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The newest addition to the CALS campus: Microbial Sciences Building. Photo by: Wolfgang Hoffmann |
About the College
The College has three distinct, yet closely integrated missions: 1) Undergraduate Instruction, 2) Research and Graduate Training, and 3) Outreach/Extension.
Our work across these missions is organized into four neighborhoods: agriculture, social sciences, life sciences and natural resources. We carry out these missions on a global scale through our international development programs.
Instruction
In the fall of 2008, CALS enrolled 2,372 undergraduate students, 926 graduate students and 140 students in the Farm and Industry Short Course.
Our students choose from 24 majors in biological sciences, agriculture, food and nutrition, environment and national resources, and social sciences. Each student meets regularly with a faculty advisor to map out study and career plans.
The College awarded 479 students with scholarships totaling $577,850 in 2008-09. The Short Course awarded scholarships totaling $121,425 to 100 students.
The College also partnered with Wisconsin businesses, organizations and industries to provide about 117 students with internships for credit.
Research
The 19 CALS departments annually conduct more than 600 general lines of research comprising thousands of individual research projects. These projects range in scope from the fundamental challenges of science to the immediate problems and opportunities facing Wisconsin farms and businesses. Generating new knowledge is one key goal of all research projects. Another is to train graduate students and undergraduates to conduct research. Today's graduate students are the research force of the future. The total research revenue of the College is over $130 million.
About 29 percent of the College's total research support comes from state sources. The State of Wisconsin provides the stable budget support that allows faculty members to compete for research funding from a variety of sources, including federal and state agencies, foundaitons, agricultural commodity groups and private industry. In the USDA competitive grants arena, CALS researchers annually lead researchers from all other institutions in the amount of funding garnered per faculty research position.
College departments reviewed by the National Research Council consistently rank among the top ten in the country. The College was recently ranked first in the nation in high-impact research publications, a reflection of the high quality of its research productivity.
Outreach/Extension
The College partners with UW-Extension to provide research-based agricultural and natural resources education to the people of Wisconsin. About 100 CALS faculty and academic staff members hold Cooperative Extension appointments. They work closely with county extension staff to deliver valuable information and advice to Wisconsin residents, businesses and organizations. In addition to the Agriculture and Natural Resources program area, CALS faculty support program areas of 4-H,Family Living, and Community, Natural Resources and Economic Development.