• Learn from professors who are among the nation’s most productive and creative in the field.
• Gain top-quality classroom, field, and laboratory experiences. Soil science faculty work on on research funded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
• Develop skills that can help solve environmental and food problems and create enjoyable living conditions.
• You can join a math, science, and engineering community residence hall at WSU Pullman—share classes with your neighbors, study together, get free tutoring, and use the hall’s computer lab.

The soil science minor requires at least 16 credits. Among the classes you might take are:

Soil: A Living System
Introduction to Soil Physics
Soil Biology
Environmental Soil Chemistry
Soil Fertility
Soil Analysis for Environmental and Crop Management
Physical Geology
Introduction to Statistical Methods
Biometry

See the WSU Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about planning and scheduling your courses. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog in order to graduate.

Washington State University offers Ph.D. and master's degrees in soil science.

For detailed information about requirements, courses, and faculty research, visit the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences web site.

A variety of state, federal, and university-sponsored programs are available to help students with educational costs.

Washington State University awards millions of dollars in financial aid and scholarships to students every year based on financial need, academic merit, or a combination of the two.

To get all the financial help WSU can provide, start by doing these two things:

• Complete the University's general scholarship application so you can be eligible for scholarship consideration.
• Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) so WSU can consider you for aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) based on financial need.

More about WSU scholarships and financial aid

• Agronomic or environmental consultants
• Biotechnologists
• Crop advisors
• Farm managers
• Corporate or academic researchers
• Turfgrass/golf course managers
• Soil surveyors
• Soil conservationists
• Land-use managers
• Soil fertility specialists
• Research technologists
• Global information systems specialists

Employment is available in government and commercial agencies such as the state Cooperative Extension Service, Agricultural Research Service, Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Ecology, and Natural Resource Conservation Service; as well as in private consulting firms, commercial companies dealing with farm products, waste management, and research.

Some areas of active interest include identification and transfer of best management practices for crop production, erosion control, and environmental protection; reclamation of contaminated soils; transport of pesticides through soils; bioremediation of hazardous wastes; soil-landscape development processes, use of microbes to control weeds and plant diseases; surface chemistry of soil minerals; modeling of cropping systems; remote sensing of soils and vegetation; strategies in precision farming; and global change.