Two of CAFNR’s degree programs have been renamed to better reflect the experiences, disciplines and career pathways available to students. The changes largely focus on creating more clarity around the existing degree programs and opportunities offered.
Agricultural Leadership, Communications and Education
Formerly known as agricultural education, the revised degree consolidates the program’s existing communications and leadership and teacher certification emphasis areas into one degree with two curriculum tracks: communications and education.
By incorporating leadership and communications directly into the degree name, the program can more clearly communicate its range to prospective students.
“By incorporating the leadership and communication emphasis into the degree name, we more clearly highlight the program’s focus and align it with the career paths it prepares students to pursue,” said Bryan Garton, CAFNR senior associate dean and director of academic programs. “This change will also strengthen our marketing and recruitment efforts.”
The new name also better reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the degree program.
“It’s one of the most multidisciplinary degree programs on this campus,” Garton said. “Students benefit from coursework and experiences that span disciplines across our college, as well as opportunities in education, journalism and communication through partnerships with other MU colleges and schools.”
The revised degree program maintains the program’s core curriculum while strengthening collaboration across several CAFNR divisions. The Missouri School of Journalism and Department of Communication have also formally endorsed the degree program changes and the inclusion of their courses into the curriculum.
For students pursuing the communications track, the restructuring will provide more consistent access to courses in journalism and communications.
“Before, students could take journalism or communications courses if there was space, but they couldn’t necessarily always get into them,” Garton said. “Now they’re assured seats in those courses.”
That access will provide students with the opportunity to develop specific skills in journalism and communications while maintaining the agricultural and leadership foundation of the degree program.
“It’s incorporating specific skill sets from journalism and communications into the community,” said Garton. “These are the knowledge and skills that the industry we serve desire.”
The revised structure is designed to offer students both a wide variety of content and flexibility in their learning as they prepare for a variety of future careers.
“It’s broad, but there’s enough flexibility that students can specialize if desired,” Garton said.
Food Science and Human Nutrition
The food science and nutrition degree program has been renamed to food science and human nutrition. As part of the change, the nutrition and foods emphasis that was previously housed within the nutrition and exercise physiology degree program moved to the renamed degree and has become the human nutrition track.
The food business track also transitioned to the food, nutrition and business track. The revised degree program now includes three tracks: food science, human nutrition and food, nutrition and business.
No new courses have been created, and there are no substantial changes to curricular content, credit requirements or learning outcomes. Instead, the restructuring relocates existing coursework into a degree structure that more clearly aligns with student career pathways, including the established undergraduate component of the coordinated BS-to-MS program in dietetics, Garton said.
Together, the program updates are designed to make CAFNR’s academic offerings easier for students, advisors and external stakeholders to understand while continuing to provide the multidisciplinary experiences and specialized skills students need for their future careers.