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About

The College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources

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The College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources has a tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and Extension. The three-tiered mission of a land-grant university is embodied by the faculty and staff. Our students have great opportunities to learn from and work with world-class scientists in state-of-the-art facilities.

Sections

woman riding a horse in a rodeo with a NDSU flag

group of students in front of plant plot

Photo Credit:

Hort Club

two students pose in front of education poster for turf

Instructor Tom Gustad

CAFSNR Overview 2023-24

LIMITLESS CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Our graduates work in diverse areas, such as biotechnology, crop consulting, medicine, law, education, sales, finance, equipment design, resource management, product development, marketing, research, animal management and international trade.

The job outlook for agriculture, food systems and natural resources graduates remains strong with continued expansion of food and agriculture technology, the need for well-educated personnel in leadership positions and increased opportunities in the natural resources arena. See career opportunities

ENROLLMENT

1,250 undergraduate and graduate students, Fall 2023

STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO

With a student-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, students receive individual attention from faculty who are engaged in the region’s agriculture. And, most faculty have both teaching and research appointments, which allows them to bring the latest, most relevant information into the classroom.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Opportunities abound as you check out the undergraduate academic programs/majors offered through the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources. These programs are the first step toward getting the career you want. See academic programs/majors

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

The college has one of the largest scholarship programs on campus. Each year more than one-fourth of the students receive academic scholarships. See scholarship opportunities

CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT

More than 30 agriculture-related clubs and organizations provide opportunities for students to develop leadership, organizational and communication skills. See student organizations

INTERNSHIPS

Students intern at a variety of organizations nationwide. Examples of organizations students have interned for include: Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR; Michigan Department of Agriculture, Lansing, MI; Phibro Animal Health; Archer Daniels Midland; CHS, Inver Grove Heights, MN; AgCountry Farm Credit Services; Evergreen Implement, Mahnomen, MN

UNIQUE HANDS-ON LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

The college is located in an urban agricultural center with close proximity to both production agriculture and processing. This provides unique and marketable “hands-on” experience for students involved in research projects and industry internships.

STATE-OF-THE-ART TEACHING FACILITIES

The NDSU Commodity Trading Laboratory is a sophisticated learning environment and the first of its kind that specializes in agricultural commodities. The facility, which includes state-of-the-art information sources, trading software and analytical tools, provides students with hands-on learning experiences in commodity trading, marketing, logistics and risk management.

The Peltier Complex is a state-of-the-art learning facility that opened to students in fall 2024. It offers learning space in food science labs with the most up-to-date technologies that uniquely positions NDSU students for rapidly expanding career opportunities in the food industry. In addition the complex also supports a wide range of research involving food science, meat science, muscle biology, food safety, nutrition, consumer sensory traits and the development of new agricultural products.

See agriculture facilities

SUPERIOR RESEARCH FACILITIES

The North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station (NDAES) has outstanding facilities for high quality research. Students who are involved with research programs can gain valuable experience at these facilities.

The NDSU Beef Cattle Research Complex is one of four of its caliber in North America and the only one of its type at a land grant university. The facility allows research to be conducted in a number of areas of beef production including nutrition, reproductive physiology, genomics, cattle management and production, pre-harvest food safety, animal behavior, environmental management, nutrient management and meat sciences and carcass quality.

The Bolley Agricultural Laboratory is a future facility that will house a variety of agricultural research programs including plant pathology, plant breeding, weed science, agronomy, soil science and horticulture. Construction began in the summer of 2024.

The Dalrymple Research Greenhouse provides advanced research opportunities in plant breeding, genetics, horticulture, entomology, plant pathology, plant nutrition and associated disciplines. Graduate student research uses state-of-the-art technology in collaboration with top-ranked scientists and educators involved in cutting-edge research.