Our core curriculum consists of two three-credit courses, a one-credit seminar that all students take three times, and an intensive one-credit weeklong field study course that precedes the fall semester. We describe those courses below. All Agroecology students must also satisfy independent study and breadth coursework requirements, as detailed in the Program Tracks page.
Agroecology 701: The Farm as a Socio-environmental Endeavor (fall)
In this interdisciplinary course, co-taught by an agronomist (Professor Bill Tracy) and a sociologist (Professor Mike Bell), we explore Agriculture as a system of ecological and social process, with ecological and social consequences. Student learning goals include:
- Developing a vision of agriculture as a social and ecological activity for which we have many diverse demands.
- Gaining general understanding of both the natural and social sciences of agriculture, including their basic methods of inquiry.
- Demonstrating and articulating an agroecological imagination of thinking about food and agriculture contextually.
- Engaging with the organizational, political, and personal challenges of this contextualized diversity for the cultivation of a more beneficent agriculture.
Agroecology 702: The Multifunctionality of Agriculture (spring)
We are re-visioning Agroecology 702 for spring of 2020 with a practicum-based curriculum, thanks to funds we received through a Morgridge Center for Public Service Community-based Learning Course Development Grant. Students played a key role in developing the proposal for this grant and will also be key contributors in building out the curriculum. The new course will include community-based scholarship and development of skills relevant to the practice of agroecology.
Agroecology 710: Seminar in Agroecology (fall and spring)
Offered both fall and spring semester, this course brings a small group of students together around a specific topic that changes each offering. Past examples include eutrophication, current policy issues, biodiversity, organic production, and public-private partnerships. All students must take three semesters of the 710 seminar.
Agroecology 720: Agroecology Field Study (before fall semester, typically* in the first year)
This course provides a graduate-level, field-based introduction to the agroecology of farming systems in Wisconsin, including both diversified and industrialized approaches. The bulk of the class time is a week-long sequence of field trips to farms, mostly as day trips out of Madison but also including one overnight stay.
* Note: this class takes place the last week of August but students enroll as part of the fall semester. We strongly recommend that students take 720 before their first semester, as it is a crucial opportunity to form bonds with the incoming cohort and to build an understanding of the diverse spectrum of farms and food systems in Wisconsin.