Agronomy – Master’s

Graduate College Requirements:

• 4-year bachelor’s degree (or equivalent)
• Academic Records/Transcripts
• Minimum 2.8 GPA on a 4.0 scale (as required by the program)
• Proof of English Proficiency

Program Specific Requirements:

• Application
• Statement of Purpose
• Three Letters of Recommendation

International Student Requirements:

• Financial Statement

Specific requirement details can be found on the Graduate College website and Department of Agronomy website.

Our faculty consistently contribute to research that ensures a more sustainable, resilient, and productive global agricultural system.

Dr. Mary Wiedenhoeft Director of Graduate Education 515-294-3274 mwiedenh@iastate.edu

Here’s what some of our faculty are working on:

• Sotirios Archontoulis seeks to understand how combinations of crops, tillage and fertilizer, different soils, and water affect cropping systems’ productivity and environmental performance to improve agricultural sustainability and overall yield.
• Mike Castellano is focused on developing tools to use data for making better nitrogen fertilizer management decisions that will affect farmers’ operations and the environment for years to come.
• Mark Licht, an Extension cropping systems specialist, is focused on how to holistically manage Iowa cropping systems to achieve productivity, profitability, and environmental goals.
• Arti Singh, using AI image recognition technology trained on millions of insect images, is part of a team that has developed an app that accurately identifies agricultural pests. This tool can aid farmers in making informed pest management decisions and has broader implications for agricultural productivity and environmental protection.

First Year

• AGRON 5010 Crop Growth and Development – 3 credit
• AGRON 5020 Chemistry, Physics, and Biology of Soils – 3 credits
• AGRON 5120 Soil-Plant Environment – 3 credits
• AGRON 5130 Quantitative Methods for Agronomy – 3 credits
• AGRON 5030 Climate and Crop Growth – 3 credits

Second Year

• AGRON 5110 Crop Improvement – 3 credits
• AGRON 5440 Host-Pest Interaction – 3 credits
• AGRON 5990M Creative Component Seminar – 1 credit
• AGRON 5940 Agronomy M.S. Practicum – 1 credit

Third Year – two of three

• 2 of the following:
  • AGRON 5310 Crop Management and Ecology – 3 credits
  • AGRON 5320 Soil Management – 3 credits
  • AGRON 5910 Agronomic Systems Analysis – 3 credits
• AGRON 5990M Defense Creative Component – 1 credits

• Evaluate agronomic management decisions through scientific principles underlying crop physiology, genetics, climatology, soil science, pest management, and their interactions.
• Critically evaluate agronomic research design, content, applications, and limitations.
• Apply agronomic knowledge to real-world problems via application of scientific principles
• Analyze agricultural practices through moral, ethical, and legal lenses.
• Utilize group dynamics in the accomplishment of individual and collective goals.
• Articulate distinctive messaging that effectively informs scientific, industry, and public audiences.