Skip sidebar and go to page body
In the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences we study so many different things that you might wonder how they all fit together. The answer is simple – the common thread is LIFE. We focus on living organisms and what it takes to sustain them, whether people, plants or animals.
We look at life from every angle. We study plants and animals from the genes on up. We study people- from health, nutrition to rural communities, to the global economics of food and fiber. We look at wildlife and habitat. Of course we study agricultural crops and livestock in every part of the world. We study the natural resources that sustain life: soils, groundwater lakes, streams and forests. If life is involved, so are we.
Do you want to understand the mystery of life? Like how life begins and develops. How traits get passed along? How a disease starts and spreads, and how to stop it? These questions cut across many disciplines in basic biology, agronomy, horticulture, plant pathology, animal sciences, food science, and nutritional science.
Do you want to study the environment? You might have to get a little dirty! You might have to dig in the soil, wade in creeks, or walk a pasture. Where else would you go to learn about wild species and their habitats? You can focus on any area that suits you: forest ecology, wildlife ecology, entomology, soil science are just a few of the majors. In fact, almost every department in the college deals with natural resources in some form. And it's not all fieldwork. Some of our best natural resource work delves into basic biology, plant and animal physiology, public policy and business.
Agriculture is applied biology, and it's where a lot of today's cutting edge science is getting done. It's and industry on the frontier. Future farms won't just produce food and fiber, they will also produce medicines, manufacturing materials and fuel. Students can learn about current farming methods and how they're being combined with ground breaking technologies such as gene transfer, cloning and global positioning to create new farm products and farming systems that are more sustainable, diversified, profitable and environmentally sound.
Don't get the idea that we study only plants that grow on farms. Our plant science grads get jobs related to commercial horticulture, landscaping, parks and forestry. They also work for biotechnology firms and our turfgrass program grads hit the big lieagues in some of the nation's top golf courses and ballparks. How do you get jobs like these? By earning degrees in agronomy, horticulture, soils, plant pathology, entomology, forest science or landscape architecture.
You want to work with animals? Of course you could become a veterinarian, and any of our natural science majors will help you prepare. If you want to study wild animals you will find many kindered spirits in wildlife ecology. And of course, there are plenty of careers in animal agriculture in our animal sciences and dairy sciences majors. If you go in this direction you will learn about genetics, gene mapping, embryo transfers and cloning.
We can help you with the major decisions. Students in our college can explore their interests, get a solid education and put the two together in a satisfying and incredibly interesting career. We are flexible, you can custom-tailor your education by choosing any of our twenty-five majors.