Bachelor of Science in Crop and Soil Science with a Plant Breeding and Genetics Option

Crop science involves growing, protecting, developing and improving plants that supply the world's food, livestock feed, fuels, seed-based industrial raw materials, soil and watershed protection, lawns, turf and wildlife crops. Soil science is an applied science that builds upon a strong foundation in biology, chemistry, geology and physics. Students who like science and the challenge of solving problems can do it all in soil science. The Plant Breeding and Genetics (PB&G) option at Oregon State University embodies the Land Grant mission of integrated research, teaching and extension in the context of cultivar development and fundamental genetics. Plant breeding is a collaborative discipline spanning everything from classical field approaches to gene manipulation at the molecular level. Breeders regularly cooperate with pathologists, entomologists, soil scientists, physiologists, food scientists, genomicists, molecular biologists and experts in other fields. Students in the Plant Breeding and Genetics option will learn an interdisciplinary approach to applied plant breeding by taking courses across a broad spectrum of disciplines. The option may be tailored to meet students’ career goals including graduate school, as well as directly entering public or private sector breeding programs. After completing their degree, students will have gained fundamental knowledge in plant breeding that may be applied in a range of crops including annual and perennial horticultural crops, agronomic food and feed crops, and forestry products.