Agricultural Communications at SUNY Cobleskill launched this academic year as the first and only Bachelor’s program of its kind in the Northeast U.S. Unifying core curriculum elements of the College’s Agriculture Business and Communications in Technology programs, the major prepares students for careers in agricultural education and business, marketing and public relations, journalism, digital media production, and government affairs.
The four-year program allows students to select upper-level courses for those who wish to focus on one specific expertise within ag communications. Core classes combine technical skills in graphic design and digital media production with foundational and advanced courses in communication and agriculture, giving students the knowledge to succeed in various agricultural and food-related media and marketing positions through hands-on, multidisciplinary coursework with expert faculty.
The full curriculum encompasses digital media, web design, interpersonal and intercultural communication, journalism, food systems, marketing, promotion and sales, agricultural policy, law, ethics, and leadership. Through these disciplines, students will acquire a working knowledge of agribusiness principles and an understanding of the American agricultural system and the roles these play in the global food economy.
“This new program is truly transdisciplinary in that it pulls together so many of our varied disciplines at SUNY Cobleskill into one cohesive whole,” said Erik Hage, Interim Dean for Academic Affairs and Teaching Faculty and Professor of Communication and Journalism.
“It takes existing strengths in our agriculture, agribusiness, business, communication, and graphic design curricula and fuses them into a forward-thinking degree that comprehensively prepares students for a wide variety of careers. There are so many diversely talented faculty and such a variety of programs at the College. Agricultural Communications taps into the full scope of the Cobleskill experience and unites us under the ‘One Coby’ banner.”