Nov 10, 2024  
General Catalog 2024-2025 
    
General Catalog 2024-2025

Plant Science


About the Department

John T. Bushoven, Ph.D., Department Chair
Agricultural Sciences Building, Room 222
559.278.2861
FAX: 559.278.7413
jcast.fresnostate.edu/plantsci/

The Department of Plant Science at California State University, Fresno is located in the nation’s most productive agricultural valley. Our graduates acquire a sound academic background that is deeply rooted in field-based experience in the broad array of disciplines within Plant Science. These include pomology, olericulture, agronomy, environmental horticulture, soils, irrigation, economic entomology, plant pathology, weed science, and mechanized agriculture. Our faculty hold advanced degrees in these disciplines, and regularly integrate this knowledge directly in the field and laboratories. The university’s 1000 acre agricultural field laboratory, greenhouse facilities, and the Jordan Agricultural Research Center are home to cutting-edge horticultural and agronomic practices, using the latest innovations in crop production, mechanization, irrigation, soil fertility, propagation, and pest management.

Completion of a degree in Plant Science at California State University, Fresno is your gateway to a career in agriculture. Our program is also designed to provide the academic background for certification/licensing as an Irrigation Specialist, Certified Irrigation Designer, Certified Arborist, California Certified Nursery Professional, Certified Crop Adviser (CCA), Certified Professional Agronomist, Certified Entomologist, CA Department of Pesticide Regulation Certification (Agricultural Pest Control Advisor and Qualified Applicator), Certified Horticulturist, or for advanced studies in Plant Sciences. Our graduates are sought after by many of the world’s leading agricultural industries and agencies and many have entered leading graduate (MS, Ph.D.) programs worldwide.

Faculty

The faculty members hold advanced degrees in their fields of specialization from leading agricultural institutions and universities in the United States. They are well-qualified teachers who, through extensive research and interaction with major agricultural industries, bring a wealth of basic and practical information into the classroom. A faculty academic adviser is assigned to work with each student to plan and design an individualized program of study to meet the student’s educational and career objectives.

Many of the faculty members are involved in one or more of the Centers of the California Agricultural Technology Institute (Center for Irrigation Technology and the Viticulture and Enology Research Center) and the San Joaquin Experimental Range. These centers offer excellent opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students to participate in applied research projects that address and help solve problems faced by California’s agricultural industry.

Programs

    BachelorMasterMinor