Want to develop the science, practices, and technology of feeding the world while minimizing the environmental impact of agriculture?
The Major in Soil and Crop Sciences provides hands-on training and expert instruction that will equip students to solve current global challenges in soil, plant, and environmental sciences.
The demand for students with a fundamental understanding of soil and crop sciences combined with technical and data skills has never been greater. Our graduates go on to exciting careers in industry, government, entrepreneurship, and academia, with 84% employed within 6 months of graduation.
We offer six concentrations that enable each student to align their coursework with their specific interests.
Concentrations
- Agronomic Production Management Concentration
- Applied Information Technology Concentration
- International Soil and Crop Sciences Concentration
- Plant Biotechnology, Genetics, and Breeding Concentration
- Soil Ecology Concentration
- Soil Restoration and Conservation Concentration
Students do not have to choose a concentration, but are given the flexibility to tailor the curriculum to their individual interests.
Minors
- Minor in Soil Resources and Conservation
- Minor in Soil Science
- Organic Agriculture Interdisciplinary Minor
Learning Outcomes
Successful students will achieve:
- Technical competencies, including knowledge and understanding of soil and crop science principles, the ability to apply these principles to specific issues, and the ability to synthesize information (both technical and non-technical) to meet identified needs.
- Problem solving skills, such as identifying a problem, collecting data, summarizing information, and drawing conclusions.
- Professional interpersonal and communication skills, such as presenting a topic with logical development, technical understanding, mechanical and technique correctness, and accurate documentation of sources.
Potential Occupations
The demand for students with training in soil and crop sciences has never been greater. The agricultural sector is undergoing rapid change as we enter the era of big data and embrace new technologies.
Effective Fall 2020
Freshman | |||
---|---|---|---|
AUCC | Credits | ||
CHEM 107 | Fundamentals of Chemistry (GT-SC2) | 3A | 4 |
CHEM 108 | Fundamentals of Chemistry Laboratory (GT-SC1) | 3A | 1 |
CO 150 | College Composition (GT-CO2) | 1A | 3 |
MATH 117 | College Algebra in Context I (GT-MA1) | 1B | 1 |
MATH 118 | College Algebra in Context II (GT-MA1) | 1B | 1 |
MATH 124 | Logarithmic and Exponential Functions (GT-MA1) | 1B | 1 |
PH 110 | Physics of Everyday Phenomena (GT-SC2) | 3A | 3 |
SOCR 100 | General Crops | 4 | |
Select one course from the following: | 1 | ||
Orientation to Agricultural Systems | |||
Transfer Seminar | |||
Biology Electives2 | 4 | ||
Arts and Humanities | 3B | 3 | |
Social and Behavioral Sciences (AREC or ECON)1 | 3C | 3 | |
Total Credits | 29 | ||
Sophomore | |||
CHEM 245 | Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry | 4 | |
CHEM 246 | Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry Laboratory | 1 | |
LAND 220/LIFE 220 | Fundamentals of Ecology (GT-SC2) | 3A | 3 |
SOCR 240 | Introductory Soil Science | 4 | |
SPCM 200 | Public Speaking | 3 | |
Select one course from the following: | 2-3 | ||
Food and Nutrition in Health | |||
Survey of Human Nutrition | |||
Technical Electives3 | 7-8 | ||
Arts and Humanities | 3B | 3 | |
Diversity and Global Awareness | 3E | 3 | |
Total Credits | 30-32 | ||
Junior | |||
JTC 300 | Professional and Technical Communication (GT-CO3) | 2 | 3 |
SOCR 330 | Principles of Genetics | 3 | |
SOCR 377 | Geographic Information Systems in Agriculture | 3 | |
Select one group from the following: | 4-5 | ||
Group A: | |||
Plant Physiology | |||
Plant Physiology Laboratory | |||
Group B: | |||
Exploring Earth - Physical Geology (GT-SC2) | 3A | ||
Introductory Geology Laboratory (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||
Soil and Crop Science Electives4 | 3 | ||
STAT *** Statistics5 | 3 | ||
Technical Electives3 | 10 | ||
Total Credits | 29-30 | ||
Senior | |||
SOCR 421 | Crop and Soil Management Systems II | 4A,4B,4C | 4 |
SOCR 492 | Seminar | 4A | 1 |
Select one course from the following: | 1 | ||
Practicum | |||
Internship | |||
Soil and Crop Science Electives4 | 4 | ||
Historical Perspectives | 3D | 3 | |
Technical Electives3 | 8 | ||
Electives6 | 8-11 | ||
Total Credits | 29-32 | ||
Program Total Credits: | 120 |
1 | Select a course in AUCC Category 3C with the AREC or ECON subject code. |
2 | Select a course in AUCC Category 3A with the BZ subject code (or LIFE 102) after consultation with advisor. BZ 110, BZ 120, or LIFE 102 are strongly recommended to fulfill Biology Elective requirements. |
3 | Select from the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Business, Engineering, Natural Resources, Natural Sciences, and/or Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in consultation with advisor. |
4 | Select course(s) with the SOCR subject code. |
5 | Select a course with the STAT subject code. |
6 | Select enough elective credits to bring the program total to a minimum of 120 credits, of which at least 42 must be upper-division (300- to 400-level). |
Freshman | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Semester 1 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
CHEM 107 | Fundamentals of Chemistry (GT-SC2) | 3A | 4 | ||
CHEM 108 | Fundamentals of Chemistry Laboratory (GT-SC1) | 3A | 1 | ||
CO 150 | College Composition (GT-CO2) | 1A | 3 | ||
MATH 117 | College Algebra in Context I (GT-MA1) | X | 1B | 1 | |
MATH 118 | College Algebra in Context II (GT-MA1) | X | 1B | 1 | |
MATH 124 | Logarithmic and Exponential Functions (GT-MA1) | X | 1B | 1 | |
SOCR 100 | General Crops | X | 4 | ||
Select one course from the following: | 1 | ||||
Orientation to Agricultural Systems | |||||
Transfer Seminar | |||||
Total Credits | 16 | ||||
Semester 2 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
PH 110 | Physics of Everyday Phenomena (GT-SC2) | 3A | 3 | ||
Biology Elective | X | 3A | 4 | ||
Arts and Humanities | 3B | 3 | |||
Social and Behavioral Sciences (AREC or ECON) | 3C | 3 | |||
CHEM 107, CHEM 108, CO 150, and AUCC 1B (Quantitative Reasoning) must be completed by the end of Semester 2. | X | ||||
BZ 110, BZ 120, or LIFE 102 are strongly recommended to fulfill Biology Elective requirements | X | ||||
Total Credits | 13 | ||||
Sophomore | |||||
Semester 3 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
CHEM 245 | Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry | 4 | |||
CHEM 246 | Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry Laboratory | 1 | |||
SOCR 240 | Introductory Soil Science | 4 | |||
SPCM 200 | Public Speaking | 3 | |||
Technical Elective (See allowable subject codes on Program Requirements Tab) | 4 | ||||
Total Credits | 16 | ||||
Semester 4 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
LAND 220/LIFE 220 | Fundamentals of Ecology (GT-SC2) | 3A | 3 | ||
Select one course from the following: | 2-3 | ||||
Food and Nutrition in Health | |||||
Survey of Human Nutrition | |||||
Technical Electives (See allowable subject codes on Program Requirements Tab) | 3-4 | ||||
Arts and Humanities | 3B | 3 | |||
Diversity and Global Awareness | 3E | 3 | |||
SOCR 240 is strongly recommended to be completed by the end of Semester 4. | X | ||||
Biology Electives must be completed by the end of Semester 4. | X | ||||
Total Credits | 14-16 | ||||
Junior | |||||
Semester 5 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
JTC 300 | Professional and Technical Communication (GT-CO3) | 2 | 3 | ||
SOCR 330 | Principles of Genetics | X | 3 | ||
SOCR 377 | Geographic Information Systems in Agriculture | 3 | |||
STAT*** Statistics | 3 | ||||
Technical Elective (See allowable subject codes on Program Requirements Tab) | 3 | ||||
BZ 120, LIFE 102, or LIFE 103 (if taking BZ 440) must be completed by the end of Semester 5. | X | ||||
Total Credits | 15 | ||||
Semester 6 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
Select one group from the following: | 4-5 | ||||
Group A: | |||||
Plant Physiology | |||||
Plant Physiology Laboratory | |||||
Group B: | |||||
Exploring Earth - Physical Geology (GT-SC2) | 3A | ||||
Introductory Geology Laboratory (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||||
Soil and Crop Sciences Elective | 3 | ||||
Technical Electives (See allowable subject codes on Program Requirements Tab) | 7 | ||||
SOCR 240 must be completed by the end of Semester 6. | X | ||||
Total Credits | 14-15 | ||||
Senior | |||||
Semester 7 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
SOCR 421 | Crop and Soil Management Systems II | X | 4A,4B,4C | 4 | |
SOCR 492 | Seminar | X | 4A | 1 | |
Select one course from the following: | 1 | ||||
Practicum | |||||
Internship | |||||
Technical Elective (See allowable subject codes on Program Requirements Tab) | 3 | ||||
Historical Perspectives | 3D | 3 | |||
Elective | 0-3 | ||||
Total Credits | 12-15 | ||||
Semester 8 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
Soil and Crop Sciences Electives | X | 4 | |||
Technical Electives (See allowable subject codes on Program Requirements Tab) | X | 5 | |||
Electives | X | 8 | |||
The benchmark courses for the 8th semester are the remaining courses in the entire program of study. | X | ||||
Total Credits | 17 | ||||
Program Total Credits: | 120 |