Mar 29, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Plant Sciences Major, BS in Plant Sciences – Bioenergy Concentration


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

The bioenergy concentration is intended for students who are interested in pursuing careers in the quickly-expanding biofuels and bioenergy fields. The graduate will have the background and internship experience to enter directly into the bioenergy workforce. The bioenergy industry primarily is concerned with converting plant feedstocks into liquid fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. The great resurgence of industry and public support for research and development in this field will require a modern and multidisciplinary workforce. The student will have the opportunity to explore branch disciplines of bioenergy such as agronomy, biotechnology, business and economics, chemistry, engineering, or microbiology. In addition, the need for scholars and scientists with advanced degrees (MS and PhD) will also grow exponentially in bioenergy as billions of dollars of federal funds is channeled towards new bioenergy solutions. The bachelor’s degree will also prepare students for entrance into graduate programs. A minimum grade point average of 2.25 is required for all plant sciences courses taken in the major.

uTrack Requirements (for students entering Fall 2013 or later)

Universal Tracking (uTrack) is an academic monitoring system designed to help students stay on track for timely graduation. In order to remain on track, students must complete the minimum requirements for each tracking semester, known as milestones. Milestones include successful completion of specified courses and/or attainment of a minimum GPA. uTrack requirements only affect full-time, degree-seeking students who first entered Fall 2013 or later. uTrack does not apply to transfer students who enter prior to Fall 2015.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Plant Sciences – Plant Sciences Major – Bioenergy Concentration


Term 1 Hours Milestone Notes
1AGNR 100  or FYS 101   1 2.0 cumulative GPA
9BIOL 113 * or BIOL 114 *; and BIOL 115  5  
CHEM 120 * or CHEM 128  4  
ENGL 101 * or ENGL 118  3  
2Quantitative Reasoning Elective * 3  
Term 2
CHEM 130 * or CHEM 138  4 2.0 cumulative GPA
ENGL 102  3 One Natural Sciences Elective*
3Natural Sciences Electives * 3-4  
PLSC 250  3  
2Quantitative Reasoning Elective * 3  
Term 3
CMST 210 *, CMST 217 *, CMST 240 *, or CMST 247  3 2.0 cumulative GPA
3Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3 ENGL 101 
PLSC 210   3  
3,4Social Sciences Elective * 3  
5Directed Elective 3  
Term 4
4AREC 201 * or ECON 201 * or ECON 207  4 ENGL 102 *
3Arts and Humanities Elective * 6 PLSC 210  
ESS 210   4  
Term 5
AREC 212   3 Any CASNR course with grade of C or better
BCMB 321  or FORS 414   3 Any two Arts and Humanities*, Cultures and Civilizations*, Quantitative Reasoning*, or Social Sciences* Electives
3Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3  
PLSC 453   3  
5Directed Elective 3  
Term 6
6ALEC 440 * or ENGL 295 * or ENGL 360  3 No milestones
PLSC 452 , PLSC 435   6  
5Directed Electives 5-6  
Term 6 ½ (Summer)
PLSC 492   3 No milestones
Term 7
ESS 334   3 Apply to graduate
PLSC 331 , PLSC 415   4  
7Specialty Area 6  
Term 8
PLSC 499   3-6 No milestones
7Specialty Area 3-5  
5Directed Elective 3  
8Unrestricted Electives 3-4  
TOTAL 120  
* Meets University General Education Requirement .
1 Required of freshmen only; requirement is waived for transfer students.
2 Chosen from the University General Education list . Select Quantitative Reasoning Electives based on prerequisites for courses in the Specialty Area.
3 Chosen from the University General Education list  after consultation with advisor.
4 AREC 201 (4) Economics of the Global Food and Fiber System * or ECON 201 (4) Introductory Economics: A Survey Course * or ECON 207 (4) Honors: Introductory Economics * satisfies the University General Education-Social Science requirement and the major requirement for economics. If the student transfers ECON LD for 3 credits, it will satisfy the major requirement for economics but will not satisfy the General Education-Social Science requirement. In these cases, the student should take two courses from the approved General Education-Social Sciences list.
5

Directed electives are courses that generally support and enhance a student’s academic goals. These multidisciplinary courses were chosen to provide students the opportunity to develop basic and advanced skills beyond Plant Science’s core requirements.  The Plant Sciences Undergraduate Program Committee periodically reviews this list to identify appropriate courses for each concentration. If students believe that a course not on the list would meet this objective, they may propose this to their academic advisor to review before the start of the semester in which the student wishes to take the course. Chosen from any Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology; any Biosystems Engineering; any Biosystems Engineering Technology; any Business Analytics and Statistics; Chemistry; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Management; Marketing; Microbiology; Physics; Spanish; Statistics; PLSC 220 , PLSC 221 , PLSC 275 , 200-level and above from Biology, Business Administration, Entomology and Plant Pathology; 300-level and above from Agricultural and Resource Economics, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Forestry, Finance, Plant Sciences; Additionally, components of an Entrepreneurship and Business Administration Minor are acceptable:  ACCT 200 , ACCT 207 ; AGNR 291 , AGNR 292 ALEC 240 *, ALEC 340 ; AREC 212 , AREC 342 , AREC 442 ; ARTD 451 , ARTD 452 *; BUAD 103 ; DSGN 130 *, DSGN 430 ; ECON 331 ; EF 130 , EF 400 ; ENGL 360 *; ENT 350 ENT 410 , ENT 415 , ENT 420 , ENT 425 ENT 451 , ENT 460 ; FINC 300 ; JREM 450 *, JREM 451 *, JREM 456 *; MARK 300 , MARK 462 ; ME 457 ; MGT 201 , MGT 300 MSE 101 , MSE 201 ; MUSC 305 PBRL 270 ; RCS 411 , RCS 412 .

6 Meets the University General Education Requirement  for Communicating through Writing (WC).
7 Select one Specialty Area (see below). Select Quantitative Reasoning Electives based on prerequisites for courses in the Specialty Area.
8 Any courses not already required for the major.
9 BIOL 113 * or BIOL 114 *, and BIOL 115 * satisfies the University General Education Natural Science requirements and the major requirement for Botany. This requirement will be met if a transfer student transfers in any Biology class(es) with lab totaling at least 4 credit hours.

Specialty Areas


Specialty electives are grouped into specialty areas. Students must complete one specialty area, consisting of three courses (9-11 credit hours). Students wishing to expand on a specialty or complete more than one specialty area are welcome to do so, using Technical Electives for this purpose. A course may be counted in one specialty area only and may not be used to fulfill any other elective requirement. Check the course descriptions for any prerequisites required for these courses.

Agronomy
PLSC 457 ; and select 6 hours from Environmental and Soil Sciences 300-level and above.

Biosystems Engineering
BSE 231 ; BSET 326 , BSET 432 , BSET 434 , BSET 462 .

Biotechnology
BIOL 240 ; PLSC 454 ; BCMB 401  or MICR 210 *.

Business
ACCT 200  or ACCT 207 ; AREC 470 ; MARK 300 ; MGT 201 ; STAT 201 * or STAT 207 *.

Chemistry
CHEM 210  or CHEM 330 ; CHEM 260 , CHEM 360 , CHEM 369 ; FDSC 410 , FDSC 419 .

Forestry and Wildlife
200-level and above from Forestry; 200-level and above from Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries.

Microbiology
MICR 210 * and above; FDSC 421 , FDSC 429 .

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources