Student Opportunities and Services

Advising

The faculty members in the Darr College of Agriculture are committed to helping you plan and schedule your courses to successfully fulfill University requirements and to achieve your academic and career goals. To ensure that you are on-track with your studies, plan to meet with your academic advisor at least once a semester.

Undergraduate advising

Undergraduate students are assigned an advisor within their chosen program of study. If you have forgotten who is assigned as your advisor, log in to My Missouri State and select the Registration tab, then Registration Status link. If you have not been assigned an advisor, contact Jim Bellis, assistant to the dean.

Once you have been assigned an advisor within the College of Agriculture, you can contact your advisor directly to schedule your advising appointments. If you have completed less than 75 hours, you are required to speak with and receive your advisor’s release before registering for classes.

Graduate advising

If you are pursuing a master’s degree in agriculture or plant science, you will begin the advising process by contacting Dr. Arbindra Rimal, the graduate program director. With Dr. Rimal’s assistance, you will then select a graduate faculty member with expertise in your chosen emphasis area to serve as the chair of your advisory committee, which will supervise the remainder of your program.

If you are pursuing a Master of Education, Secondary Education with an emphasis in agriculture, contact Dr. James Hutter, associate professor of agriculture, at 417-836-5096.

You must receive advisor release prior to registering for each semester of graduate study. Graduate students are also required to submit an advisor approved program of study to the Graduate College before 14 hours have been completed.

Student organizations

The College of Agriculture supports many student organizations that help develop your professional skills, provide you with leadership experience and allow you to network with professionals in the field and your fellow students.

Competitive teams

Competitive teams provide you with the opportunity to uniquely showcase your skills through intercollegiate competition. These teams also provide you with training opportunities to further develop your skills as you network, compete with and learn from other future professionals.

Ag Expo

Each fall, the College of Agriculture hosts an Ag Expo, which introduces students to life as a Missouri State student. At the expo, you can learn more about College of Agriculture student organizations, the Missouri State campus and academic programs.

Research and internship opportunities

Our College supports hands-on learning through internship, laboratory and field experiences, and research. Whether working with one of our community partners or researching at our various facilities, these unique opportunities provide you with valuable job experience and a desirable professional skill set.

An internship experience is required for some agriculture degrees. However, the completion of an internship is recommended for all students because it allows you to extend your education beyond the classroom, teaches you valuable work-related skills and introduces you to a number of careers and professionals in the agriculture industry. An internship is tailored to your unique interests and abilities and, ultimately, increases your likelihood of employment upon graduation.

Nontraditional Tracks

The Pathways program makes it possible for you to remain on your campus while still taking classes to achieve an associates degree in applied science in general agriculture.

VESTA (Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance) serves as a pathway for individuals interested in certificated training or Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in viticulture and enology. A unique partnership of universities and community colleges across the nation provide students access to coursework that is delivered online thereby enabling learning to occur anytime, anywhere. Additionally, the VESTA program provides opportunities for students to participate in hands-on field experiences through partnerships developed with area vineyards and wineries, thus providing students with laboratory experience in their location.