Tennessee Tech is launching its first fully online undergraduate agriculture degree with the debut of an Agribusiness Management program.
Agriculture and Human Ecology Dean Darron Smith said the program is the first of its kind in the state, allowing students to earn an agriculture degree entirely from home. Smith said the curriculum mirrors the traditional classroom experience but utilizes alternate delivery methods to reach students who cannot commute to campus.
“Agribusiness Management is a degree for those students who want to work in the agriculture industry, running farms or in supportive industries like co-ops or farm stores or anything like that that is allowed to do market predictions or commodity trading, any number of things, and it is a business degree that they can move forward with in their career,” Smith said.
Smith said the program focuses on the business side of the industry, including market projections and risk management.
“It’s incredible, the sheer amount of assets that are owned by these agriculture companies or farms that are necessary to be managed,” Smith said. “It’s managed just like any other business, be it a K-Mart or a Lowes.”
Smith said the online format eliminates housing and meal plan costs while allowing students to maintain their current jobs or continue working on family farms. Smith said the program is specifically tailored for the Agribusiness Management track because it does not require the same level of hands-on lab work as animal science or agricultural engineering.
“Agribusiness is the only degree that allows that, because it doesn’t have as much of a hands-on component,” Smith said. “What makes it the same is our faculty will be recording their lectures in the classroom and delivering it to these students that choose this option. So they’re not missing out on anything.”
Smith said the university has established an agreement with the College of Business that allows students to transition into an accelerated Master of Business Administration program. Smith said students can complete their undergraduate degree and then earn an MBA with just one additional year of study.
“What’s really cool about this degree is they can do it online from home, and they can add one more year and end up with an MBA from the College of Business,” Smith said. “We have an agreement with them so they can get their bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness Management and graduate just one year later with a Master’s or an MBA.”
Smith said the program incorporates modern “smart farming” techniques, including the use of GPS-driven vehicles, drones for crop identification, and robotic harvesting technology. Smith said the curriculum reflects the reality that modern agriculture has evolved into a high-tech business environment.
“Farming is not the old pitchfork with the guy standing there with his wife,” Smith said. “It is high-tech business now.”
Smith said the program offers a flexible modality where students can choose to complete all four years online or transition to campus for their junior and senior years after saving money on initial costs.