Agriculture and Food Systems Major (B.S.)

https://colsa.unh.edu/agriculture-nutrition-food-systems/program/bs/agriculture-food-systems-major

The Agriculture and Food Systems B.S. provides students with a strong foundation in biological sciences and a broad base of knowledge and experiences with modern agriculture and food systems. Agriculture and Food Systems is an interdisciplinary field comprising the social, physical, and life sciences and beyond. Agriculture is key to solving many of the major challenges facing the world, such as producing food to meet the needs of an ever-growing population while conserving land, water, and soil resources.

Degree Requirements

Minimum Credit Requirement: 128 credits

Minimum Residency Requirement: 32 credits must be taken at UNH

Minimum GPA: 2.0 required for conferral*

Core Curriculum Required: Discovery & Writing Program Requirements

Foreign Language Requirement: No

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Major Requirements

The SAFS B.S. program structure includes FOUR major components: foundation courses, courses in a student-designed emphasis area, program elective courses, and a capstone. You must earn a minimum grade of C- in all courses required for the major.

Foundation courses include 49 credits, which satisfy at least 6 of the University Discovery requirements.

Student-Designed Emphasis courses include 20 credits that make up a cohesive emphasis or focus area. Courses may be selected from the List of Approved Program Electives, but do not need to be on that list. Each student will define their emphasis area in consultation with their advisor and submit it to the SAFS program committee for approval prior to the start of their 7^th semester.

Program Elective courses include 16 credits, chosen from the List of Approved Program Elective courses.

A Capstone experience must take place during senior year. There are two capstone options: SAFS 733 Advanced Topics in Sustainable Agriculture or ANSC 750 Collaborative Farm Design and Development. Your capstone MAY NOT be counted towards elective or emphasis credits.

Of the Student-Designed Emphasis and Program Elective courses, at least 16 credits (not counting the capstone) must be earned at the 600-700 level.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
B.S. Foundation Courses
ANSC 421	Introduction to Animal Science	4
BIOL 411	Introductory Biology: Molecular and Cellular	4
BIOL 412	Introductory Biology: Evolution, Biodiversity and Ecology	4
BIOL 528	Applied Biostatistics I	4
or EREC 525	Statistical Methods and Applications
EREC 680	Agricultural and Food Policy	4
or EREC 411	Environmental and Resource Economics Perspectives
or ECON 402	Principles of Economics (Micro)
CHEM 403	General Chemistry I ¹	4
or CHEM 411	Introductory Chemistry for Life Sciences
CHEM 404	General Chemistry II	4
or BMCB 501	Biological Chemistry
or BIOL 541W	Ecology
NR 501	Studio Soils	4
SAFS 405	Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production	4
SAFS 421	Introductory Horticulture	4
SAFS 502	Agroecology	4
SAFS 602	Emphasis Development and Professional Pathways in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems	1
SAFS 620	Food Systems & Community Resilience	4
Student-Designed Emphasis Area
At least 20 credits, proposed using the emphasis area declaration form (see your advisor) at least 2 semesters prior to planned graduation date.		20
Program Electives
Select 16 credits from the approved electives list		16
Senior Capstone Experience
Select one from the following:
SAFS 733	Advanced Topics in Sustainable Agriculture	4
or ANSC 750	Collaborative Farm Design and Development
Total Credits		89

¹: Some courses (e.g. genetics, microbiology) require CHEM 403 General Chemistry I and CHEM 404 General Chemistry II as a prerequisite. If you intend to take these courses, you should take CHEM 403 General Chemistry I rather than CHEM 411 Introductory Chemistry for Life Sciences.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Approved Electives
AAS 421	Large Animal Behavior and Handling Techniques	2
AAS 423	Dairy Selection	2
AAS 425	Introduction to Dairy Herd Management	4
AAS 432	Introduction to Forage and Grassland Management	3
AAS 434	Equipment and Facilities Management	3
AAS 439	Fundamentals of Animal Health	2
ANSC 548	Agricultural Business Management	4
ANSC 600	Field Experience	1-4
ANSC 602	Animal Rights and Societal Issues	4
ANSC 603	Introduction to Livestock Management	4
ANSC 605	Poultry Production and Health Management	4
ANSC 609	Principles of Animal Nutrition	4
ANSC 612	Genetics of Animals	4
ANSC 625	Animal Diseases	4
ANSC 650	Dairy Industry Travel Course	1
ANSC 690	Livestock and Wildlife in Namibia: Challenges, Opportunities and Geography	4
ANSC 698	Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management (CREAM)	4
ANSC 701	Physiology of Reproduction	4
ANSC #708	Ruminant Nutritional Physiology	3
ANSC 710	Dairy Nutrition	4
ANSC 715	Physiology of Lactation	4
ANSC 724	Reproductive Management and Artificial Insemination	4
ANSC 727	Advanced Dairy Management I	4
ANSC 728	Advanced Dairy Management II	4
ANSC 750	Collaborative Farm Design and Development	4
ANSC 795	Investigations	1-4
BIOL 409	Green Life: Introducing the Botanical Sciences	0 or 4
BIOL 510	Mushrooms, Molds, and Mildews: Introduction to the Fungal Kingdom	4
BIOL 541W	Ecology	0 or 4
BIOL 566	Systematic Botany	4
BIOL #701	Plant Physiology	4
BIOL 704	Plant-Microbe Interactions	3
BIOL #709	Plant Stress Physiology	3
BIOL 720	Plant-Animal Interactions	4
BIOL 752	New England Mushrooms: a Field and Lab Exploration	4
BMS 503	General Microbiology	3
BMS 504	General Microbiology Laboratory	2
CEP 415	Community Development Perspectives	4
CHBE 410	Energy and Environment	4
ECOG 401	Introduction to Ecogastronomy	4
EREC #601	Agribusiness Economics and Management	4
EREC 680	Agricultural and Food Policy	4
FORT 577	Forest Harvesting Systems	4
FORT 579	Wildland Fire Ecology and Management	4
GEN 604	Principles of Genetics	0 or 4
GEN 772	Evolutionary Genetics of Plants	4
GEN #774	Techniques in Plant Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology	4
GEOG 670	Climate and Society	4
HMGT 570	International Food and Culture	4
MGT 520	Topics in Management	4
MKTG 530	Survey of Marketing	4
NR 425	Field Dendrology	4
NR 435	Contemporary Conservation Issues and Environmental Awareness	4
NR 504	Freshwater Resources	4
NR #506	Forest Entomology	4
NR 527	Forest Ecology	4
NR 602	Natural Resources and Environmental Policy	4
NR 643	Economics of Forestry	4
NR 650	Principles of Conservation Biology	4
NR 706	Soil Ecology	4
NR 729	Silviculture	4
NR 749	Forest Inventory and Modeling	4
NR 760	Geographic Information Systems in Natural Resources	4
NR 761	Environmental Soil Chemistry	4
NR 782	Forest Health in a Changing World	4
NR 785	Systems Thinking for Sustainable Solutions	4
NUTR 400	Nutrition in Health and Well Being	4
NUTR 405	Food and Society	4
NUTR 550	Food Science: Principle and Practice	4
NUTR 720	Community Nutrition	4
NUTR 730	From Seed to Sea: Examining Sustainable Food Systems	4
NUTR 795	Investigations	1-4
RMP 724	Research, Evaluation, and Data-Driven Decisions	4
SAFS 410	A Taste of the Tropics	4
SAFS 415	Introduction to Brewing Art and Science	4
SAFS 515	Technical Brewing	4
SAFS 601	Fruit Crop Production	4
SAFS 632	Urban Agriculture	4
SAFS 651	Plant Pathology	4
SAFS 670	Systems Thinking: Land Use Capability and Sustainability in Aotearoa New Zealand	4
SAFS 671	Agroecology and Sustainable Land Management in Aotearoa New Zealand	4
SAFS 672	Pathways to Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in Aotearoa New Zealand	4
SAFS 673	Agricultural Production and Business Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand	4
SAFS 679	Food Production Field Experience I	4
SAFS 680	Food Production Field Experience II	4
SAFS 689	Greenhouse Management and Operation	4
SAFS 733	Advanced Topics in Sustainable Agriculture	4
SAFS 750	Food System Solutions; Increasing Sustainability and Equity	4
SAFS #760	Insect Pest Management	4
SAFS 795	Investigations	1-4
SAFS 799	Honors Senior Thesis	1-4
MEFB 772	Fisheries Biology: Conservation and Management	4
ZOOL 555	Introduction to Entomology	4
ZOOL 610	Principles of Aquaculture	4

University Requirements

In addition to meeting the SAFS major requirements, students must satisfy all University requirements including those that pertain to the minimum number of credits, grade-point average, writing-intensive courses, and the Discovery Program.

Students will demonstrate a working understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of agriculture and food systems and the basic principles underpinning sustainability including: economic viability, environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and the trade-offs between competing metrics of sustainability.
Students will demonstrate in-depth knowledge, critical thinking and analysis, and effective written communication in a self-declared area of emphasis within the program.
Students will gain an applied understanding of agriculture and food systems by engaging in an experiential education opportunity.
Students will be able to independently interpret, evaluate, and engage with research in the agricultural sciences, including its biological, physical, social, and/or economic aspects.