The Department of Agricultural Sciences at Sam Houston State University was established in 1910. Upon passage of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917 Sam Houston State was one of the first universities in the country and the first west of the Mississippi River authorized to train Vocational Agriculture teachers. Preparing teachers for Secondary Agriscience programs continues to be a major focus of the Department. However, in the 1950’s, the Department began offering a variety of other academic specialties and today offers emphases in Agribusiness, Horticulture and Crop Science, Animal Science, and Agricultural Mechanization. Students in any specialization may seek Secondary Teacher Certification in lieu of a minor. Additional undergraduate curricula are offered in General Agriculture and Pre-Veterinary Medicine and the Department serves as the academic advisement center for students interested in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree.

There are currently about 630 students enrolled in Agricultural Sciences at SHSU, with over 200 choosing to major in Agribusiness. Enrollment in the program has grown by over 40% during the past 10 years. Career opportunities in agriculture are abundant and diverse. Agribusiness majors find employment opportunities in agriculture and non-agriculture-related businesses and industry, banking, and a variety of public agencies. Animal Science graduates are in demand for the growing poultry and swine production industries, Agricultural Extension, marketing of animal products, and livestock nutritional/reproduction sales and service. Agricultural Mechanization prepares students for careers in agricultural equipment sales and service, technological improvements within the industry, and instructional methodology. The current demand for Horticulture and Crop Science graduates is greatest for the landscape design, installation and maintenance, nursery management, and turfgrass management industries. There are literally hundreds of possible career opportunities for those graduating with a degree in agriculture. Many graduates from SHSU seek additional formal education through pursuit of masters and doctoral degrees.

The following table lists courses leading towards a concentration/major in General Agriculture at each institution. 
An * indicates courses that result in dual credit (credit towards graduation from both educational institutions).
 

Northwest Vista College	SHSU	Credit	Common Course
First Year
AGRI 1131	AGR 110	1	AGRI 1131
AGRI 2303 or 1307	AGR 162 or 165	3	AGRI 2303 / 1307
CHEM 1411*	CHM 138*/118*	3/1	CHEM 1311/1111
CHEM 1412*	CHM 139*/119*	3/1	CHEM 1312/1112
ENGL 1301	ENG 164	3	ENGL 1301
ENGL 1302	ENG 165	3	ENGL 1302
HIST 1301	HIS 163	3	HIST 1301
HIST 1302	HIS 164	3	HIST 1302
KINE 1100	KIN 215	1
MATH 1332 or 2412	MTH 164 or 170	3 or 4	MATH 1332 / 2312
Second Year
	AGR 238	3	AGRI 1309
AGRI 1319 or 2317	AGR 169 or 164	3	AGRI 1319 / 2317
	Visual & Performing Arts elective	3
	Cultural Studies elective	3
ENGL 2332, 2333, 2322, 2323, 2327 or 2328	ENG 265, 266 or 267	3	ENGL 2322, 2323, 2327, 2328, 2332, 2333
GOVT 2306	POL 261	3	GOVT 2306
GOVT 2305	POL 285	3	GOVT 2305
COSC 1301 / BCIS 1301	CS 143 or MIS 188	3	COSC 1401/BCIS 1301
BIOL 1411*	BIO 161*/111*	3/1	BIOL 1311, 1111
BIOL 1413*	BIO 162*/112*	3/1	BIOL 1313/1113

The following courses may generally be used as transfer credit for degrees in Agriculture.

SHSU Course	Common Course #
AGR 110	AGRI 1131
AGR 162	AGRI 2303
AGR 164	AGRI 2317
AGR 165	AGRI 1307
AGR 169	AGRI 1319
AGR 260	AGRI 1327
AGR 284	AGRI 2301
AGR 230	AGRI 2321

A maximum of 66 credit hours (excluding kinesiology) may be transferred from a community college to Sam Houston State University. Students should carefully select courses to complete the associate degree while minimizing the number of hours that might exceed the 66 hour cap for transfer credit.

In addition to the above courses, all courses in the State of Texas Common Core may be transferred between institutions. 

Students may transfer to SHSU at any time as long as they meet SHSU's admission requirements. Students close to completing the requirements for the associate degree are encouraged to consider the potential advantages of completing the associate degree. One way to accomplish this is to transfer courses taken at SHSU back to the community college to complete degree requirements. Properly selected courses may be used to satisfy degree requirements at both institutions simultaneously. The applicant is encouraged to speak to an academic advisor familiar with the programs of all institutions involved to maximize the amount of transferable credit.

Notes:

1. We have endeavored to make this pamphlet error free. All listings are based on the SHSU 2002-2004 catalogue and Northwest Vista College 2002 catalogue. The respective catalogues are the final word if a discrepancy appears between this pamphlet and a catalogue.
2. SHSU courses with 300 and 400 level numbers are considered as upper division and must be completed at SHSU. Credit may not be transferred from a community college for upper division courses.
3. An * indicates the course is required at the specified educational institution.
4. Applications for admission to SHSU may be obtained on line at https://www.applytexas.org/adappc/commonapp.wbx or by calling Undergraduate Admissions at (936) 294-1828. Extensive information is also available on the SHSU web site at http://www.shsu.edu/
5. Sam Houston State University and Northwest Vista College are both accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).