Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 Graduate Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Agricultural Resources and Environmental Management Graduate Certificate


The Agricultural Resources and Environmental Management (AREM) certificate program balances study of theoretical principles and practical applications to integrate and develop a new interdisciplinary expertise, aimed at improving land and resource sustainability. Using an anthropocentric approach, we recognize the current extent of human interactions on the environment, and seek solutions that allow humanity to evolve toward a more sustainable relationship with the environment.

The certificate program will prepare students with the interdisciplinary breadth needed to address critical issues such as: air, water, and soil quality; soil, water, and energy conservation; preservation of biodiversity and protection of critical ecosystems; land use and landscape management; watershed assessment and planning; recreational uses and cultural appreciation of the agroecological system; renewable energy production and uses; and global climate change, including causes and mitigation (i.e., carbon sequestration). Emphasis will be on ecological, economic, policy, and human dimensions of these problems and collaborative interdisciplinary approaches to their solution.

AREM Admission Requirements


Admission to the AREM Graduate Certificate program will require that the student (a) has completed a 4-year undergraduate degree or has been accepted by the Graduate School for admission to a graduate degree program at Kansas State University, and (b) has completed at least 3 upper-division (junior-level or higher) undergraduate courses in technical areas consistent with topics included in AREM Subject Matter Platforms A and/or B. The AREM Program Director will determine if the required qualifications have been met by each applicant.

Framework


To receive a Graduate Certificate in AREM, students must complete a minimum of 12 hours of prescribed coursework:
• GENAG 670: Introduction to AREM (2 cr).
• Platform A course (3 cr)
• Platform B course (3 cr)
• Platform A or B course (3 cr)
• GENAG 870: Capstone for AREM (1 cr)

If a student is enrolled in a graduate degree program, no more than three credits may be taken from the student’s home department. In addition, the decision about which AREM courses may count toward graduate program degree requirements is left to the student and his/her supervisory committee in accordance with home departmental policy.

The AREM program will seek to develop and maintain international, collaborative academic partners. Currently, we are partnering with PURPAN (Toulouse, France). We anticipate continuing to conduct AREM Introduction and Capstone courses as synchronous, videoconference courses. Distance education courses will be available, and opportunities for international collaboration through distance education will be possible. Currently, there is one distance learning course on the platform list, AGRON 835; others are under consideration.

Introduction to AREM


  • Credits: 2
  •  

    All students in the certificate program will be required to take this two credit hour survey course on sustainability early in their program. The introductory course will include a combination of lectures, guest speakers, assigned readings, class discussion, and team case-study project. The student learning objectives for the class are for the students to:

    1. Understand the meaning of “sustainability”; 8
    2. Define and describe key sustainability criteria;
    3. Describe interdisciplinary perspectives on environmental issues and how they are approached at different scales and cultures;
    4. Recognize and understand basic methods in agro-ecological, economic, and social science disciplines; and
    5. Apply systems-level approaches and sustainability concepts to important natural resources and environmental management issues in Kansas, U.S., and the World, including, but not limited to: climate change, prolonging the life of aquifers, sedimentation of reservoirs, preservation of the tallgrass prairie, livestock waste management and confined animal feeding operations, watershed management, and renewable energy.

Capstone for AREM


  • Credits: 1
  •  

    All students in the certificate program will be required to take this one credit hour interdisciplinary capstone course at the end of their program. The capstone course will focus on an interdisciplinary case-study project that will allow the students to exercise their cross-disciplinary expertise gained through fulfilling AREM requirements. The course could also include selected guest lectures on topics relevant to AREM and the case-study projects. The student learning objectives for the class are for the students to:

    1. Work effectively in an interdisciplinary, possibly international, project team;
    2. Apply basic methods of agro-ecological, economic, and social science disciplines to a cross-disciplinary project; and
    3. Apply systems-level approaches and sustainability concepts to important natural resources and environmental management issues in Kansas, U.S., and the World, including, but not limited to: climate change, prolonging the life of aquifers, sedimentation of reservoirs, preservation of the tallgrass prairie, livestock waste management and confined animal feeding operations, watershed management, and renewable energy.
    4. Students will be expected to work on a semester-long, applied problem as part of an interdisciplinary team. The groups will be formed and assigned a topic or problem to be solved that is realistic and do-able. Students would make a presentation on their analysis and proposed solutions (possibly by videoconference) as well as deliver a written report. Examples of problems for students to analyze include: • Bioenergy Sustainability of biofuels; food vs. fuels; environmental consequences. • Livestock production systems. Grass-fed vs. confined feeding for beef production (extensive vs. intensive); environmental impacts. • Resource Competition/Urban vs. rural. Competition for land and water; potential impact of climate change; environmental consequences. • Organic agriculture. Global food security; environmental consequences.