Sustainable Agriculture Program Information
Change from the ground up
Through a unique combination of classroom and farm-based learning, students explore practical opportunities for land and food to strengthen community and ecosystem health. The program offers a comprehensive perspective on:
- The science of agro-ecosystem design and stewardship;
- Innovative and ecologically sound crop production methods;
- Sustainable farm business management; and
- Solutions to economic, social, and environmental challenges facing our food system.
Program graduates find employment in fields as diverse as planning, resource management, government, non-governmental organizations, agricultural support enterprises, and production agriculture. Some students use their degree as a foundation for graduate studies.
Program Overview
The Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainable Agriculture consists of 120 credits of course work, including 24 credits of electives. A minimum of 15 credits of electives must be chosen from subject areas other than AGRI, including at least 3 credits at the 3000-level or above.
Students who began the program before the fall of 2024 follow the legacy program progression.
Year 1 | Course | Title | Credits | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Students begin with experiential learning at the KPU Farm while receiving relevant foundational training in sustainable agriculture, Indigenous perspectives, policy, statistics, and sciences. | All of: | |||
AGRI 1100 | Applied Organic Agriculture I (Spring semester) | 3 | ||
AGRI/INDG 1130 | Indigenous Perspectives on Food Systems | 3 | ||
AGRI 1150 | Foundations of Sustainable Agriculture | 3 | ||
AGRI 1200 | Applied Organic Agriculture II (Summer semester) | 6 | ||
BIOL 1110 | Introductory Biology I | 4 | ||
ENGL 1100 | Introduction to University Writing | 3 | ||
ENVI 1106 | Environmental Chemistry I | 4 | ||
MATH 1115 | Statistics I | 3 | ||
Elective | Note: Students who need to upgrade in order to meet the prerequisites for ENVI 1106 or MATH 1115 may use MATH 1112 or MATH 1117 as their elective. | 3 | ||
One of: | 3 | |||
PHIL 1111/ POST 1100 | Sustainability: Analysis and Ethics | |||
POST 1200 | Inclusive Communities, Sustainable Futures | |||
POLI 2100 | Sustainability and Government | |||
Year 1 Total | 35 |
Year 2 | Course | Title | Credits | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Students explore agricultural systems in-depth and learn about ecological, technological, and social elements of agroecosystems. | All of: | |||
AGRI 2100 | Applied Organic Agriculture III (Fall semester) | 3 | ||
AGRI 2150 | Agricultural Technologies | 3 | ||
AGRI 2190 | Plant Science | 3 | ||
AGRI 2250 | Agriculture and Food Systems in British Columbia | 3 | ||
AGRI 2220 | Soil Stewardship and Management | 4 | ||
AGRI 2230 | Sustainable Human Economy | 3 | ||
AGRI 2299 | Agri-Food in the Field (Summer intersession) | 2 | ||
AGRI 2320 | Advanced Soil Management | 3 | ||
AGRI 2350 | Agroecology | 3 | ||
BIOL 2322 | Ecology | 4 | ||
Elective | Note: Students must have three credits of courses identified as writing intensive to graduate. | 3 | ||
Year 2 Total | 34 |
Year 3 | Course | Title | Credits | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Applied farm management is the focus of the third year. | All of: | |||
AGRI 3225 | Experimental Design and Analysis | 3 | ||
AGRI 3120 | Agricultural Enterprise Design | 3 | ||
AGRI 3130 | Business Plans for Agriculture | 3 | ||
AGRI 3220 | Agricultural Pests and Beneficials | 3 | ||
AGRI 3230 | Agricultural Pest Management | 3 | ||
AGRI 3270 | Vegetable Crop Production | 3 | ||
AGRI 3280 | Fruit and Nut Crop Production | 3 | ||
AGRI 4100 | Crop Management Field Lab (Summer) | 3 | ||
Electives | Note: Students who complete AGRI 3225 may apply to the honours program. Honours students conduct an original experimental research project while completing AGRI 3399 and AGRI 4299. | 6 | ||
Year 3 Total | 30 |
Year 4 | Course | Title | Credits | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Students conclude their degree with courses designed to help them translate their new knowledge into effective action for positive change. | All of: | |||
AGRI 3398 | Crop Physiology and Ecology | 3 | ||
AGRI 4250 | Agroecology in Action | 3 | ||
AGRI 4298 | Agroecology as a Global Movement | 3 | ||
Electives | 12 | |||
Year 4 Total | 21 | |||
Program Total | 120 |
Credential Awarded: Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainable Agriculture
Learning Outcomes
The curriculum offers both practical experience and academic training in sustainable agriculture. Course work fosters experiential learning and exploration of personal interests. The four-year Bachelor's degree program is designed to help students achieve eleven learning outcomes:
- Examine interrelationships between agriculture, food systems, environment, and human well-being.
- Recognize and engage with diverse perspectives and ways of knowing, including Indigenous perspectives.
- Characterize implications of historical and contemporary relationships between agricultural food systems and Indigenous peoples.
- Apply foundational knowledge of soil, plant, and animal sciences to agriculture and food systems.
- Identify how social, economic, and political structures influence food systems at different scales.
- Craft and share visions for a sustainable future for agriculture and food systems and analyze existing examples that advance the vision.
- Evaluate changes to agriculture and food systems that mitigate climate change and overreach of planetary boundaries and adapt agriculture and food systems to a changing planet.
- Analyze and critique emerging research and apply its results to advance sustainable food systems.
- Apply agroecological principles to current issues in food systems.
- Apply principles of sustainability to agriculture business management.
- Contribute to food systems change through community action.