Academic Programs
Annual Report 2006-2007
Educating students who will serve society, historically the College of Agriculture's first mission, remains the most important way in which we enhance the future of Kentucky. The College is home to a robust and diverse undergraduate program that is among the most academically diverse at the University of Kentucky.
Through our offerings in the applied natural, human, and social sciences and applied business and economics, we produce graduates ready for the world. The majority of our classes are taught by faculty who are fully engaged in research and/or extension activities, resulting in an integrated educational experience that produces students ready and able to solve real-world problems.
And, the College continues to grow! Enrollment is trending upward, the number of graduates is on the rise, we have nationally recognized programs, and the scholarship program is realizing significant gains through the generosity of our donors.
_____________________________________________________________
Enrollment:
Undergraduate enrollment growth continues
for the College, with a total of 2,129 students.
That's a record. Over the past five years, College enrollment has increased by 81%, due largely to inclusion of the School of Human Environmental Sciences in 2003. However, overall enrollment is up more than 15% since that time, reflecting continued strong interest in our programs.
When compared with the rest of the University, our undergraduate enrollment makes us the third largest college at the University, and our students comprise just over 11% of the total student population.
2006 - 2007
AG, HES and UK Undergraduate Enrollment
Within the College, 848 students are in the School of Human Environmental Sciences. The School has just celebrated its Centennial, and interest in the School's programs is at an alltime high. Enrollment in the College's programs in agriculture and natural resources is 1,281 students—another all-time high.
Degrees Granted:
The College of Agriculture is among the top colleges at UK in graduating students, ranking third in degree productivity out of 11 colleges that grant bachelor of science degrees. In 2006, the College granted 442 bachelor of science degrees (nearly 13% of UK's total), 57 Master of Science (MS) degrees, and 22 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. These figures represent more than 10% of all UK degrees awarded in 2006.
Top Honors for Graduate Programs:
The Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index was released this year. It provides rankings of graduate programs in 104 different fields. The index takes into account a number of different factors that reflect productivity and prestige of the faculty in the programs. As noted in Dean Scott Smith's column on Page 1 of this issue of the Ag Magazine, the College of Agriculture has two programs in the top 10 this year.
The Department of Plant Pathology is ranked as the number one Plant Pathology department nationally, providing education and research opportunities for 34 MS, PhD, and post-doctoral scholars. And, the Department of Entomology is ranked 10th nationally, with 44 MS, PhD, and post-doctoral scholars.
Scholarship News:
The Golden Leaf Tobacco Settlement Matching Program for scholarships has been a resounding success! The College used its tobacco buyout funds of $800,000 to match donor funds on a dollar-for-two-dollars basis, resulting in a $2.4 million scholarship endowment that will generate approximately $120,000 in new scholarship dollars.
Through this program, more than 90 different scholarships have either been newly created or significantly enhanced. Funding from other sources has also increased, and we were able to provide more than $530,000 in total scholarship funding to students in the College for 2006-07.
Michael D. Mullen
Associate Dean, Office for Academic Programs
N-6, Agricultural Science Center
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky 40546-0091
E-mail: mike.mullen@uky.edu
Every year a team of UK students, mostly from
Biosystems and Ag Engineering, designs and builds
a quarter-scale tractor as part of an international
student competition. UK's team has finished in the
top five since 2002.