Alcorn State University was founded in 1871 as a land grant university. Within the Department of Agriculture in the School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, the university offers Bachelor of Science degrees in general agriculture, agricultural economics with an international agriculture option, animal science with a veterinary science option, plant and soil science, agribusiness management and a Bachelor of Applied Science Education degree with an agricultural education endorsement. The university also offers Master of Science degrees with endorsements in agronomy, animal science and agricultural economics.
Mississippi State University was founded in 1878 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi. Today, its College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers bachelor degrees in ten departments: agricultural economics; agricultural and biological engineering; animal and dairy sciences; biochemistry and molecular biology; entomology and plant pathology; food science, nutrition and health promotion; human sciences; landscape architecture; plant and soil services; and poultry science. At the graduate level, the university offers a Master of Science in Agricultural Life Science with an entomology and plant pathology concentration and a Doctor of Philosophy in Life Sciences with a concentration in entomology and plant pathology.
Several community colleges in Mississippi offer agricultural associate degrees. Hinds Community College offers an associate degree in agribusiness management technology. Holmes Community College and Itawamba Community College offer associate degrees in agriculture. Mississippi Delta Community College offers associate degrees in agricultural business and management technology and in agricultural mechanics technology. Northwest Mississippi Community College offers an associate degree in agricultural business and management technology/animal husbandry and in agricultural technology/John Deere tech. Jones County Junior College offers associate degrees in horticulture technology and forest technology. Northeast Mississippi Community College offers an associate degree in forestry technology.
Earning a degree in agriculture can provide a basis for a variety of careers. You can operate a farm, act as a wholesale flower distributor or teach vocational agriculture. Another career option is as an environmental specialist, environmental consultant or an environmental policy/legislative analyst. Sales or marketing positions are available as an agricultural insurance representative, a pharmaceutical salesperson or a marketing manager. You can pursue a career in landscaping, as a greenhouse plant producer, landscape architect or landscape contractor.