Plant health is a key to sustainable crop production. It is a broad topic encompassing the concepts of plant breeding, plant resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses, and adaptation to climate change and associated extremes of drought, heat stress, and pollution. Understanding basic and applied research focused on plant health is key to addressing food insecurities around the worlds and promoting economically and environmentally sound tactics to maximize plant productivity. This minor will expose students to a broad range of courses in plant pathology, entomology, weed sciences and integrates courses focused on management strategies to improve plant health. The minor aims to prepare students for post-baccalaureate degrees and careers in plant pathology, entomology, and plant health.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Describe, assess, analyze, and synthesize knowledge about factors that affect plant health.
- Integrate skills and knowledge to solve problems related to plant health in natural and managed ecosystems.
- Assess the social, economic, and ecosystem factors that directly and indirectly affect plant health and associated practices.
Advising
Reach out to Chris Amerman to schedule an appointment to change your major/minor. The change of major form can be electronically submitted by a student's main advisor to the Registrar's Office.
- Individualized Appointment with Advisor: Link for Scheduling
Our majors and minors have no competitive entry requirements. Courses to take if you are interested in the programs include AB 111, BSPM 102, BSPM 302, BSPM 308, and BSPM 361. Students interested in our program should ideally declare in the first two years, but exceptions can be made depending on the student's previous coursework.
For more information, please visit the Department of Agricultural Biology website.
Effective Spring 2023
Students must satisfactorily complete the total credits required for the minor. Minors and interdisciplinary minors require 12 or more upper-division (300- to 400-level) credits.
Additional coursework may be required due to prerequisites.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AB 410 | Understanding Pesticides | 3 |
| BSPM 302 | Applied and General Entomology | 2 |
| BSPM 303A | Entomology Laboratory: General | 2 |
| BSPM 308 | Ecology and Management of Weeds | 3 |
| BSPM 361 | Elements of Plant Pathology | 3 |
| Select a minimum of 8 credits from the following (including the selections of BSPM 487 or BSPM 495 or BZ/LIFE courses below): | 8 | |
| Integrated Pest Management | ||
| Integrated Tree Health Management | ||
| Evolution and Classification of Insects | ||
| Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction | ||
| Parasitology and Vector Biology | ||
| Internship | ||
or BSPM 495 | Independent Study | |
| Principles of Plant Biology (GT-SC1) 1 | ||
or LIFE 102 | Attributes of Living Systems (GT-SC1) | |
| Biology of Organisms-Animals and Plants (GT-SC1) 1 | ||
| Program Total Credits: | 21 | |
- 1
May be taken as electives by students in majors that are not in the biological or agricultural sciences.