Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Major (B.A.)

Program Overview

The Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems B.A. program equips students with a comprehensive understanding of agriculture and food systems, emphasizing sustainability principles. Through foundation courses, student-designed emphasis areas, and experiential opportunities, graduates develop critical thinking, communication, and research skills essential for addressing global challenges in food production and environmental stewardship.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

Overview:

The Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems B.A. provides students with a broad knowledge base and experiences in modern agriculture and food systems. Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses the social, physical, and life sciences and beyond. Agriculture plays a critical role in addressing global challenges such as producing food for a growing population while preserving land, water, and soil resources.

Objectives:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of agriculture and food systems and the fundamental principles of sustainability, including economic viability, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility.
• Acquire in-depth knowledge, critical thinking skills, and effective written communication abilities in a self-declared area of emphasis within the program.
• Gain practical experience in agriculture and food system sustainability through experiential education opportunities.
• Cultivate the ability to independently interpret, evaluate, and engage with research in the agricultural sciences, considering its biological, physical, social, and economic aspects.

Outline:

Program Structure:

The SAFS B.A. program consists of four major components:

• Foundation Courses: 36 credits, fulfilling 5 of the University Discovery requirements.
• Student-Designed Emphasis Courses: 20 credits, forming a cohesive emphasis or focus area, can be selected from the List of Approved Program Electives.
• Program Elective Courses: 16 credits, selected from the List of Approved Program Elective courses.
• Capstone Experience: 1 course, taken during the senior year, options include SAFS 733 Advanced Topics in Sustainable Agriculture or ANSC 750 Collaborative Farm Design and Development.

Course List:

Foundation Courses

• ANSC 421 Introduction to Animal Science
• BIOL 528 Applied Biostatistics I or EREC 525 Statistical Methods and Applications
• CHEM 411 Introductory Chemistry for Life Sciences or CHEM 403 General Chemistry I
• EREC 411 Environmental and Resource Economics Perspectives or ECON 402 Principles of Economics (Micro)
• NR 501 Studio Soils
• SAFS 405 Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production
• SAFS 421 Introductory Horticulture
• SAFS 502 Agroecology
• SAFS 620 Food Systems & Community Resilience

Student-Designed Emphasis Area

• Courses selected in consultation with an advisor, submitted for approval prior to the start of the 6th semester.

Program Electives

• Selected from the approved electives list.

Senior Capstone

• ANSC 750 Collaborative Farm Design and Development