College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Baccalaureate Degree Programs
Each major can be planned to prepare students for graduate study or admission to professional schools in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, other health professions and law. Students in programs, such as biochemistry, genetics and nutritional sciences, are highly recruited for medicine and other health professions. Animal science and wildlife and fisheries sciences are among several excellent choices for students interested in veterinary medicine. Students with a background in natural resources, the agricultural industry, or life sciences can use that knowledge well if they choose to enter law school. An environmental lawyer with a degree in a natural resource area understands the science and the law.
Knowledge of other cultures is valuable in understanding our own. Therefore, students are encouraged to consider spending a summer term or semester studying outside of the United States. Study abroad courses, offered through several departments in the College, allow students to travel to another country with other students and a COALS faculty member. Recent programs that focused on ecology and tropical biology on the island of Dominica in the Caribbean, ecotourism in South Africa, agriculture in Australia and New Zealand, and water management in Belgium allow students to gain a new perspective of the world and the place of the United States in it. International experience is invaluable when graduates enter the job market.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences participates in the University Honors Program, and honors courses offered are in most majors. Because of the opportunities to participate in basic and applied research, many students in the College are selected for the University Undergraduate Research Fellows program. Research conducted by faculty members in COALS focuses on sustainability of ecosystems and natural resources; competitiveness of agricultural products from genomics and biotechnology to the marketplace; health promotion through nutrition, food safety, and prevention of transmission of human disease by insect/pest vectors; and countermeasures against agricultural bioterrorism.
Advising is provided for each student in the college through offices in the individual academic departments. Departmental faculty and professional advisors provide assistance on course selection and other academic issues and serve as mentors for career planning and admission to graduate or professional school. Advisors serve as professional consultants for students in the College with the objective of avoiding problems if possible and solving problems if needed.