PHD, Agronomy

Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy in Agronomy is designed to prepare students for leadership in academia as well as other areas of the food, feed, fiber, bioenergy, shelter, and aesthetic-space plant production system. Students complete discipline specific courses and high impact learning experiences designed to provide the knowledge and skills for leadership positions in academia, industry, local-state-national governmental agencies, and non-government organizations dealing with crop production issues.

Graduates are employed by universities, private companies, crop consulting firms, state agricultural experiment stations, cooperative extension service, USDA-ARS, farmer cooperatives, and state departments of agriculture and other related agencies. The expected increase in global population mandates that agriculture become more efficient in producing plant-based products. Graduates in Agronomy are prepared to meet this challenge through their understanding of the basic physiology of crops and manipulation of the production environment to optimize the input:production ratio to meet the challenge of feeding and meeting other basic human agriculture needs.

 

Course Plan

A minimum of 64 hours is required on the degree plan for the Doctor of Philosophy for a student who has completed a master’s degree. A student who has completed a DDS/DMD, DVM or a MD at a U.S. institution is also required to complete a minimum of 64 hours. A student who has completed a baccalaureate degree but not a master’s degree will be required to complete a 96-hour degree plan. Completion of a DDS/DMD, DVM or MD degree at a foreign institution requires completion of a minimum of 96 hours for the Doctor of Philosophy. A field of study may be primarily in one department or in a combination of departments. A degree plan must carry a reasonable amount of 691 (research).