College of Agricultural Sciences

The College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State University, the first in the U.S. to offer baccalaureate degrees in agriculture, offers 19 undergraduate degrees, 16 graduate programs, 24 minors as well as 2-year and certificate programs.

College News and Information

Periodical cicadas, sometimes mistakenly called 17-year locusts, are native to North America and exist nowhere else in the world.

Mysterious insect to emerge in parts of Pennsylvania

May 8, 2013

One of the world's most mysterious insects is about to invade the skies over wooded areas in eastern Pennsylvania and other states, but an expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences says it's not a cause for alarm. Residents of 17 Pennsylvania counties soon will see an emergence of periodical cicadas, commonly but mistakenly called 17-year locusts.

Mike Lohr, who graduated in 2005 with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, poses with a native Hawaiian sea bird. He is trying to protect their threatened populations from predators. It's the kind of work he always wanted to do, he said.

Student Stories: 'Bird scientist' does unique work in Hawaii

May 8, 2013

Mike Lohr early on knew exactly what he wanted to be. When he was a kid, he called it a "bird scientist." Now he knows the proper title is avian ecologist. The 2005 Penn State alumnus currently is involved in a groundbreaking conservation project at the Ka'ena Point Coastal Reserve in Hawaii.

The decline of honeybees and other pollinators will be the focus of an international conference to be hosted by Penn State in August.

Penn State to host international conference on pollinator health

April 29, 2013

With populations of wild and domesticated pollinators, such as honeybees, in decline, some of the world's foremost scientists in the field will converge on Penn State this summer to discuss the latest research aimed at understanding and overcoming challenges to pollinator health. Hosted by the Center for Pollinator Research in the College of Agricultural Sciences, the second International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy will be held August 14 to 17 at The Nittany Lion Inn.

Lin Fang, graduate student in agricultural and biological engineering at Penn State, displays a purified microbial cellulose sample in her lab on the University Park campus.

Changing cellulose-forming process may tap plants' biofuel potential

April 26, 2013

Changing the way a plant forms cellulose may lead to more efficient, less expensive biofuel production, according to Penn State engineers. "What every biofuel manufacturer wants to do is to get to the sugars," said Jeffrey Catchmark, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering. "But the structure of cellulose itself can be an obstacle."

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