Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

Penn State
College of Agricultural Sciences
Type Public
Established 1861 (1861)
Parent institution
Pennsylvania State University
Dean Richard Roush
Location University Park, Pennsylvania
Website agsci.psu.edu

The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences offers 17 undergraduate majors,[1] 23 minors,[2] and graduate programs in 18 major areas.[3] The college awarded the nation's first baccalaureate degrees in agriculture in 1861.

With 9 academic departments and 67 cooperative extension offices, one in each of Pennsylvania’s counties, the college is widely recognized as one of the nation's top institutions for agricultural research and education programs.

History

Farmer High School and also known as the Old Main

In 1855, before the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, it was a high school known as The Farmer's High School run by Evan Pugh. Pugh helped to transform the Farmer's High School into the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences by supporting Congress to pass the Morrill Land-Grant Act. The only land-grant university in Pennsylvania, Penn State became one of the nation's very first when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law in 1862. As a result, government receives money from the sales of land to help fund a college that would teach people better farming methods. In addition to learning farming methods, Pugh had contributed other subjects to the college including chemistry, geology, mathematics, and mineralogy. Not only did he contributed knowledge to the college but he also donated money towards the laboratory buildings and research. Pugh died on April 29, 1864. Today, he is known as the first President of The Pennsylvania State University and the highest award a professor can receive at the university is named after him which is called the "Evan Pugh Professors."

Academics

Undergraduate students can choose from 17 majors, 24 minors, and three two-year associate degree programs. Graduate programs are offered in 18 major areas within the college, and faculty participate in 10 inter-college programs and seven dual-title degree options.

Academic departments

The college is organized into nine academic departments:[4]

  • Agricultural and Biological Engineering
  • Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education
  • Animal Science
  • Ecosystem Science and Management
  • Entomology
  • Food Science
  • Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology
  • Plant Science
  • Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences

Research

The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences invests nearly $97 million in research and graduate study yearly. Scientists in the college are seeking solutions to the agricultural and ecological problems of our time by conducting basic and applied research focusing on cross-cutting thematic areas.

Enrollment

Scholarships

Contributions

See also

References

  1. "Undergraduate Majors". Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  2. "Undergraduate Minors". Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  3. "Graduate Programs". Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  4. "Academic Departments". Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  5. "O'Keeffe Foundation gift will enhance Penn State honeybee research". Penn State News. Retrieved May 20, 2015.

Coordinates: 40°48′09″N 77°51′50″W / 40.8025°N 77.8638°W / 40.8025; -77.8638

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.