Campus Farm
With about 12,800 farms across Maryland, agriculture is one of the largest commercial industries in the state.
As the criteria for admittance to this university becomes more competitive, the Institute of Applied Agriculture created a transfer program, the College Forward program, in which students who were not admitted to this university could pursue an IAA certificate and a four-year agriculture degree.
“The College Forward demonstrates that UMCP cares about our rural communities and values the unique contributions that students from agricultural backgrounds can bring to the campus,” Angus Murphy, chair of the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, wrote in an email. “The program also highlights the extraordinary diversity of agriculture in the State of Maryland and, thus, helps enrich the diversity of our campus.”
Starting this fall, students will begin taking classes in the IAA, a two-year certificate program under the agriculture and natural resources college, and complete one year of General Education, IAA and other courses related to their prospective majors.
Students enrolled in the program will have access to most of the same resources available to students at this university — including access to campus housing and meal plans — in addition to smaller, more hands-on classes and other benefits specific to the IAA, said Leon Slaughter, the college’s associate dean of academic programs.
If they meet the College Forward requirements, students can apply to this university through the normal transfer procedures.
“The whole program is designed so that students would be able to make this … seamless transition into a four-year degree program and hopefully, with proper advising, the students will be able to make that transition and continue toward a four-year degree without missing a beat,” he said.
Glori Hyman conceived the idea for College Forward when she began as director of IAA in 2011, and she has worked with Slaughter and others in the college since then.
“What we have created is a transfer advantage program,” Hyman said. “What we’re really doing is giving students more opportunity to earn degrees in agriculture from the University of Maryland, College Park.”
The program was created considering students who were denied admission to this university but had strong academic records, as well as students from rural areas to who find this university unattractive for its size or more urban location, Murphy said.
The program also aims to expose students interested in agriculture to more areas within the field, several officials said.
“AGNR is a really good opportunity for students looking into science but not wanting to go to med or vet school — and even if they do, they can do those prereqs along with it,” said Yasmine Hentati, a sophomore environmental science and policy major. “I definitely think it’ll make agriculture more popular at UMD, especially in the business and entrepreneur area because it seems like that’s what the program focuses on.”
Instead of forcing local students to go out of the state, College Forward allows students to attend classes in this state and at this university, both of, which value agriculture.
“This is a way of training the next generation of agriculture leaders in the state,” Slaughter said. “This is a win-win: it’s a win for the college, it’s a win for the Institute of Applied Agriculture, it is a win for the state of Maryland.”
