Students completing this interdisciplinary program will graduate with the skills and knowledge needed to contribute to sustainable development, production, management, and utilization of terrestrial and aquatic microorganisms, plants and animals by society worldwide. Students will explore the food chain, from farm to plate to waste and back, emphasizing sustainability, impacts on human health, and resilience from economic, environmental, and societal viewpoints.
Students completing this interdisciplinary program will graduate with the skills and knowledge needed to contribute to the sustainable development, production, harvesting, management, and utilization of terrestrial and aquatic microorganisms, plants and animals by society worldwide. The major will allow participants to explore the food chain, from farm to plate to waste and back, emphasizing sustainability, impacts on human health, and resilience from economic, environmental, and societal viewpoints. Core values of this interdisciplinary program that distinguish it from more traditional agriculture programs include an emphasis on the intrinsic value of heterogeneous scales of production (from small farms that sell directly to consumers to large scale producers), preserving local food cultures and biodiversity while understanding the way other cultures produce and use food (from local to global), using an ecosystem-based approach to agriculture (also integrating the contributions of aquaculture and fisheries), and the greening of urban landscapes. By the time of degree completion students will be uniquely poised to enter the workforce in the growing field of sustainable food systems or pursue management (through governmental and non-governmental agencies) and graduate education/research opportunities addressing the challenges of securing access to safe and affordable food for a growing population.
SAFS students will pursue a curriculum that combines depth in a specialization area chosen from three options within the program (Sustainable Agriculture, Nutrition and Food, and Food and Society) with breadth across the natural and social sciences, engineering, and the arts and humanities. The program entails a total of 120 credits including:
A common introductory core sequence emphasizing the interdisciplinary and systems-approach to sustainability. As part of this core sequence, students are required to take a set of interdisciplinary general education courses including AFS/AVS/PLS 132G, COM/SUS 108G, EEC 105, HSS/PSY 130G, NFS 210 and the basic science courses BIO 101/103, BIO 102/104, and CHM 101/102 or CHM 103/105. Students are also required to take APG/SOC/GWS 308.
An intermediate-level framework of courses providing depth in the area of specialization (options) while reinforcing the interdisciplinary, systems-thinking focus of the major.
January 2025
University of Rhode Island
Kingston Campus,
75 Briar Lane,
KINGSTON,
Rhode Island,
2881, United States
You are a first-year applicant if you are graduating from secondary school and have never enrolled in college, or if you have attended secondary school and college during the same time period (dual enrollment) or have taken some college-level courses during secondary school.
Admission to the University of Rhode Island is competitive, and each candidate receives individual consideration.
English Proficiency Requirements:
All international applicants whose first language is not English must provide proof of English language proficiency. English language proficiency may be demonstrated by one of the following:
Duolingo English Test (DET): minimum score of 105
TOEFL iBT: minimum score of 79
IELTS: minimum score of 6.5
Cambridge English: Advanced: 176-184
Pearson Test of English: minimum score of 53
Eiken Test of English: completion of level Pre-1
Application Deadlines: June 1 (Fall Semester); December 1 (Spring Semester)
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
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