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Curriculum in Plant Pathology and Microbiology

Bioenvironmental Sciences

Major breakthroughs are taking place locally, regionally and globally concerning environmental awareness. Environmental hazards take many forms, including microbial threats, toxic wastes and the indirect impact of man's activities on a fragile ecosystem. As a result, there is a growing recognition that the solutions to environmental problems require innovative multi-disciplinary perspectives and technologically-intensive approaches. The Bioenvironmental Sciences curriculum (BESC) was designed in consultation with numerous industry representatives in order to comply with the most current thinking on the talents needed for tomorrow's environmental fields. Students will be prepared for a breadth of career choices in the environmental sciences. These choices include such areas as research and development, environmental consulting, remediation of wastes, site assessment and environmental sampling, and environmental law. Graduates from BESC find employment in federal, state and municipal environmental agencies; in industries concerned with the generation and clean-up of hazardous wastes; with environmental advocacy and educational groups. In addition, the strong science base in BESC prepares students for professional and graduate schools in a variety of disciplines.

The curriculum described combines a foundation of required courses with 34 hours of technical and free electives to allow the student the maximum flexibility to design a personalized course of study. Students are advised to focus on an area of emphasis with those electives that come from such categories as conservation/ecology, policy/ethics/regulations, the physical environment, engineering, plant studies, genetics/biotechnology and general environmental. The Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology also supports the extracurricular activities needed to support a successful environmental professional.

Required Course 1
(Th-Pr)
Credit
AGEC 105 Introduction to Agricultural Economics
(3-0)
3
AGLS 101 Modern Agricultural Systems
(1-0)
1
AGRO 301 Soil Science
(3-2)
4
AGRO 405 Soil Microbiology
(3-2)
4
BESC 201 Introduction to Bioenvironmental Science
(3-0)
3
BESC 401 Bioenvironmental Microbiology
(3-0)
3
BESC 402 Microbial Processes in Bioremediation
(3-0)
3
BESC 484 Field Experience
3
BOTN 101 Botany and ZOOL 107 Zoology
     or BIOL 113, 123 and BIOL 114, 124 Introductory Biology
8
CHEM 101 Fundamentals of Chemistry I
(3-3)
4
CHEM 102 Fundamentals of Chemistry II
(3-3)
4
CHEM 227 and 237 Organic Chemistry and Lab.
4
ENGL 104 Composition and Rhetoric
(3-0)
3
GENE 301 Genetics
(3-3)
4
HIST 105 and 106 or American history elective 2
(3-0)
6
MATH 131 Mathematical Concepts--Calculus
(3-0)
3
PHIL 240 Introduction to Logic
     or MATH 166 Topics in Contemporary Mathematics II
     or MATH 141 Business Mathematics I
(3-0)
3
PHYS 201 Physics
(3-3)
4
PLPA 301 and 303 Introductory Plant Pathology and Lab.
4
POLS 206 and 207 American National and State and Local Government 2
(3-0)
6
RENR 205 and 215 Fundamentals of Ecology and Lab .
4
STAT 302 Statistical Methods
(3-0)
3
* KINE 198 Health and Fitness Activity
(0-2)
1
* KINE 199 Required Physical Activity
(0-2)
1
Humanities elective 5
3
Speech and technical writing electives 2
6
Technical electives 2,4
23
Visual and performing arts elective 5
3
Free electives
11
 
132

NOTES:
1. A minimum of 132 semester hours will be required for a B.S. degree.

2. During the sophomore year, a degree plan will be developed in consultation with the departmental advisor.

3. Students are encouraged to take an internship or laboratory problems course (PLPA 485).

4. Courses may be selected from categories designed to reflect the professional aspirations of the student.

5. To be selected from the University Core Curriculum. The University Core Curriculum includes a requirement for 6 hours of international and cultural diversity courses. Click here for a list of acceptable courses. A course satisfying another Core category, a college/department requirement, or as a free elective can be used to satisfy these requirements. See academic advisor.

* Click here for more information.