Careers
Job Prospects
Between 2005 and 2010, more than 52,000 job openings will be available each year for college graduates in food, agriculture, and natural resources degree programs, according to a recent USDA report.
“Several societal trends are driving the job market in these fields,” says J. Marcos Fernandez, associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “Among them are consumer preferences for safe, healthy, and convenient foods; desires for an economically and environmentally sustainable food system; and concerns for bio-security and protecting our food and fiber system from agroterrorism, invasive species, and diseases.”
"The fact is, we're on the cutting edge of many technologies," says Fernandez. "Our programs are science-based, but one of the strengths of the land-grant system is that we are able to translate that research and apply it to real problems in the field. Agricultural scientists lead some of the scientific and technical advances that take place in medical and biological fields."
Dissertation Award
Martin Lenihan, a graduate student in rural sociology, received the Dissertation Award from the Penn State Alumni Association for his thesis titled "State, Social Movement, and Producer Perspectives on Multifunctional Agriculture in the Global Food Regime."
His adviser, Kathryn Brasier, assistant professor of rural sociology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, recommended Lenihan, who received $5,000 as part of the award. "Martin has excelled as a student in our program and has already made significant contributions in our field," she says. "He shows great promise in his future career.” Research done for the dissertation by Lenihan, Brasier believes, has the potential to address a number of theoretical issues related to the development and future direction of our food production system and its environmental implications.
Read more about Lenihan, who, besides winning the Dissertation Award, has a position at the World Bank.
Our Alumni
The exceptional success of our many CAS graduates speaks for itself.
Take a look at some of our alumni in Forest Resources.
In entomology, our graduates are making great strides. Read more
Science's Next Wave
Science’s Next Wave is a career development magazine, updated weekly on the Web that has been published since 1995 by Science. Its purpose is to provide the early-career scientist with the tools, insight, and advice needed to discover the vast range of careers in the sciences. The expert columnists offer advice on finding a job and finishing a Ph.D. The latest news on factors affecting the science job market is also available. To get to this resource, go to the LIAS Database and Resources page (http://www.lias.psu.edu/alallpsu.html) and scroll down to Science's Next Wave in the alphabetical list.
If you have any questions regarding Graduate Education in the College of Agricultural Sciences, please email GradEd@ag.psu.edu
