Crops

Overview

Students in the crops concentration learn about systems for growing, managing, and improving crops through courses in plant sciences, soils, pest management and the basic sciences. They learn how the principles of basic sciences apply to the production of field crops, including soil fertility, plant growth, plant breeding and the management of weeds, insects and diseases.

The crops concentration offers a wide array of opportunities for employment. Graduates are prepared for technical, managerial and research positions in local, state and federal government agencies. They’ll also be able to hold positions in the chemical, fertilizer, seed, and crop consulting industries that provide agricultural inputs, products and services. Some graduates of the crops concentration choose to work in production agriculture; others elect to continue their education in a graduate program in the plant sciences or related areas.

Opportunities for Study

In the Crops Concentration students learn how crop plants grow and are grown through courses in plant sciences, soils, pest management, and the basic sciences. By the time you complete your B.S. degree in Crop Sciences, you will have 40 semester hours of agriculture courses and 126 total hours, which means that you will take about 16 hours of classes each semester. Here is a possible pattern of science and math courses for the first two years (hours for each course are in parentheses):

Freshman Year	soils (4) calculus (3) chemistry (4)	plant biology (4) crop sciences (4) issues in agriculture (3)
Sophomore Year	geology (4) chemistry (7) microbiology (5)	plant pathology (3) animal or food science (3) plant and animal genetics (3)

The pattern of courses for the junior and senior years is more variable and depends on the student's interests. Requirements in cultural studies (6 hr.), humanities (6 hr.), social sciences (6 hr.), and speech/composition (10 hr.) are the same for all concentrations.

Career Opportunities

The diversity of areas studied in this concentration gives you a variety of job opportunities upon graduation. Students in the Crops Concentration are educated to hold technical, managerial, and research positions within local, state, and federal government agencies. This concentration also prepares students for entry level positions in the chemical, crop consulting, fertilizer, and seed industries that provide agricultural inputs, products, or services. In recent years there have been more positions available than the number of graduates from this concentration. Some students in the Crops Concentration choose to work in production agriculture or to continue their education in graduate programs (M.S. or Ph.D.) in the plant sciences and related disciplines.