PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State University Graduate School is offering graduate students in any discipline the opportunity to obtain a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture. Students are eligible to pursue the certificate as long as they meet the prerequisites for the courses required.
The certificate coursework will provide students with an interdisciplinary understanding of practices and current issues in sustainable agriculture, according to Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, coordinator of the WSU Biologically Intensive Agriculture and Organic Farming program.
“Sustainable agriculture is inherently interdisciplinary and the courses required will provide knowledge of the science that makes it work,” said Carpenter-Boggs.
Carpenter-Boggs said the certificate program, which was approved by the WSU Faculty Senate in October, came about because of demand.
“We’ve had a lot of graduate students tell us that they want more programs in sustainable agriculture,” she says. “This came about because of strong support from both students and faculty.”
To obtain the certificate students must obtain a minimum of nine graded credits. The program’s two required core courses provide six of the credits, and students must earn three additional credits from courses in disciplines outside of their primary degree programs.
In 2006, WSU began offering the nation’s first undergraduate major in organic agriculture as one of five majors for earning a degree in Agriculture and Food Systems.
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