University Bulletin
Undergraduate Degree Programs
The COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES is concerned with the conduct of education and research programs dealing with the proper utilization of land and water resources for the production of crops, livestock, and forest products to meet food and fiber needs, as well as plants for aesthetic use; protection and management of the environment, with its many ecological systems, so that it may be enjoyed by all; operation of agriculturally related industries that provide professional services to producers who process and market farm products; and the development of human resources and community services.
Agriculture is a science, a business, and a profession that requires many well-educated people to meet the demand for animal and plant specialists, conservationists, food technologists, environmental resource managers, engineers, veterinarians, entomologists, farm and forest managers, and many other agricultural professions. The college carries out its responsibilities through instruction, research, and extension. These activities are described more fully below.
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
A WIDE RANGE of majors in the College of Agricultural Sciences offers students almost unlimited opportunities to merge their natural inclinations, talents, and specific individual abilities.
Students who are interested in studies in plant pathology can enroll in the undergraduate majors in Agronomy, Horticulture, or Forest Science.
Freshmen in a four-year program in the College of Agricultural Sciences study basic courses common to all majors. By deferring the selection of a major until the end of the sophomore year, students are given the opportunity to explore their interest areas and to acquire a better basis for making a decision.
A faculty adviser guides each student in choosing his or her course of study. Advisers are available throughout a student's college career to help plan course schedules and to assist with scholastic problems.
Admission requirements for the college are listed in the Admissions portion of the General Information section of this bulletin. The major in Agricultural and Biological Engineering is jointly administered by the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering. Students who are interested in this major should consult requirements for admission to the College of Engineering.
Information on programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees is given in the Penn State Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin.
MINOR programs enable students to supplement their four-year major. Minors are offered in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Agribusiness Management, Agricultural Communications, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Agricultural Mechanization Technology, Agronomy, Animal Sciences, Environmental and Renewable Resource Economics, Environmental Resource Management, Environmental Soil Science, Equine Science, Forest Science, Horticulture, International Agriculture, Leadership Development, Mushroom Science and Technology, Off-Road Equipment, Plant Pathology, Poultry and Avian Science, Wildlife and Fisheries Science, Wood Products Marketing, and Youth and Family Education.
TWO-YEAR MAJORS in Agricultural Business, Forest Technology, and Wildlife Technology lead to the associate degree. Students in these majors, who must begin study of technical subjects the first year, are given all possible assistance in planning their work by their faculty advisers.
TEACHER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM -- Agricultural students may qualify for certification to teach in the public school systems of Pennsylvania by completing the minimum course requirements of a subject matter field and the professional education requirements, which include student teaching. Professional courses are taken in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, College of Agricultural Sciences, and the College of Education. Students who are interested in teacher certification should see Teacher Education Programs.
PRE-VETERINARY MEDICINE -- Although Penn State has no pre-veterinary medicine major, students can prepare for admission to veterinary school through a carefully selected major in the College of Agricultural Sciences. In most cases, students are not accepted to veterinary school prior to the completion of four or more years of college. Because of the limited number of admissions to veterinary schools, each candidate should select an undergraduate program that offers alternatives as well as preparation for admission to the professional program. The wide number of electives allowed in undergraduate majors in the College of Agricultural Sciences provides students with the opportunity to obtain strong preprofessional preparation in majors such as Animal Bioscience, Animal Sciences, and Wildlife and Fisheries Science.
Students who want to pursue studies in other disciplines of agriculture or in other colleges may obtain information about veterinary school admission requirements by contacting members of the faculty of the veterinary science, dairy and animal science, and poultry science departments.
CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS, CONFERENCES, AND SHORT COURSES
Certificate programs, conferences, and short courses are offered in agriculture and related areas, including programs of formal instruction of variable periods or short-course conference educational activities that may last from one day to several weeks.
Two certificate programs provide training in agriculturally related occupations--food technology and turfgrass management. The Food Technology certificate program, conducted on the Berks Campus, is a course of formal classroom and laboratory instruction. Information on this program may be obtained by contacting Continuing Education, Penn State Berks Campus, P.O. Box 7009, Reading, PA 19610-6009; 610-320-4874.
The Golf Course Turfgrass Management certificate program consists of two eight-week winter terms a year for two years, To gain practical experience, a six-month on-the-job internship is required between the first and second years. High school graduates 17 or older are eligible to apply. Admission to the program is limited and competitive. Offers to enroll are based on scholastic achievement, work experience, letters of recommendation, and the applicant's personal goals. Information on this program may be obtained by contacting the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, 116 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802; 814-865-6541.
The Turfgrass and Agricultural Equipment Services (TAE) certificate program is a two-year certificate with four eight-week sessions. Sessions are offered at the University Park campus with the fall session running late October through December and the spring session January through early March. There is a required internship between the first and second years of the program. Students enrolled in this program become service technicians in the agricultural, turfgrass, and related industries. They can apply the technical skills learned in the operation, repair and maintenance, and scheduling of equipment. Students in the TAE program study hydraulics and electrical, mechanical, and power transfer systems. They also learn to use comptuers for equipment scheduling, inventory, and maintenance records. The program is accredited by the Engine and Equipment Training Council. For information about this program, contact the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 249 Agricultural Engineeering Building, University Park, PA 16802; or Dr. James W. Hilton, 232 Agricultural Engineering Building, University Park, PA 16802; jwh2@psu.edu; 814-863-1817; or visit: www.abet.org (Opens New Window).
Agricultural conferences and short courses are held regularly on the University Park Campus and around the state. The Office of Conferences and Short Courses works with Penn State faculty, government agencies, rural and urban organizations, and farm groups in planning and organizing these meetings. Using University-based resources, the conferences and short courses help businesses, industry, and individuals keep abreast of the latest developments that affect their lives and livelihoods. Conference announcements may be obtained from the Office of Conferences and Short Courses, The Pennsylvania State University, 306 Agricultural Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802-2601; 814-865-8301; Fax, 814-865-7050.
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
The college, in association with its counterparts in other states and in federal agencies, supports research related to the production and use of food, fiber, and forestry products and to the economic and social well-being of those living in rural and urban areas. It has a primary role in providing research information for use by the Penn State Cooperative Extension and other public educational institutions.
Not only does the college fund research to increase the economic and technical efficiency with which products are produced and utilized, but it also is concerned with finding ways of achieving greater agricultural abundance in harmony with the environment and of achieving an ever-increasing level of quality in those products. While the events of recent years have made readily apparent the justification for emphasis on research centering on production of feed and other renewable resources, the human welfare aspects of life in rural and urban areas also have been given attention.
To a large extent the research leaders are also actively engaged in the resident education, short course, and extension programs. The interaction enriches the content of the instructional experience and also guides the research efforts toward the solution of broad social concerns.
PENN STATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
Cooperative extension is a non-formal, community-based educational resource of Penn State, funded cooperatively by state and county governments and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more than seventy-five years, Pennsylvanians have turned to Penn State Cooperative Extension for news ways to solve community and individual problems.
Each year, more than 2 million people participate in Penn State Cooperative Extension seminars, workshops, conferences, short courses, computer-assisted learning, learn-at-home programs and other activities. Countless others request information and guidance from county agents and their staff, and many more receive extension-related information through newspapers, radio, television, publications, Web sites, and other media.
About 300 county extension agents, 130 paraprofessionals, and 50,000 volunteers help plan, deliver, and evaluate cooperative extension education programs in all sixty-seven Pennsylvania counties. Teams of extension agents and Penn State faculty develop and provide leadership for educational programs and materials.
Penn State Cooperative Extension 4-H youth programs reach about 120,000 young people between the ages of 8 and 19 through organized clubs, special or short-term programs, school enrichment activities, and individual study. About 11,000 adult and 1,600 teen volunteer leaders work with county 4-H extension agents to deliver these programs. Youth participants come from cities (22 percent), suburbs (11 percent), medium-sized towns (21 percent), small towns (40 percent), and farms (6 percent).
Tapping Penn State's rich store of information, new research, and new thinking about issues relevant to citizens of the Commonwealth, Penn State Cooperative Extension offers a broad range of programs in areas vital to the quality of life in Pennsylvania, including agriculture; natural resources and environmental management; 4-H/youth development; community resources and economic development; family development and resource management; leadership and volunteer development; and nutrition, diet, and health.
SCHOOL OF FOREST RESOURCES
PROFESSOR CHARLES H. STRAUSS, Director
The School of Forest Resources provides professional education important to the proper management and utilization of renewable natural resources. These resources include forests, wildlife, and fisheries, managed to provide a variety of benefits to people, from the wood products that we use in construction, cabinets, furniture, and paper to the wild animals that we enjoy photographing and hunting. School programs emphasize conservation, which is the sustained use of resources to meet people's needs now and in the future.
ADMISSION--Admission requirements for the College of Agricultural Sciences are listed at the beginning of this section of the bulletin. Students who expect to continue in the School of Forest Resources should be prepared to take a course in calculus.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SERVICES AND COUNSELING--The coordinator of undergraduate student programs is responsible for undergraduate curricula, general student advising, assignment of advisees, special academic programs, and employment.
GRADUATE EDUCATION--Students interested in advanced degrees should consult the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin and the Graduate Student Manual.
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES
BRUCE McPHERON, Dean
BARBARA J. CHRIST, Senior Associate Dean
J. MARCOS FERNANDEZ, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
ANN DODD, Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Graduate Education
COLLEGE ORGANIZATION
Agricultural and Biological Engineering -- ROY E. YOUNG, Head
[6]Agricultural and Biological Engineering -- PAUL H. HEINEMANN, Program Coordinator
Agricultural Systems Management -- PAUL H. HEINEMANN, Program Coordinator
Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology -- STEPHEN M. SMITH, Head
Agricultural Business Management -- JAMES W. DUNN, Program Coordinator
Environmental and Renewable Resource Economics -- JAMES W. DUNN, Program Coordinator
Agricultural and Extension Education -- TRACY S. HOOVER, Head
Agricultural and Extension Education -- DENNIS C. SCANLON, Program Coordinator
Agricultural Science -- DENNIS C. SCANLON, Program Coordinator
Crop and Soil Sciences -- DAVID M. SYLVIA, Head
Environmental Soil Science -- KATHARINE BUTLER, Program Coordinator
Turfgrass Science -- A. J. TURGEON, Program Coordinator
Dairy and Animal Science -- TERRY D. ETHERTON, Head
Entomology -- GARY W. FELTON, Head
Food Science -- JOHN FLOROS, Head
STEPHANIE DOORES, Program Coordinator
Forest Resources (School of) -- MICHAEL G. MESSINA, Director
Forest Science -- PAUL R. BLANKENHORN, Program Coordinator
Wildlife and Fisheries Science --
Wood Products -- JAMIE MURPHY, Program Coordinator
Horticulture -- RICHARD P. MARINI, Head
Horticulture -- CHARLES W. HEUSER, Program Coordinator
Landscape Contracting -- DAN T. STEARNS, Program Coordinator
Plant Pathology -- BARBARA J. CHRIST, Head
Poultry Science -- ROBERT G. ELKIN, Head
Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences -- C. CHANNA REDDY, Head
INTERDEPARTMENTAL PROGRAMS
Agroecology -- PAUL A. BACKMAN, Program Coordinator
Animal Bioscience -- LESTER C. GRIEL, Program Coordinator
Animal Sciences -- HAROLD W. HARPSTER, Program Coordinator
Environmental Resource Management -- ROBERT D. SHANNON, Program Coordinator
[6] Offered jointly with the College of Engineering. Requirements are listed in the College of Engineering section of this bulletin.