Graduate Field of Plant Protection

Degrees offered: M.P.S.

The Master of Professional Studies in Agriculture program is sufficiently flexible to accommodate varying career objectives as well as interests in a wide range of crops. The program provides broad academic preparation and practical training for professional plant protection consultants and other technical personnel in agriculture. Less emphasis is placed on research in the M.P.S. program than in traditional M.S. or Ph.D. programs. In addition, the M.P.S. (Agriculture and Life Sciences) program has a Peace Corp option in which the student undertakes two semesters of academic work at Cornell and a Peace Corp assignment. For information and instructions on how to apply, visit the M.P.S. (Agriculture and Life Sciences)/Peace Corps website, or contact International Programs, 33 Warren Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; phone 607-255-3037; email mpsag_peacecorps@cornell.edu.

A dominant concept in the curriculum is integrated pest management (IPM), an approach to pest control in which a crop and its pests are considered to be part of an ecosystem, and pest control strategies are based on a thorough understanding of that system. Students take courses in a variety of disciplines, including entomology, plant pathology, weed science, statistics, ecology, and farm business management.

The field requires a minimum of thirty credits, twenty-four of which must be for courses at the 400-level or above. Also required are an approved internship consisting of one growing season's experience in an extension pest-management program or equivalent, and a problem-solving project, a report of which must be submitted to the M.P.S.(Agriculture and Life Sciences) Committee. The internship requirement may be waived for candidates who have appropriate experience. On completion of those requirements, candidates take a final examination. The exam may be written, oral, or a combination of both, at the discretion of the Special Committee.