Undergraduate Programs
Agricultural and Environmental Communications and Education (AECE)
For the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Major in Agricultural and Environmental Communications and Education
The purpose of this curriculum is to prepare students for a wide variety of positions in agricultural and environmental sciences that require expertise in communications and education. Examples include professional writing, editing, and publishing; public relations; advertising; broadcasting, teaching agriculture in the public schools; cooperative extension work; training and program development; and other education and communication-related positions in agricultural and environmental agencies and businesses throughout the public and private sectors. Students pursuing this major choose one of four concentrations: agricultural communications, agricultural leadership education, agricultural education, and environmental communications and education. Students completing the agricultural education concentration are eligible for teacher certification in agriculture; a minimum of 2,000 hours of employment experience in agriculture is also required for teacher certification. For teacher certification requirements applicable to all curricula, see the University's Programs of Study catalog.
Course requirements
Following are current course requirements as they would be listed in the UIUC Programs of Study Catalog 2005-2006. These requirements are those applying to students entering the AECE program in or after Fall 2003 and before Fall 2006.
To see a different organization of requirements, click to the appropriate curriculum check sheet. Curriculum check sheets list courses by number only.
Curriculum check sheets:
Agricultural Communications
Agricultural Leadership Education
Agricultural Education
Environmental Communications and Education
Disclaimer:
The following course requirements are kept as up to date as possible. However, you should consult the department for the most recent version of the requirements in AECE curricula. The requirements offered here do not constitute the legal definition of the curriculum in AECE.
Required courses including General Education:
Composition I and Speech
RHET 105 - Principles of Composition, or equivalent
SPCM 101 - Public Speaking
Advanced Composition
Select from campus approved list
Quantitative Reasoning
Mathematics (select one)
MATH 124 - Finite Mathematics, or
MATH 220 - Calculus I, or
MATH 234 - Calculus for Business I
Statistics (select one)
ACE 261 - Applied Statistical Methods, or
CPSC 141 - Intro to Applied Statistics, or
CPSC 440 - Applied Statistical Methods I, or
ECON 202 - Economic Statistics I, or
EPSY 480 - Educational Statistics, or
PSYC 235 - Intro to Statistics, or
SOC 280 - Intro to Social Statistics, or
STAT 100 - Statistics
Natural Sciences
Physical Science - Select from Campus approved list.
Biological Science - Select from Campus approved list.
CHEM 102 - General Chemistry I and CHEM 103 - General Chemistry Lab I (CHEM 102/103 is not required for the Agricultural Communications option)
Humanities
Select two courses from Campus approved list.
Social Sciences
PSYC 100 - Intro Psychology
PS 101 - Intro to US Gov & Pol
Elective in Social Sciences: select one course from Campus approved list (ACE 100 - Agr Cons and Resource Econ is required for Agricultural Education and Agricultural Leadership Education.)
Cultural Studies
Select from Campus approved list: one course from Western culture and one course from non-Western/U.S. minority culture.
ACES Required
ACES 100 - Contemporary Issues in ACES
AECE Core
AGCM 110 - Intro to Ag and Env Comm
AGED 220 - Principles of Ag Education
RSOC 110 - Intro to Rural Society
Concentration required courses: see specific requirements for concentrations listed below
Agricultural Communications
Agricultural Leadership Education
Agricultural Education
Environmental Communications and Education