Soil and Land Resources

Understand how soils form, and how to identify and classify them. Learn the characteristics of contaminated and depleted soils, how they affect water quality, and what can be done to make them healthier.

Take field trips to collect soil samples for analysis, from windblown silts in the south of the state to glacial sands in the north.

Prepare for a career in agriculture, industry, construction or an environmental field.

In hands-on laboratories, you will learn techniques for measuring plant nutrients, soil and water contaminates, microbial numbers and activities, and soil water, and its flow patterns. You will learn to identify and classify soils. More hands-on opportunities are available at our plant science farms and computer-controlled greenhouses.

You’ll learn from teachers whose research probes some of the field’s most pressing issues.

Most of our students complete an internship the summer between their junior and senior year.

Prepare for Success

This major is a good fit if you can see yourself:

• Conserving soil and improving soil and water quality.
• Exploring how soils form over millions of years and how they function today.
• Integrating information from soil chemistry, physics, microbiology, biochemistry and other sciences to meet environmental challenges.

To prepare, you may want to:

• Take biology and science courses.
• Practice your leadership skills in clubs, student office, or 4-H activities.
• Volunteer for environmental causes, plant a garden or work on a farm.

Your First Year

Your first year, you will learn communication skills with course work in writing and public speaking. You will also take principles of chemistry, science of plants and geology.

More advanced major courses include biology, physics of soil fertility, soil ecosystem, soil biology and environmental soil chemistry.

See the four-year plan.

What You Can Do

With this degree, you may become one of the following:

• Soil conservation technician: Provide landowners with technical information on soil and water conservation; help them apply conservation practices; survey, design and inspect conservation practices.
• Agricultural specialist: Assist growers in organic farming techniques, agrichemical use, nutrient management recommendations, conservation tillage, or soil and water management.
• Environmental consultant: Work for a private firm with expertise in bioremediation, waste cleanup, hazardous waste management, water quality protection or land-use planning.
• Environmental quality specialist: Work for government agencies in jobs related to soil and water quality, regulatory procedures and enforcement, and public information.
• Field scientist: Collect data for land-use planning and present your findings to the public.

Opportunities

Our graduates get jobs with starting salaries of up to $45,000 in businesses and in government agencies.

You may also want to continue your education. Earn an advanced degree in soil science, environmental science, ecology, chemistry, geology or physics.

Current Research

Participate in a faculty research project or do your own independent study. Explore mustard seed meal as a biopesticide in farm soils. Measure different forms of selenium in mine run-off. Collect data on the role of volcanic ash in Idaho’s soil systems. Determine how carbon storage in soils affects global warming. Study the elusive giant Palouse earthworm. Paid positions are available.

Our faculty is also researching:

• Heavy metal contamination of soil
• Effect of fertilizers and pesticides on soil and water quality
• Use of bacteria and fungi to fight soilborne plant diseases
• Nutrient and organic matter cycling in soil

Activities

Plant and Soil Science Club: Grow plants for sales; take field trips.
International Society of Arboriculture: Join the student chapter for tree-related activities.
Soil Stewards: Work at the on-campus organic farm.

Hands-On Experience

Intern. Get practical experiences like these:

• Natural Resources Conservation Service: Monitor soil erosion in the Flathead region of Montana.
• U.S. Forest Service: Collect soil data in national forests.
• Western Farm Service: Inspect farm fields and evaluate their water use.

Study abroad. Deepen your understanding of your major—and the world—in countries like these:

• Taiwan: Study soils used in the commercial production of rice and tropical fruits.
• Mexico: Study sustainable farming practices in the world center of agave production.
• India: Observe 1,000-year-old farming practices on terraced hillsides.

Volunteer. Give back. Grow produce to donate to a local food bank. Teach 4-H youth groups about soil.

Facilities

The department’s facilities include the largest collection of soil monoliths in the Western U.S., two plant science farms, and two state-of-the-art greenhouses.