Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University A land-grant institution
Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences
Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences is about people and their environment. It deals with crop production, soil utilization, and environmental stewardship. Its professionals are concerned with helping feed the world and protect the environment; their ranks include women and men who work to grow crucial commodities, improve water quality, develop environmentally acceptable methods for protecting crops from pests, advise municipalities on use of land resources, maintain golf course greens and fairways, and provide a host of other valuable goods and services.
The Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Major at Virginia Tech
The major is divided into five undergraduate options to encompass the field's breadth and diversity. Flexibility in course selection provides students an opportunity to develop unique programs of study.
Agroecology – Students in agroecology concentrate on the biology and increasingly complex technology of food, feed, and fiber production. Graduates typically move into production, sales, consulting, and managerial positions.
Biotechnology – The biotechnology option prepares students for careers and graduate study in the exciting and rapidly expanding areas of genetic engineering and molecular biology.
International Agriculture – Students in the international agricultural option discover ways to bring population, food production, and resource conservation into balance, especially in developing regions. Employment opportunities can be found with both private and public agencies.
Soil-Environmental Sciences – This option is designed for students who are interested in careers that deal with the use of soil resources and with its conservation in both agricultural and nonagricultural settings. Course work emphasizes soil properties, taxonomy, origins, and uses. Graduates work with private and public agencies that deal with soil and water pollution, land use, and environmental cleanup.
Turfgrass Management – Using basic principles of the natural sciences and agricultural technology, turfgrass management students develop skills that make them highly employable in golf course and athletic field management, lawn maintenance services, and sod production.
Academic Preparation
All admission offers for this program of study are made through the University’s Admissions Office. To be a competitive candidate for freshman admission, follow the guidelines listed on the Admissions homepage. In order to be a competitive candidate, students seeking to transfer after one year of college work should have a 3.0 grade point average and successfully complete transferable course work in English, mathematics, and appropriate lab sciences. Students planning to transfer under the Guaranteed Admissions Articulation Agreement between Virginia community colleges and the College should follow the academic guidelines noted under College of Agriculture and Life Sciences on the Admissions homepage Articulation Agreements Web page.
Career Opportunities
Graduates’ knowledge of the fundamentals of soil, plant, and environmental sciences prepares them for careers ranging from integrated pest management to international development, from environmental regulation to biotechnological investigation, from cash cropping to city planning. Students find employment in agribusiness (e.g., agricultural sales and consulting), soils-related activities (such as soil conservation and land-use planning), other areas of environmental concern (e.g., biological control of pests and water-quality assessment/control), as well as crop production (to include turf maintenance and farm management).
Beyond the Classroom
- Develop professional and leadership skills as a member of our nationally recognized Agronomy and Turf clubs through learning opportunities with faculty advisors, while participating in service projects and social events.
- Travel to new places and experience the thrill of victory with nationally ranked competitive teams that build lifelong friendships and hone students’ knowledge of crops, turf, soils, and the environment. Our four faculty-coached teams include crop judging, soil judging, turf quiz bowl, and crop and soil science quiz bowl teams.
- Gain valuable on-the-job experience and explore opportunities through internships with industry and agent partners.
- Have your achievements recognized through one of the department’s merit-based scholarships; more than $25,000 in scholarships is awarded annually.
- Encounter new cultures, new crops, and new perspectives on the contributions and challenges of agriculture and soil management around the world through study-abroad and student-exchange programs.
- Conduct research alongside top-notch faculty using state-of-the-art equipment in the laboratory and in the field.
Facilities
Students benefit from the new five-story, state-of-the-art research space adjoining Smyth Hall. It provides several laboratories for CSES faculty members, many of whom have traditionally provided undergraduate research opportunities. Smyth Hall itself houses a world-class biotechnology laboratory. Students have the opportunity to work in this lab along side leading scientists.
Within walking distance of Smyth Hall is a large, well-run greenhouse that is used for both teaching and research, and within a short walk from campus is the Turfgrass Research Center. Students often assist in the research programs at the turf center for credit or for hourly employment.
A 15-minute drive from campus and adjacent to the New River is the Kentland Research Farm. There the CSES Department is engaged in work on crop physiology, variety development, forages and grazing, and agro-forestry. CSES students participate in undergraduate research and internship projects at this and several other agricultural research and education facilities around the state, especially at Warsaw, Holland, Blackstone, Orange, and Steeles Tavern.
Overview of Course Work:
Each CSES curricular option is built on a strong foundation of math and science. Fundamentals of chemistry, biology, and calculus provide a basis for understanding crop, soil, and environmental principles. Students in the Soil Environmental Option concentrate on math, geology, analytical chemistry, physics, and soil chemistry. Study in the Agroecology, Biotechnology, and Turf options includes plant pathology, plant physiology, organic chemistry, and genetics. The International Agricultural Option has courses in language, international development and trade, social anthropology, and grassroots development. Two to three semesters of math and a semester of statistics provide important computational skills for all options, while writing-intensive courses, such as Senior Seminar, stress professional-style communication. Each option has course work specific to its field, and technical electives allow students to tailor their degrees to particular career choices. For additional information on each option, please refer to the major’s website.
For More Information Contact:
James R. McKenna, Professor of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences
Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences
235 Smyth Hall (0404)
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
(540) 231-9786
jamckenn@vt.edu