Grad Profiles - Clemson University Agricultural Sciences

Overview
Clemson University, founded in 1889, is a state-supported coeducational land-grant institution. The 1,400-acre main campus is surrounded by 20,860 acres of University farms and woodlands devoted to research. Enrollment is approximately 16,500, including 3,800 graduate students. The University employs approximately 4,300 persons on a full-time basis, approximately 1,220 of whom hold academic rank.

The student body of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences comprises about 470 graduate and 1,990 undergraduate students. Enrollments at the undergraduate and graduate levels have been increasing in recent years. Graduate students come from all parts of the United States and a number of other countries. Growth in the number of international students is anticipated.

The Community and Location
Clemson University is located in the northwestern corner of South Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The campus abuts Lake Hartwell and is a little more than 2 hours' driving time from Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This beautiful, scenic area provides an excellent environment for outdoor recreation, including boating, fishing, skiing, hunting, swimming, sailing, bicycling, camping, and hiking. The Clemson campus, with its Performing Arts Center, offers a wide variety of entertainment, including lectures, films, plays, and concerts—rock, jazz, and classical. Students also enjoy participating in or watching University-sponsored intramural and intercollegiate athletics.

Programs of study and degree requirements
Clemson University's College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences offers programs leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees and three professional degrees: the Master of Agricultural Education, Master of Forest Resources, and Master of Zoology. The College has graduate programs that offer opportunities for basic research and the application of knowledge in the following areas: agricultural economics, including community and economic development and applied natural resource economics; agricultural education; agricultural mechanization and business; animal and food industries; animal physiology; animal science; applied economics; aquaculture, fisheries, and wildlife biology; biochemistry; entomology; plant and environmental sciences; environmental toxicology; experimental statistics; food science and human nutrition; food technology; forest resources; genetics; microbiology; integrated pest management; and zoology. Excellent opportunities exist to become involved in biotechnology applications to agricultural production and processing systems in many departments within the College. A biosystems engineering program is jointly administered with the College of Engineering and Science.

Facilities & Resources
The departments are well equipped for both basic and applied research in science and engineering. Library facilities and resources make Clemson one of the most important research institutions in the Southeast. The catalog and circulation system is computerized, and the library is linked by computer to more than 5,000 other libraries. Computer resources are excellent. Satellite terminals and microcomputers located across the campus and in the departments, both on the main campus and in four Research and Education Centers, provide ready access to mainframe computers for statistical applications, word processing programs, and library resources, including online access to commercial databases. The excellent spirit of cooperation at Clemson minimizes the effects of departmental boundaries and enhances the opportunities for interdisciplinary graduate education.

Expenses and Aid
Costs: Resident graduate students are required to pay $270 per semester hour up to 11 hours and $2655 for 12 or more semester hours. Nonresidents pay $475 per semester hour up to 11 hours and $5642 for 12 or more semester hours. Graduate assistants pay a flat fee of $696 per semester and $196 for each summer session. All fees are subject to change.

Financial Aid: Graduate students may apply for grants, loans, fellowships, scholarships, and assistantships. Teaching and research assistantships are awarded by the departments on a competitive basis and are usually one-half time, requiring 20 hours of work per week. A minimum enrollment is required for appointment as a department graduate assistant. During the academic year, students enrolled in a doctoral program or a thesis option master's program must enroll in at least 12 credit hours each semester. Students enrolled in a master's program not requiring a thesis must enroll in 9 credit hours each semester. Minimum enrollment in the summer session is 3 credit hours per session irrespective of the degree objective.

Housing/Living Expenses: The cost of living in the Clemson area is quite modest. Residence halls and apartments located on the main campus provide excellent accommodations at economical rates for graduate and undergraduate students. Privately owned housing in the surrounding community accommodates the majority of graduate students, both married and single. The International Services Office assists international students or visiting scholars in finding housing in the community as well as on campus. The University offers three economical board plans and also provides meals on a cash basis in two student dining halls.

How to Apply / Application
For admission to a graduate program in the College, applicants must have a baccalaureate degree and must submit transcripts of all prior college work, letters of recommendation, and scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations. Applicants must also meet departmental requirements for course work in specific fields. A statement of the applicant's research and career interests is desirable. In addition to applying for admission to the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, students interested in financial aid must submit a financial aid application to the University. While there are no fixed deadlines, students are urged to submit their applications as early as possible. Additional information can be obtained from individual departments or the address below.

International Applicants
Applicants to the graduate programs at Clemson University must hold a four-year bachelor's degree (or equivalent) or a master's degree from an institution whose scholastic rating is satisfactory to the University. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores are required of all international applicants whose native language is not English and whose secondary education (and beyond) was not taught fully in English. Applicants who hope to receive a graduate assistantship are encouraged to submit scores from the Test of Written English (TWE) administered simultaneously with the TOEFL at most test locations.

Who to Contact
Dr. Calvin L. Schoulties
College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
101 Barre Hall
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0303

864-656-3013

E-mail: graduate_school@clemson.edu

http://www.clemson.edu/CAFLS/

THE FACULTY AND THEIR RESEARCH
All of the addresses given below are at Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634.

Agricultural and Applied Economics (M.S. in agricultural and applied economics; thesis option and nonthesis options in agribusiness, economic development, resource economics, and agricultural economics): Dr. M. D. Hammig, Chair; 220 Barre Hall. Graduate faculty: 26. The thesis M.S. program provides broad training in agricultural and applied economics, economic theory, and research methodology and is designed for students planning to pursue a Ph.D. degree or a career in research. The nonthesis M.S. program provides practical training in economics and business and in a particular technical area and is designed to provide additional technical skills for business-oriented students and additional business skills for students with technical backgrounds.
Agricultural and Biological Engineering (M.S. and Ph.D. in biosystems engineering): Dr. W. H. Allen, Chair; 201 McAdams Hall. Graduate faculty: 11. Programs offered in biotechnology, bioprocessing for a bio-based economy, water quality, sensors and instrumentation, power and machinery, soil and water resources, aquaculture engineering, structures, precision agriculture, waste management, and impacts of changing land use.
Agricultural Education (M.Ag.Ed. and Ed.D.): Dr. W. M. Surver, Chair; 109 Barre Hall. Graduate faculty: 3. Programs emphasize planning, learning theory, technology transfer, teaching methods, and evaluation in the agricultural industry, and extension and occupational education for youth and adults. A minor in related technical fields is encouraged.
Animal and Veterinary Sciences (M.S. and Ph.D. in animal physiology; M.S. in animal and food industries; Ph.D. in genetics and food technology): Dr. G. P. Birrenkott, Chair; 130 Poole Ag Center. Graduate faculty: 16. Students may specialize in nutrition, physiology, meat and dairy products, or genetics at the Ph.D. level and in breeding and genetics, meat science and muscle biology, animal management, ruminant nutrition, reproductive physiology, mycotoxicology, and dairy products at the master's level.
Applied Economics (Ph.D. in applied economics); a cooperative program with the Department of Economics: Dr. M. D. Hammig, Program Administrator, 220 Barre Hall. Graduate faculty: 43. The Ph.D. program emphasizes economic theory and quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyze problems in economic development, environmental and resource economics, regional analysis, agricultural marketing, production economics, finance, industrial organization, international trade, and public policy.
Aquaculture, Fisheries and Wildlife (M.S. in aquaculture, fisheries, and wildlife biology and Ph.D. in fisheries and wildlife science): Dr. J. R. Sweeney, Chair; G-08 Lehotsky Hall. Graduate faculty: 11. Programs emphasize relationships between animals and their changing environments and production of aquatic organisms. Concentrations are offered in aquaculture, uplands and wetlands wildlife biology, conservation biology, and freshwater and marine fisheries science.
Biological Sciences (M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry, genetics, and zoology; nonthesis M.S. in zoology; M.S. and Ph.D. in plant and environmental sciences): Dr. T. M. McInnis, Chair; 132 Long Hall. Graduate faculty: 23. Studies span the spectrum of biology, ranging from molecular and cellular biology through organismal biology to ecology, evolution, and population biology.
Entomology (M.S. and Ph.D. in entomology): J. D. Culin, Chair; 112 Long Hall. Graduate faculty: 18. Programs emphasize basic and applied environmental entomology (concerning insects and their relatives). Areas of specialization include arthropod biodiversity, insect management in agrisystems, insect genetics and biotechnology, and urban entomology.
Environmental Toxicology (M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental toxicology): Dr. J. H. Rodgers, Chair; 509 Westinghouse Rd., P.O. Box 709, Pendleton, South Carolina 29670. Graduate faculty: 12. Program emphasizes basic and applied toxicology in aquatic, analytical, biochemical, and behavioral toxicology; environmental chemistry; and ecotoxicology. Research emphasizes fate and effects of materials on aquatic and terrestrial wildlife resources.
Experimental Statistics (Advanced degrees are not awarded, but a minor is offered at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels): Dr. H. S. Hill Jr., Chair; F-148 Poole Ag Center. Graduate faculty: 5. Experimental statistics and statistical services.
Food Science and Human Nutrition (Ph.D. in food technology; M.S. in animal and food industries): Dr. J. U. McGregor, Chair; 224 Poole Ag Center. Graduate faculty: 9. Studies are offered in food biochemistry/chemistry, microbiology, product evaluation/development, food engineering, food proteins, muscle foods, food packaging, membrane technology (ultrafiltration), and human nutrition.
Forest Resources (M.F.R., M.S., and Ph.D. in forest resources): Dr. Patricia A. Layton, Chair; 261 Lehotsky Hall, Graduate faculty: 28. Programs emphasize management, use, and stewardship of forest resources. Research emphasizes ecological forest management, forested wetlands, forest products, pest problems of intensive forest management, wildlife management, remote sensing and GIS, forest economics, tree physiology, and urban forestry.
Genetics and Biochemistry (M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry and genetics): Dr. R. H. Hilderman, Interim Chair; 122 Long Hall. Graduate faculty: 18. Research areas emphasized are plant hormones and nodulation, desaturases of plant biomembranes, DNA repair, protein engineering, signal transduction in plant and animal systems, and biochemistry of cellular stress in plants and animals.
Horticulture (M.S. and Ph.D. in plant and environmental sciences; Ph.D. in genetics): Dr. T. Whitwell, Chair; 171 Poole Ag Center. Graduate faculty: 17. Research concentrations are offered in floriculture, vegetable crops, ornamental horticulture, fruit crops, turfgrass management, physiology, genetics and breeding, biotechnology, postharvest physiology, and molecular biology.
Microbiology and Molecular Medicine (M.S. and Ph.D. in microbiology): Dr. S. S. Hayasaka, Chair; 124 Long Hall. Graduate faculty: 16. Programs emphasize medical microbiology, molecular medicine, food safety, and bioremediation.
Packaging Science (M.S. in packaging science): Dr. R. L. Thomas, Chair; B 212 Poole Ag Center. Graduate faculty: 6. Programs emphasize food packaging, protective packaging, paper and wood packaging, polymer and biopolymer packaging materials, food processing and packaging process integration, antimicrobial packaging materials, and studies in oxygen, moisture, and organic molecular permeation through solids.
Plant Pathology and Physiology (M.S. and Ph.D. in plant and environmental sciences; Ph.D. in genetics): Dr. S. A. Lewis, Chair; 118 Long Hall. Graduate faculty: 16. Research programs emphasize physiology, molecular genetics, virology, nematology, and certain plant diseases caused by fungi and bacteria. Research may include in-depth study of pathogen biology of important crop diseases.

INTERDEPARTMENTAL GRADUATE PROGRAMS