Agroecology at Penn State

Information for Future Students

Information:

To request additional information on the Agroecology Program at Penn State or to schedule a campus visit, please complete our online form.

Contact:

Paul A. Backman Program Coordinator 221 Buckout Laboratory University Park, PA 16802 Phone: 814-865-6687 E-mail: agroecology@psu.edu

We are part of the Environment and Natural Resources Institute

Information for Current Students

Announcements:

Images

Images from the Fall 2007 Agroecology Social have been posted to this site.

AGECO 461

Updated information regarding AGECO 461 can be found on the course description for this course.

Career Opportunities listed with the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals

The Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals maintains a list of Job Postings on their Web site.

INTERNSHIPS:

Internships are required for the major. If you haven’t arranged them already, check in with your advisor to work towards a summer internship experience. Now is the time for Juniors or Seniors. International internships can also be arranged, and at least one of you has already set up 8 weeks in Belgium. Another experience that helps in the job hunt is working in a research laboratory or field center and receiving AGECO 496 (or any other curriculum’s 496) credit. We have a wide range of experiences that will qualify for 496 or 495 credit. See your advisor for this too. It is indispensable for the job hunt, or for improving your probabilities for connecting with graduate programs after your B.S.

Agroecology — Sustainable Agriculture at Penn State

Agroecology Program Objectives

Agroecology students will be provided a strong conceptual framework of knowledge in plant and ecosystem sciences together with highly developed information management and integrative problem-solving skills. There is a need for teaching students problem solving skills in real world situations. This is particularly true in agricultural systems which are ecologically complex. Many existing majors focus on components of these systems so that educational experiences that integrate skills from many disciplines are much needed and lacking.

Most undergraduate curricula do not focus on long term acquisition of useful, working knowledge, but rather on discipline based, highly structured components with little emphasis on synthesis and problem solving. Ability to communicate the decision making process requires the integration of multiple disciplines, the ability to function as a member of a problem solving team, and real world experiences in problem solving.

The Agroecology major will emphasize both lateral and vertical integration of instructional experiences. The lateral dimension will be achieved within courses using multi-disciplinary teaching teams with focus on case studies and problem solving. The vertical integration (i.e.. integration over time) will encourage the continual building of new concepts predicated on principles previously learned. Agroecology students will routinely be required to reacquaint themselves with previously completed course materials as they relate this to advanced course materials.

Agroecology Graduates are:

Crop Consultants
Farmers & Farm Managers
Graduate Students in Plant Breeding, Weed Ecology, and Law School

Agroecology Graduates are working in:

Agribusiness
County Cooperative Extension
NRCS USDA agency (Natural Resources & Conservation Service)
Nutrient Mangement Planning
Research

Kris Ribble, Natural Resources Specialist: NRCS Grassland Specialist. Works with “Project Grass”, an initiative to improve the management of grazing lands across Pennsylvania.

Mark Myers, Soil Conservationist, NRCS, USDA: Provides technical assistance to landowners to develop and implement conservation plans & comprehensive nutrient mangement plans.