Delaware State University’s board of trustees recently approved the establishment of a new doctoral program – a Ph.D. program in integrative agriculture, food, and environmental sciences. A multidisciplinary team of faculty in various departments of the College of Agriculture, Sciences and Technology will provide mentorship and training to the Ph.D. candidates. By making the doctoral program integrative, it also will be inclusive of all research faculty in the college, whose research disciplines are not currently providing Ph.D.-level research and training to students.
One aspect of the interdisciplinary nature of this program is that each student will be mentored by two advisors, each of whom will be from different but related science disciplines. A unique feature of this doctoral program is students will be required to spend time in other university units such as housing, finance, student services, budget and finance, etc., to gain a better understanding of how those administrative areas work. Students will also be required to do an internship outside of their dissertation research.
“Our goal is to develop the next generation of Ph.Ds. who not only have expertise in the sciences but in how the business of the academic institution works,” said Venu Kalavacharla, professor and associate dean for research in the College of Agriculture, Science and Technology.
The Ph.D. program in agriculture, food, and environmental science will be launched in the fall of 2021.
