The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a historically Black education institution, has announced that the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences is offering a bachelor’s degree program in agricultural engineering. The agricultural engineering program will be the first of its kind offered at a historically Black college or university in Arkansas. The only other agricultural engineering program in the state is offered through the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Students who enroll will be able to choose an option in power and machinery, agricultural production systems, or soil and water systems. The curriculum for the program includes courses on the design of agricultural structures, mechanics, agricultural electric and hydraulic power, irrigation and drainage systems, aquaculture engineering, food process engineering and two internships in agricultural engineering.
Sixte Ntamatungiro, interim chair of the department of agriculture at the university, said that “the addition of the new engineering program represents a fantastic opportunity for recent high school graduates with science, technology, engineering and mathematics backgrounds. A degree in the field will open up students to a range of engaging career opportunities. The program will have a positive impact on the Arkansas and national economies as graduating students begin to apply their knowledge of engineering to agricultural problems.”
