MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — SUNY Morrisville is adding a new Bachelor of Technology degree in agricultural science to its academic lineup later this year. 

The new bachelor’s degree, which launches in the fall semester, enables students to choose from four specialty tracks: dairy management, agronomy, livestock management, and agricultural outreach and education. 

“Students can diversify their studies with the new degree, which offers a wide breadth of courses within agriculture, along with a set of core courses common across all four tracks,” Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins, associate professor of agricultural science at SUNY Morrisville, said in a release.

The college’s existing dairy management B.Tech. degree will be housed in the new bachelor’s degree under the dairy management track. 

“It’s the same degree, now with more flexibility,” Ashley Marshall, associate professor of dairy science at SUNY Morrisville, noted. “The dairy track maintains all of the core dairy courses that our dairy management B.Tech. degree is known for, while allowing for a bit more flexibility in the program with some courses becoming electives. This gives students the opportunity to tailor their degree around their specific interests within the dairy and other agricultural industries.”

Graduates of the agricultural science bachelor’s degree are expected to be prepared for a wide array of agricultural specialties, the college says. That includes employment in the agricultural-service sector, ranging to on-farm management of dairy and other livestock species, or work in the public sector as an agricultural educator.

“We are working with ag-industry leaders to provide a curriculum that prepares students with the skills necessary to jump into jobs the industry is having trouble filling,” Gilbert Jenkins said. 

Each track wraps up with a 15-credit internship that provides students with direct, hands-on experience in the field.

The new bachelor’s-degree program comes on the heels of the college’s first-ever master’s degree in food and agribusiness.