The Range, Forage and Turfgrass Sciences program prepares students for future careers focused on extensively or intensively managed grassland systems including native grassland ecosystems and improved grasslands for grazing, conservation management, and urban/recreational grassland ecosystems.
Learning Outcomes: Range, Forage and Turfgrass Sciences Specialization
Students completing a degree in Range, Forage and Turfgrass Sciences Specialization will have the knowledge, skill set and professional capability to:
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of managed grassland systems.
- Implement and develop site-specific best management practices to optimize functional quality.
- Identify and overcome inefficiencies to reduce management costs and maintain or increase productivity.
Foundational or Core Courses
Students in the flexible Range, Forage and Turfgrass Sciences program work closely with their academic advisor and Student’s Supervisory Committee to develop a plan of study tailored to their interests and meeting future career goals. Students within the Range, Forage and Turfgrass Sciences program are often encouraged to take discipline focused courses from the below list.
- AGRO 807: Plant-water Relations (3 cr)
- TLMT 813: Turfgrass and Landscape Weed Management (1 cr)
- TLMT 814: Turfgrass Disease Management (1 cr)
- AGRO 819: Applications of Remote Sensing in Agriculture and Natural Resources (4 cr)
- AGRO 822: Integrated Weed Management (1 cr)
- AGRO 826: Invasive Plants (3 cr)
- TLMT 827: Turfgrass Systems Management (3 cr)
- AGRO 835: Agroecology (3 cr)
- NRES 838: Grassland Conservation: Planning and Management (3 cr)
- AGRO 840: Great Plains Ecosystem (3 cr)
- TLMT 840: Turfgrass and Landscape Integrated Pest Management (1 cr)
- AGRO 841: Perennial Plant Function, Growth and Development (3 cr)
- AGRO 842: Wildland Plants (3 cr)
- AGRO 844: Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment (3 cr)
- AGRO 845: Livestock Management on Range and Pasture (3 cr)
- AGRO 846: Forage Quality (3 cr)
- AGRO 847: Grassland Fire Ecology (3 cr)
- AGRO 848: Grassland Monitoring and Assessment (2 cr)
- AGRO 849: Watershed Management in Grasslands (3 cr)
- AGRO 851: Grassland Plant Identification (2 cr)
- TLMT 880: Modified Rootzones (1 cr)
- AGRO 889: Urbanization of Rural Landscapes (3 cr)
- AGRO 940: Forage Evaluation (3 cr)
Writing, Speaking and Teaching
- AGRO 803: Scientific Writing and Communication (3cr) (recommended)
- CBIO 844: Professional Development (1cr)
- Teaching Assistant (encouraged)
- AGRO 899, 999: Masters, Ph.D. Thesis
- Departmental seminar (recommended)
- AGRO 991: Seminar Presentation and Evaluation (required)
- AGRO 992: General Seminar (required)
Statistics, Data Management & Analysis, Programming
M.S. and Ph.D. (min, 6 cr)
- STAT 801: Statistical Methods in Research (4cr)
- STAT 802: Design and Analysis of Research Studies (4cr)
- AGRO 820: Bioinformatics Applications in Agriculture (3cr)
- ECEN 850: Bioinformatics (3cr)
- STAT 868: An Introduction to R Programming (online) (1cr)
- AGRO 896: Applied Field Research: Design, Data Management, Analysis and Reporting (2cr) 1
- Or any other graduate level course(s) in Statistics, Data Management & Analysis, or Programming as deemed appropriate by the Supervisory Committee and the Student and identified as such in the Student’s IDP.