SOIL 304 and 450
AGRS 492
• Required courses for
the agronomy option:
BOT 470/470L
29 additional credit hours approved by the department
• Required courses for
the crops option:
AGRN 460
AGRS 499
BOT 470/470L
MATH 140
PHYS 151/151L
25 additional credit hours approved by the department
•
Required courses for
the soils option:
SOIL 430 and 460
AGRS 499
MATH 140 and 205
PHYS 151/151L
22 additional credit hours approved by the department
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)
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