In a recent Master of Science degree thesis, Texas Tech University was listed as having the top agricultural communications undergraduate program in the United States, according to an opinion poll of 17 faculty members from across the nation.
Morgan Large, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas, conducted her thesis, “Characteristics of Agricultural Communications Undergraduate Programs,” as a part of her master’s degree in agricultural and extension education.
“It was first and foremost to identify all the known programs in the U.S.,” Jefferson Miller, a professor in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, said of Large’s academic report.
Photo by Jordann Fowler
Miller said his former student’s goal was to establish an in-depth census of all agricultural communications programs in the United States.
“She asked a lot of academic-type programs questions about curriculum,” Miller said, “and she also asked about student numbers, the sizes of programs and degrees they offered.”
Texas Tech’s listing as the No. 1 agricultural communications program within the study derives from a faculty survey distributed by Large, according to Miller.
“The survey was conducted among faculty members from these 40 programs,” Miller said, “and the last question focuses on their perception of the best in the nation.”
Steve Fraze, agricultural education and communications department chair at Texas Tech’s College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, attributed the department’s popularity to several factors.
“One, it’s our faculty,” Fraze began. “We have the largest ag communications faculty in the nation. We have, besides our undergraduate program, we have a master degree in ag communications as well as a doctoral degree.”
According to Fraze, many other agricultural communications programs in the U.S. are smaller and may only be a track within a degree.
“We have a very good group of students in our program,” Fraze said of the 166 undergraduate students. “Our ag communications students have been pretty high as incoming on test stories and class rank.”
At Texas Tech, agricultural communications has been an option to study since the 1970s and was approved as a degree in 1992.
“Compared to other ag communications programs around the country, we’re one that’s been around,” Fraze said, noting courses within the curriculum that are specific to agriculture. “A lot of fairly new programs started in the past ten years.”
Fraze said many agricultural communications students attend law school after completing their undergraduate degree. He noted that graduates include an Amarillo judge and a curator of an agriculture museum.
John Hawley, a senior agricultural communications major from Conroe, Texas, mentioned his gratitude for the Texas Tech program.
“Our program was ranked No. 1 because of our experienced faculty,” Hawley said, “hands-on learning experiences and challenging coursework.”
The 21-year-old is currently enrolled in the agricultural communications classes of development of agricultural publications, web design in agriculture and agricultural campaigns, and he serves as the president of the department’s student organization, the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow.
“Our students are engaged and willing to make a difference in the community,” Hawley said. “We get the best of the best because we challenge our students and faculty to be aware of changes and advancements within our industry in addition to being dedicated to making a difference in the agricultural industry.”
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