Future Graduate Students
The Department of Agronomy offers graduate study across six broad areas: Crop Physiology, Ecology and Production; Plant Breeding and Genetics; Precision Agriculture; Weed Science; Range and Forage Science; and Soil and Environmental Science. With approximately 40 graduate faculty and 80 graduate students, the program provides individualized training and substantial flexibility. Students work closely with major professors and supervisory committees, combining coursework, individualized study, and original research leading to theses or dissertations and scientific publications.
Crop Physiology, Ecology and Production research focuses on crop responses to management and environmental conditions, including crop and forage production systems, plant-water relations, stress physiology, crop ecophysiology, genotype × environment × management interactions, and systems modeling to improve productivity, profitability, and resilience.
Plant Breeding and Genetics research focuses on crop improvement through conventional breeding, quantitative genetics, genomics, biotechnology, high-throughput phenotyping, and predictive approaches, with emphasis on yield, quality, adaptation, stress tolerance, disease and pest resistance, and germplasm enhancement.
Precision Agriculture research focuses on using data and technology to understand and manage variability in agricultural systems, including crop and soil sensing, remote sensing, precision water and nutrient management, variable-rate technologies, yield and stress monitoring, and data-driven decision-support tools.
Range and Forage Science research focuses on the productivity and sustainability of rangeland, pasture, forage, and livestock systems, including grazing management, forage utilization and quality, prescribed burning, weed and brush control, crop-livestock systems, nutrient and carbon dynamics, and plant–animal interactions.
Soil and Environmental Science research focuses on productive and sustainable soil and agricultural systems, including soil fertility and nutrient management, soil chemistry, physics and microbiology, soil-water processes, soil-root interactions, climatology and micrometeorology, conservation, and protection of soil, water, air, and natural resources.
Weed Science research focuses on weed ecology and integrated weed management, including weed population dynamics, crop–weed competition, herbicide efficacy and fate, herbicide resistance, and strategies for effective weed control.
Graduate students have access to laboratories, greenhouses, controlled-environment facilities, dryland and irrigated research fields, and field and plot research equipment. Research locations include Agronomy Farms near campus, Experiment Fields and Agricultural Research Centers across Kansas, providing diverse soils, climates, and production environments. Specialized resources include facilities for native range and grazing research as well as molecular genetics, genomics, remote sensing, soil, crop, and environmental research.
Additional resources include the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center, USDA research and genotyping facilities, K-State genomics facilities, the Agronomy Soil Testing Laboratory, Kansas State Water Quality Laboratory, and university computing and library resources.
Students typically enter with a B.S. or M.S. in agriculture, agronomy, crop or soil science, or a related life science. Preparation in biological, physical, and mathematical sciences is important. Each student’s course requirements are established by a supervisory committee based on prior preparation, research needs, and professional goals.
Applications are accepted at any time. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are encouraged to apply 3 to 4 months prior to the semester for which they are seeking admission. International application deadlines are January 8 for fall, August 1 for spring, and December 1 for summer; applicants seeking assistantship consideration should apply one to two months earlier.
Most Agronomy graduate students are supported by graduate research assistantships. Assistantship decisions are made by individual faculty advisors, so prospective students are encouraged to directly contact faculty members about research opportunities and funding. Graduate scholarships provide additional support to current students.
See our listing of Graduate Research Assistantships for the current GRA openings for new students. Note that some faculty may have openings that are not listed.