Non-land-grant Agricultural and Renewable Resources Universities

America’s 60 Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCA) have a long and successful history of educating and preparing professionals in agriculture, food, and renewable resources and many related fields. Thirty-seven percent of the baccalaureate degrees awarded each year in agriculture, food, and renewable resource related majors are from NLGCA institutions in the 16 primary states served by these institutions. These public colleges and universities offer baccalaureate or higher degrees and represent an accessible and affordable alternative in agriculture, food, and renewable resource education.

NLGCAs provide important translational research and outreach benefits, while developing a highly skilled workforce for the agriculture, food, and natural resource industries. The priorities that make NLGCA teaching programs and graduates unique are the real world, hands-on experiences in laboratories, undergraduate research, independent studies, and internships on campus farms and laboratories, with producers, in industry, and in government agencies.

NLGCAs place emphasis in their curricula on business, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, creativity, communications and teamwork. NLGCAs produce science-based and workforce ready graduates with a strong work ethic who may choose to pursue graduate studies (often at land-grant institutions), enter into industry and government careers, and return to production-oriented positions on our nation’s farms and ranches.