Description

The Department of Crop Science offers a minor in Crop Science to interested baccalaureate degree students at NC State University, with the exception of Plant & Soil Science majors. This minor provides a basic understanding of the requirements for successful field crop production and the role crop species and management practices play in a broad spectrum of sustainable agricultural enterprises.

A course selection option permits a student to focus on the particular aspect of Crop Science that most fully complements the student's major and career plans. The minor in Crop Science is designed to:

1. Provide a strong background in Crop Science to the variety of disciplines which interact in some way with field crop production;
2. Clarify the role crop species and rotational sequences play in agricultural enterprises both in the United States and globally to increase our quality of life; and
3. Identify strategies either in use or being researched to increase the compatibility of crop species with their environment to achieve yield stability, suitable quality of product, and sustainability of the production enterprise.

Requirements

A total of 16 hours of coursework is required, and students must receive a minimum grade of 'C' in each course selected. A course selection option permits a student to focus on the particular aspect of Crop Science, which most fully complements the student's interests or career goals.

Required Courses (4 hours)

CS 213 Crops: Adaptation and Production (4cr)

Elective Courses (Minimum of 12 credit hours; at least two courses must be at the 300 or 400 level)

CS 200 Introduction to Turf Management (4cr)
CS 211 Plant Genetics* (3cr)
CS 216 Oil Seed Crop Production (3 cr)
CS 218 Cereal Grain Crop Production (2 cr)
CS 224 Seeds, Biotechnology, & Societies (3 cr)
CS 230 Introduction to Agroecology (3cr)
CS 312 Grassland Management for Natural Resources Conservation (3cr)
CS 411 Environmental Aspects of Crop Production (3cr)
CS 413 Plant Breeding (2cr)
CS 414 Weed Science (4cr)
CS 415 Integrated Pest Management (3cr)
CS 424 Seed Physiology (3cr)
CS 430 Advanced Agroecology (4cr)
CS 440 Geographic Information Systems for Production Agriculture (3cr)

*If you have successfully completed ANS (HS) 215 or GN 311 prior to enrolling in the Crop Science Minor, you may not receive credit for CS 211 towards the Crop Science Minor. You must select other courses from the elective list.

Admissions and Certification of Minor

Admissions
Any student seeking this minor should contact Dr. Lori Unruh Snyder, Department of Crop Science, for an application to minor and assignment of a minor adviser. The adviser will consult with the student regularly to ensure that the course requirements have been completed.

Certification
Dr. Snyder will certify the completion of the student's minor. Paperwork for certification must be submitted no later than the registration period for the student's final semester at NC State. The minor must be completed no later than the semester in which the student expects to graduate from his or her degree program.

Contact Person