The College of Agriculture at historically Black Tennessee State University has announced the establishment of a new master’s degree program in agribusiness and leadership degree program. The new program, which will enroll its first students this fall will be offered both in person and online, with and without a thesis option.
Chandra Reddy, dean of the College of Agriculture at Tennessee State University notes that agribusiness is a popular undergraduate major at TSU and many other institutions, and the new program will align graduates with their career choices, which will benefit students in finding better employment opportunities. “Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication is very popular with those wanting to be leaders and communicators in the agricultural sector,” he said. “Many of our extension agents have been asking for such a graduate degree for a long time. The new degree is a more robust program and will be helpful to students seeking employment.”
Agricultural education professor John C. Ricketts notes that in addition to creating workforce development opportunities, the program will specifically allow the university to offer agriculture teachers and extension agents an online program that’s respective of their needs. “It’s also going to provide content that meets their needs as educators,” Dr. Ricketts said. “They will be able to take research and statistics courses that are meant for them as social scientists. Our students will be prepared to lead others and perform at top levels in business, education, government, nonprofit, and communication sectors.”
