Undergraduate Honors Program
The Department of Soil and Crop Sciences (SCSC) Honors Program is designed for highly motivated students majoring in either of our two undergraduate programs, Plant and Environmental Soil Science (PSSC), or Turfgrass Science (TGSC), to enhance learning through challenging classroom, laboratory, and field experiences. The Texas A&M University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences (SCSC) Honors Program is designed for highly motivated students majoring in either of our two undergraduate programs, Plant and Environmental Soil Science (PSSC), or Turfgrass Science (TGSC), to enhance learning through challenging classroom, laboratory, and field experiences. Honors students will participate in a curriculum that provides a deeper understanding of the concepts and practices in their chosen program and are expected to develop higher order critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Admission to the honors program
Current and potential majors with an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible for admission. To graduate with honors a student must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5, a 3.25 GPA or higher in Honors courses, and no grade lower than a B in any Honors course.
Students are encouraged to consult with Academic Advising as early as possible in their academic career to plan their course of study. Alternatively, students can contact the SCSC Honors Faculty Coordinator, Dr. Peyton, to become or understand more about the SCSC honors program.
Departmental requirements
Students must complete 18 hours of Honors coursework, of which three hours must come from any of the following courses: SCSC 491 (research), SCSC 485 (directed studies), or SCSC 484 (internship). Six hours of Honors course work may come from outside SCSC.
Each SCSC Honors student is required to have a designated SCSC faculty mentor and meet at least once per semester with their mentor. The SCSC Honors Faculty Coordinator can help you identify a suitable faculty mentor.
More honors requirements
Membership and activity (attend meetings, officer position, involvement in soil or weed judging teams) in one of our clubs. If you are involved in another club outside this list, please review it with Dr. Peyton.
- Aggie Turf Club
- Texas A&M Agronomy Society
- Soil Judging Team
- Weed Science Team
- TAMU Urban Farms United (TUFU)
- CHIL – Cannabis Hemp Innovation League
Honors options
- Thesis Option: This is highly recommended if expectations are to complete graduate studies such as a MS or PhD degree. Although extra work, it will position the honors student as highly competitive when applying for graduate programs and will prepare the student for graduate school.
- Non-Thesis options: While no thesis is expected, production and presentation of your undergraduate research at a national professional meeting such as ASA, CSA, SSSA or AGU on research conducted in SCSC 491 or 485 courses. OR
- Internship: Presentation of internship experience.
Honors courses
SCSC 301: Introduction to Soil Science (4 Credits – Spring, Fall)
Dr. J.A. Howe and Dr. A.P. Smith
Additional Honors Requirement: Develop a project that requires a more in-depth synthesis of soil science concepts related to the student’s academic or professional interests with the assistance of and approval of the instructor. Projects may include writing assignments, additional soil measurements, laboratory analysis, mapping, land use projects, or other similar type of activity that provides more comprehensive or detailed knowledge of soil science. In addition, students will develop a plan of work that includes regular meetings with the instructor to ensure the project stays on schedule.
SCSC 302: Recreational Turf (3 Credits – Spring, Fall)
M. Hall and Dr. R. Jessup
Additional Honors Requirement: Meet with the instructor and select a topic related to the course for completion of a hands-on ‘time-lapse video’ experiment documenting turfgrass responses to biotic/abiotic stresses. Required equipment and supplies will be provided. Students will post the project objectives, methods, summary, and video to a Wiki page.
SCSC 304: Plant Breeding and Genetics (3 Credits – Spring)
Dr. Hussey
Additional Honors Requirement a) Meet with the instructor individually 2-3 times during the semester, b) Write a 3-5 page essay about a plant breeding topic of their choosing and c) Take exams that are 2-3 short essay questions in place of the standard exam format.
SCSC 307: Crop Biology and Physiology (4 Credits – Spring)
Dr. S. Okumoto
Additional Honors Requirement: The students are expected to meet with the instructor at the beginning of the semester. Depending on the student’s academic interest, an appropriate activity could include a journal presentation, extra lab experiment for photosynthesis, and/or reports on a real-world problem relevant to the topics we cover in the class. The students are asked to conduct literature search on the selected topic, and present the results to the rest of the class in a short (10-15min) presentation.
SCSC 309 Water in Soil and Plants ( Credits)
Dr. B. Wyatt
Additional Honors Requirement: Select a topic of interest from the course syllabus and write a summary of relevant peer-reviewed literature on that subject. Reports must be at least 2 pages long, double spaced. Reports will be due on the last day of class by 5:00 PM.
SCSC 310: Soil Morphology and Interpretation (3 Credits – Spring)
Dr. F. Aburto
Additional Honors Requirement: Prepare and present a 10-15 minute presentation that addresses how concepts in soil morphology and genesis and derived soil functions influences aspects of their life (career, personal or academic interests) or affect the life of their communities. Presentation will be given during class or on a video format. In addition, the student should prepare a printable poster presentation or art display highlighting the main concepts and relationships found between soil properties, functions, services and wellbeing or community livelihoods.
SCSC 405: Soil and Water Microbiology (3 Credits – Fall)
Dr. T.J. Gentry
Additional Honors Requirement: Prepare a detailed research paper on a topic (chosen by student and approved by instructor) related to the course material. Students may do a presentation on the topic to the whole class instead of doing a formal paper, but most prefer doing a paper. The paper is worth 100 points out of 700 possible for the honors section
SCSC 401: International Agricultural Systems (3 Credits – Spring)
Dr. M. Thomson
Additional Honors Requirement: Prepare a 12-page (12 point font double-spaced) term paper with an in-depth analysis and proposed solutions for a specific challenge in a selected international agriculture system, with a topic agreed upon between the student and instructor. The term paper is due by the last day of class.
SCSC 402: Crop Stress Management (4 Credits – Fall)
Dr. E. Septiningsih/Dr. S. Liu
Additional Honor requirement: Develop a research paper on any topic related to the course syllabus. The student needs to develop a research question to address an issue in crop stress management, which must be discussed and approved by the instructor, and use multiple sources to describe a solution to a real-world problem. The paper should be approximately 1,500 to 2,000 words in length.
SCSC 429: Turfgrass Management Systems (4 Credits – Fall)
Dr. C Straw
Additional Honors Requirement: Select a topic of interest from the course syllabus. Review the scientific literature on that topic. Choose one of two options: a) write a report (minimum of 5 double-spaced pages) orb) present a 10-minute presentation describing previous research findings and future research needs on that topic.
SCSC 441: Advances in Agronomic Sciences (3 Credits – Spring)
Dr. N. Rajan
Additional Honors Requirement: Develop a short (6- page, double-spaced 12 point font) paper on a topic related to the use of advanced technologies in agronomic management of crops using data supplied by the instructor or data acquired from elsewhere. Topics must be approved by the instructor. Student will be required to do literature search and data analysis as part of this. This short paper will use a format similar to journal papers
Courses that are developing their honors requirements:
- SCSC 201(3 credits) – American Agriculture
- SCSC 315 (3 credits) – Hemp Production and Utilization
- SCSC 422 (3 credits) – Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrient Management
- SCSC 424 (3 credits) – Soil Chemistry