Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Plant Sciences Major, BS in Plant Sciences – Organic Production Concentration


The organic production concentration is designed to create leaders in the field of organic and sustainable agriculture. Students will gain the knowledge and skills for production and management of organic cropping systems. Employment prospects include owning your own organic farm, consulting, agricultural extension, environmental education, government agencies, international agricultural development, and research. Careful selection of departmental courses and other electives in consultation with the assigned academic advisor will prepare graduates for the career of their choice. This concentration also prepares students with a strong interest in the science of organic crop production for graduate studies (M.S., Ph.D.) in horticulture, agronomy, or related disciplines. Classroom instruction is enhanced by the 90-acre Organic Crops Unit located near the University of Tennessee campus.

uTrack Requirements

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 entered prior to Fall 2015.

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


Term 1 Hours Milestone Notes
1AGNR 100 , AGNR 103 , or FYS 101   1 2.0 cumulative GPA
6BIOL 113 * or BIOL 114 *; and BIOL 115  5  
CHEM 100 * or CHEM 120 * or CHEM 128  4  
ENGL 101 * or ENGL 118  3  
2Quantitative Reasoning Elective * 3  
Term 2
2Arts and Humanities Elective * 3 2.0 cumulative GPA
CHEM 110 * or CHEM 130 * or CHEM 138 * or 2Natural Sciences Elective * 3-4 One Natural Sciences Elective*
ENGL 102  3  
3Directed Electives 3  
2Quantitative Reasoning Elective * 3  
PLSC 180   2  
Term 3
2Arts and Humanities Elective * 3 2.0 cumulative GPA
Communicating Orally Elective* 3 ENGL 101 
2Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3  
PLSC 320  or PLSC 321   3  
PLSC 210   3  
Term 4
5AREC 201 * or ECON 201 * or ECON 207  4 ENGL 102 
ESS 210   4 PLSC 210  
PLSC 275   3  
2Social Sciences Elective * 3  
Term 5
Select from: BIOL 260 -BIOL 269 ; EEB 330 , EEB 424 , EEB 433 ; PLSC 532, PLSC 536 3-4 Any HCA course with grade of C or better
Select from: ESS 334 , ESS 434 , ESS 442 , ESS 444 , ESS 454   6 Any two Arts and Humanities*, Cultures and Civilizations*, Quantitative Reasoning*, or Social Sciences* Electives
Select from Menu A: PLSC 410 *, PLSC 415 , PLSC 430 , PLSC 434 , PLSC 435   3  
Term 6
PLSC 470   1 No milestones
PLSC 330 , PLSC 333   6  
3Directed Electives 6  
Term 6 ½ (Summer)
PLSC 492   3 No milestones
Term 7
2Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3 Apply to graduate
Select from Menu B: PLSC 438 , PLSC 443 , PLSC 456 , PLSC 457 ; EPP 313 , EPP 321 , EPP 410 , EPP 411   3  
PLSC 415   3  
3Directed Electives 3  
4Unrestricted Elective 3-4  
Term 8
Select from Menu B: PLSC 438 , PLSC 443 , PLSC 456 , PLSC 457 ; EPP 313 , EPP 321 , EPP 410 , EPP 411  or any PLSC 300-level and above” 6 No milestones
3Directed Electives 6  
4Unrestricted 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  after consultation with an advisor. Students must meet the Communicating through Writing requirement by selecting a course with a WC designation. This course may be an Arts and Humanities, Cultures and Civilizations, or Social Sciences Elective; a course in the major; or a course from another discipline. PLSC 410 * and PLSC 491 * satisfy the WC requirement.
3 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. Additionally, components of an Entrepreneurship, Business Administration, or Entomology and Plant Pathology Minor(s) are acceptable.
    Chosen from any 200-level and above from Agricultural and Resource Economics, Animal Science, Biology, Business Administration, Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biosystems Engineering, Biosystems Engineering Technology, Business Analytics and Statistics, Chemistry, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Food Science, Forestry, Geology, Management, Marketing, Microbiology, Physics, Plant Sciences, Spanish, Statistics, or approved foreign language; and ACCT 200 , ACCT 207 ; AGNR 291 , AGNR 292 , AGNR 481 ; ALEC 240 *, ALEC 340 ; ANSC 150 ; AREC 212 , AREC 342 , AREC 442 ; ARTD 451 , ARTD 452 *; BUAD 103 ; BULW 301 ; DSGN 130 *, DSGN 430 ; ECON 331 ; EF 130 , EF 400 ; ENGL 295 *, ENGL 360 *; ENT 350 , ENT 410 , ENT 415 , ENT 420 , ENT 425 , ENT 451 , ENT 460 ; FDSC 150 *; FINC 300 ; GEOL 201 *, GEOL 202 *, GEOL 206 ; JREM 450 *, JREM 451 *, JREM 456 *; MARK 300 , MARK 462 ; ME 457 ; MGT 201 , MGT 300 ; MUSC 305 ; PHIL 130 *; PHYS 101 *; RCS 411 , RCS 412 ; SOCI 360 . The directed electives category can also be fulfilled by the completion of any university approved minor taken at The University of Tennessee.
4 Any courses not already required for the major.
5 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 credit hours, 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.
6 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.