Agroforestry

University of Missouri-Columbia
Graduate certificate
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Overview

A graduate certificate in agroforestry from MU can help you advance your career in this rapidly expanding and globally acclaimed field. If you have experience in agroforestry but lack a formal credential, this may be the program for you.

Quick facts

Official name

Graduate certificate in agroforestry

Campus

University of Missouri-Columbia

Program type

Graduate certificate

Academic home

College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources | School of Natural Resources

Delivery mode

100% online

Accreditation

Higher Learning Commission

Credit hours

12

Estimated cost

$6,000.00

*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.

A field and a stream.

Career prospects

Potential careers

  • Agriculture or food scientist
  • Conservation scientist
  • Environmental engineer
  • Environmental specialist
  • Geoscientist
  • Forester
Burning Glass Technologies. 2021. Salary numbers and employment growth numbers are based on models that consider advertised job posting salary, Bureau of Labor Statistics data and other proprietary and public sources of information for multiple occupations.
23.99%
Employment growth
Burning Glass Technologies. 2021. Salary numbers and employment growth numbers are based on models that consider advertised job posting salary, Bureau of Labor Statistics data and other proprietary and public sources of information for multiple occupations.
$46,000
Median salary

Program structure

The online graduate certificate in agroforestry is 100 percent online: no campus visits are required.

Students typically take one or two classes each semester session and finish the program in one to two years.

Course work covers

  • Agroforestry practice and principles — temperate and tropical
  • Agroforestry ecology and landscape design
  • Urban biodiversity, conservation and planning
  • Geographic information systems
  • Agroforestry economics and policy
  • Advanced medicinal plant science
  • Watershed management and restoration

Delivery

100% online

Calendar system

Semester-based

Typical program length

1 or 2 years

Typical course load

1 or 2 classes each semester

Accreditation

The University of Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.

Faculty spotlight

Chung-Ho Lin, PhD

Chung-Ho Lin leads the bioremediation and natural products research programs at the Center for Agroforestry. His work explores the utilization of plants, bacteria and engineered enzymes for environmental remediation and development of bioeconomy. Dr. Lin’s primary research focus includes the development of conservation and bioremediation strategies for the remediation of organic pollutants, the development of novel molecular, analytical and metabolomic techniques to characterize the fate and transport of human pathogens (e.g., SARS-COV2) and organic pollutants, identification of health-promoting and high-value natural products isolated from specialty crops and waste materials and their novel applications, and development of novel biocatalyst systems for environmental remediation and other industrial applications. The spin-offs from his translational research include Elemental Enzymes and Tiger Enzyme Solutions.

Chung-Ho Lin, PhD
Research Professor, School of Natural Resources
Ranjith Udawatta, PhD

At the University of Missouri (Mizzou) Center for Agroforestry, Ranjith Udawatta’s main research focus is to quantify the environmental and production benefits of agroforestry practices on crop and grazing watersheds. Dr. Udawatta evaluates the effects of conservation practices including cover crops, crop rotation, nutrient management and buffers on water quality and soil health parameters. His research is being conducted at Mizzou Research Centers, private landowner farms and Natural Resources Conservation Service locations.

Ranjith Udawatta, PhD
Research Professor, School of Natural Resources
Ron Revord, PhD

Ron Revord’s primary research advances applied breeding programs for black walnut, Chinese chestnut and northern origin pecan within the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry. Dr. Revord also collaborates with the Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium on their mission to broaden the cultivated range of hazelnut, using interspecific hybrids of Corylus americana and C. avellana. In partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation, Revord’s lab collaborates on efforts to collect and conserve Ozark chinquapin, with the near-term goal of characterizing and preserving the genetic diversity of remnant plants. He teaches Topics in Natural Resources: Clonal Horticultural Crop Breeding in the fall semesters.

Ron Revord, PhD
Assistant Research Professor, School of Natural Resources
Ashley Conway, PhD, PAS

Ashley Conway leads a lab investigating intensive integrated tree-forage-livestock systems (silvopasture) to raise livestock sustainably. Dr. Conway's projects are focused on understanding livestock interactions with forage, crops and trees to better understand the logistical, economic, environmental and social dynamics of silvopasture systems in Missouri and the Midwest. She seeks to better understand how to optimize animal performance and nutrition using silvopastoral production practices while maintaining or enhancing ecosystem services and tree performance. A systems-level approach is used to measure animal performance, health and welfare, environmental impact and social factors associated with plantation silvopasture, managed woodland silvopasture and other types of integrated livestock systems. Additional work in forage quality, browse nutrient composition and alternative fodder species are also part of her work. Her goal is to develop scientifically-supported recommendations to producers to support silvopasture adoption.

Ashley Conway, PhD, PAS
Assistant Research Professor, School of Natural Resources
Ben Knapp, PhD

Ben Knapp has been a faculty member at the School of Natural Resources since 2012. Dr. Knapp's research focuses on developing silvicultural practices to address contemporary forest management issues, spanning topics that include the use of prescribed fire for woodland restoration, tree regeneration challenges in a variety of habitats and the effects of forest management on carbon dynamics. He has served as the superintendent of the University of Missouri’s Baskett Forest, where he developed various programs focused on student success, including opportunities for professional wildland fire training certification and a maple syrup production program.

Ben Knapp, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Natural Resources and Interim Director of University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry
Michael A. Gold, PhD

At the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, Michael Gold’s primary focus is directed toward the 100% online, agroforestry master's and graduate certificate programs. Dr. Gold teaches an agroforestry overview core course in these programs, serves as program coordinator and co-advises online students. He was the lead principal investigator in establishing the Center for Agroforestry’s annual Agroforestry Academy since it began in 2013. His research has been focused on the selection and improvement of Chinese chestnut trees and the development of market and consumer knowledge for multiple specialty crops (e.g., chestnut, elderberry, pawpaw).

Michael A. Gold, PhD
Associate Director, The Center for Agroforestry; Program Coordinator and Research Professor

Learn more about this program

This program is administered by the School of Natural Resources