Undergraduate majors offered within the Department of Plant Sciences leading to a bachelor's degree include the following:
- Biotechnology
- International Agricultural Development
- Plant Sciences - We offer six tracks within this major:
- Crop Production & Agroecology: Design sustainable and resilient crop production systems
- Crop Quality & Safety: Provide safe, nutritious, affordable and flavorful food for all people
- Ecological Management & Restoration: Balance land uses and conservation goals
- Environmental Horticulture & Urban Landscapes: Develop plants that give us beauty, shade and connection
- Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics: Seek and create new varieties of plants
- Plant Informatics, Sensing & Data: Use technology to model and monitor plant growth
- Environmental Horticulture and Urban Forestry (As of Fall 2022, this major is now a track within the Plant Sciences major)
- Ecological Management & Restoration (As of Fall 2022, this major is now a track within the Plant Sciences major)
Undergraduate minors:
- Agricultural Systems and Environment
- Environmental Horticulture (NOTE: The Environmental Horticulture minor is currently suspended as key courses supporting the minor are not taught in the foreseeable future.)
- International Agricultural Development
- Landscape Restoration
- Soil Science (managed by the LA&WR Department)
Why select a major or minor in our department?
- The work of plant scientists embraces both agriculture and environmental science, key priorities for research now and in the coming decades.
- The world needs people who can translate and apply agricultural technology to improve food production, nutrition, marketing, and health in less technically advanced countries.
- Studying plants helps us understand our impact on the ecosystem, create strategies for feeding a growing population, and even develop new cures for diseases.
- With the advent of modern biotechnology, plants are being used to clean our land and air and produce industrial products, designer molecules, biopharmaceuticals and energy.
- Plants are also being used to produce biodegradable plastics, new healthier sugars and anti-cancer drugs.
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects faster than average job growth rate (2008-2018).