UNDERGRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES

Students from outside the College of ACES who major in areas such as Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, or Statistics should consult with their academic advisor. If you’re enrolled as an undergraduate in another university, please contact the Center directly by emailing Dr. John A. Juvik, for advice on the curriculum choices you can be making now to prepare for graduate study at the Illinois Plant Breeding Center.

Undergraduate students in the Department of Crop Sciences at the College of ACES can enroll in one of five program options:
> Agroecology
> Biological Sciences
> Crop Agribusiness
> Crops
> Integrated Pest Management
> Plant Biotechnology or Molecular Biology

If you are a student in one of these programs, consult with your faculty advisor to determine the best course choices to make as an undergraduate so that you’ll be prepared for graduate work in the Illinois Plant Breeding Center.

> Undergraduate Research: While an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, students may work in conjunction with a faculty member to conduct a research project in addition to their regular class load. Students in CPSC 295 (Undergraduate Research or Thesis) can receive 1 to 4 hours course credit.

> Internships: Many undergraduates choose to take advantage of summer or semester-plus summer internships in a Crop Sciences-related field. From 1 to 5 hours credit are awarded upon completion of the internship. Past interns have worked in a broad range of areas that include implementation of a breeding program, data analysis and management, analytics, generation of DNA-fingerprint data, and sales and customer relations. Interested students can contact Fred Kolb, the Crop Sciences Undergraduate Teaching Coordinator, for more information.

> If you are an Illinois undergraduate interested in learning more about plant breeding and its career potential for you, consider taking:
> CPSC 113 (Environment, Agric, & Society)
> CPSC 116 (The Global Food Production Web)
> CPSC 241 (Intro to Applied Statistics)
> CPSC 261 (Biotechnology in Agriculture)
> CPSC 265 (Genetic Engineering Lab)
> CPSC 352 (Plant and Animal Genetics)