Mar 29, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2019-2020 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

General Agriculture (B.S.)


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Bulletin/Catalog 2019-2020

College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Department of General Agriculture

Location: Sundquist Science Complex, Room D232
Phone: 931-221-7272
Website: www.apsu.edu/agriculture/index.php

 

Description of Major

The Department of General Agriculture at Austin Peay State University is part of the College of Science and Mathematics. The department, including faculty offices and classrooms, is housed in the Sundquist Science Complex. The department currently has four full-time faculty members and three adjunct faculty members, with approximately 250 agriculture majors including those in the pre-professional programs. The department oversees the 440-acre Farm and Environmental Education Center, which is located three miles from the main campus which has a $1.2 million Animal Science teaching facility. The FEEC is used by the department for laboratories, field trips, and land-judging contests. Private farms and agriculture industries also are used to support classroom learning activities.

Career Opportunities
A recent national study predicts a shortage of college graduates in agriculture in the areas of management and science. Graduates with management and financial skills will be in demand. Agri-business, government agencies and related industries need managers and technicians who can communicate with farmers. Graduates who broaden their agricultural experiences with courses in business and computers can enhance their opportunities for employment in agriculture. The agri-business and agri-science concentrations especially are designed for this type of opportunity. Graduates from the department also are regularly accepted at many different graduate schools such as Clemson University, Mississippi State, Penn State, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, University of Tennessee and others.

Students majoring in Agriculture will select one of five concentrations: Agri-Business, Agri-Science, Agri-Communications, PreVeterinary Medicine or Sustainable Development.  In each case, a strong broad-based understanding of American agriculture will be developed.

General Education Core


 

  Credit Hours
see Common Core   41
University-Wide Freshman Seminar Requirement 1

Additional Major Requirements


Additional hours in each concentration are required and must be selected in consultation with advisor and with a view toward career goals. No minor is required.

Agri-Business Concentration


Agri-Business is designed to prepare students for jobs in agricultural businesses and includes additional courses in marketing, management, economics, and accounting.

Total Hours 39

Total Hours 25

Concentration Guided Electives


  • AGRI electives  15
  • Other electives 5-7
Total Hours 20-22

Agri-Communication Concentration


Agri-Communications is designed to prepare students for jobs in agricultural journalism or communication, and includes additional courses in journalism, broadcasting, and photography.

Agri-Science Concentration


Agri-Science is designed to prepare students for graduate schools or for jobs requiring technical knowledge of agriculture, and includes additional courses in basic and applied sciences.

Total Hours 30-36

Total Hours 23

Total Hours 6-8

Free Electives


  • AGRI electives 10
  • Other electives 20-22
Total Hours 30-32

Pre-Veterinary Medicine Concentration


Three- or Four-Year Transfer Program (optional)

APSU offers a pre-veterinary medicine concentration that prepares the student for applying to the University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine. Most veterinary schools have similar admission requirements, and APSU’s program can be modified to meet the requirements of most.

The pre-veterinary program of study includes more coursework than the minimum for applying to veterinary school. These additional courses are included to improve the student’s chances for success in veterinary school and to complete B.S. degree requirements.

Program Requirements:

  • Students may qualify for veterinary school during the third year at APSU.
  • Thus students have two degree options at APSU:
    • The student may apply for a degree granted in absentia (see Requirements for Degrees in Absentia) after having successfully completed the first year of veterinary school; or
    • The student may complete all requirements in the four-year curriculum and receive a B.S. degree in Agriculture, Pre-Veterinary Medicine Concentration.

Concentration Core Requirements that Satisfy General Education Core


Total Hours 3

Lower Division Courses


Total Hours 3

Total Hours 38-43

Total Hours 16

Sustainable Development Concentration


Sustainable development is defined as: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (unbruntland commission). The Sustainable Development Concentration is designed to prepare students for work in the growing field of sustainability science with a primary focus in the sustainable management of food, soil, water, and forest resources. In addition to a solid foundation in theoretical sciences, students in this program will develop applied skills with electronic spreadsheets, computer models, renewable technologies, and geotechnologies that facilitate resource management.

Concentration Core Requirements that Satisfy General Education Core


Total Hours 14-15

Total Hours 11

Upper Division Courses


Veterinary Technology Concentration


The veterinary technology program will provide successful students with a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture, and these students will then be able to pursue what U.S. News and World Report listed as one of the “Best Health Care Jobs” in the nation.

Concentration Requirements that Satisfy General Education Core


Total Hours 20

Total Hours 45-47

Total Hours 22

Minor


At least eighteen (18) hours of Agriculture courses are required, of which at least nine (9) hours must be 3000-4000 level courses.

Total Hours 18


Total Program Hours 120


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics