College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department of Agriculture, Landscape, and Environment

Hands on learning opportunities
Courses include Soil Science, Landscape Design, Horticulture and Entomology.
Join the A-Team!
Read about our Agroecology major and the wide range of hands-on opportunities through courses, clubs, research and more.
PSS offers a wide range of research opportunities for undergraduate students.
Our department's ongoing research aims to address the complex challenges facing our changing environment and landscapes.
We believe agricultural land should be viewed as an ecosystem, including the people who work it.
Learn about our participatory action research, where researchers collaborate on equal footing with the people and places they study.
Hard to believe something so small can eat up billions in profits.
Managing this crop pest costs farmers millions of dollars, but the alternative is billions in damage if left unchecked.
How big data is helping scientists help farmers.
Calculating how rising temperatures can increase insect populations, threatening the world's food supply.
Sometimes a hot mess is a good thing.
The ROAR program diverts compostable waste from landfills. Research estimates consumers threw away food produced utilizing 780 million pounds of pesticides, annually.

News: Plant and Soil Science is now Agriculture, Landscape, and Environment

Beginning July 1, 2024, Plant and Soil Science is rebranding to the Deaprtment of Agriculture, Landscape, and Environment (ALE) to better reflect the diversity of activities of our faculty, staff, and students and to highlight the broad reach of our programming. Stay tuned for continued rollout of our new website, social media, and other outreach!

Why study Agroecology and Landscape Design?

ALE provides opportunities for hands-on learning in the field of agroecology and landscape design. Choose from either of two concentrations, Agroecology which addresses land management within agriculture, or, Landscape Design which addresses multifunctional landscapes.Through our teaching and research we engage with key environmental issues.

Explore our Major and Concentrations

Learning by doing! ALE students have access to a diverse array of hands-on learning opportunities. Many of our courses include field components that will make Burlington and beyond part of your classroom. Our Agroecology and Landscape Design major is strongly linked to UVM’s highly recognized environmental program.

Our faculty and courses span a wide range of disciplines, offering students a highly customizable course of study. We study food security and sovereignty, sustainable food production, ecological landscape design, climate change in agricultural and land use systems, improvement of food crops, ecological pest management, soil health, and more.