Agriculture & natural resources programs

Studying at UT

The classroom and beyond

As a future agriculture and natural resources student, you’ll be supported by faculty mentors and professional academic advisors as you navigate your program and goals. Our average student-to-faculty ratio in these programs is 12 to 1, so you’ll receive close instruction from caring professors invested in your achievements. 

Not only will you gain valuable knowledge inside the classroom, you’ll also have the opportunity to take part in experiential learning at UT. Students in food science, for example, spend hours in the lab learning the qualities and composition of food. Vols can also work at the UT Creamery where they’re taught about ice cream production, manufacturing, and more!  

Students in this study area often get to participate in competitions and attend conferences, depending on their programs and involvement. One of our environmental soil science students placed third at the 2023 National Collegiate Soils Contest. UT’s livestock judging teams compete in up to 20 states, while the National Agri-Marketing Association competes annually in St. Louis to market novel products. As an agriculture or natural resources student, you might also join Herbert Ambassadors, the Food and Ag Business Club, or the Wildlife and Fisheries Society among others. 

Grow as a professional

Research opportunities

As an R1 research institute, Volunteers have abundant opportunities to get involved in research. Undergraduate students can enroll in research courses dedicated to a topic in almost every program, and graduate students have the opportunity to conduct research alongside specialized staff and 190 PhD faculty. Graduate and undergraduate students are actively involved in the research efforts toward developing turfgrass for the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Student researchers also compete in the university’s annual EURēCA presentations and often travel to national or international conferences to present their work.

Additionally, Vols are known to earn prestigious research grants and fellowships. Students have received the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant and the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship. And they have been chosen for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Fellows Program, to name a few.

Agriculture & natural resources internships

For students studying agriculture and natural resources, no two internships are the same. You may gain real-world experience with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Or perhaps you’ll intern at London’s world famous Wimbledon Tennis and Golf Club or Arsenal Football Club. Maybe you’ll learn about international agricultural trade from experts through an internship with the UN World Food Programme.

Learn around the world

Through the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture, students have the chance to be global change agents. Maybe you’ll volunteer with Farmer-to-Farmer and travel to Cambodia to implement improved methods for producing clean planting material or share knowledge about soil management.

All Vols have the opportunity to study abroad. Students have traveled to places like Argentina where they’ve learned about farming models and horticultural markets, Mexico where they’ve focused on coffee production and received related training, and Belize where they participated in a variety of programs and research projects with focuses like agroforestry, small animal veterinary medicine, and wildlife and fisheries.