Student Opportunities

Students play an important role in carrying out the mission of the Agricultural Research Station. The ARS provides valuable experiential learning opportunities in food science, animal science, biotechnology, agronomy, and soil science for VSU undergraduate and graduate students. Student-workers gain vital hands-on training, preparing them for graduate studies or to enter the job market. ARS faculty serve as undergraduate major advisors and as committee members for graduate student theses. The faculty also teach courses in the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Biology.

Drawing from several departments on campus such as Biology, Chemistry, and the College of Engineering and Technology, the ARS employs between 25 and 40 students each year to work in laboratories or in the field. Each year the ARS hosts students working in the food science labs through the Dietetics Internship program. Students have opportunities to conduct their own research and present their results in a variety of settings, such as the Association of 1890 Research Directors Biennial Research Symposium, meetings of the Virginia Academy of Science, or the VSU Undergraduate Research Conference. Many ARS student workers have won prizes for their presentations at these meetings.

For more information on student opportunities, please contact Dr. Wondi Mersie, Associate Dean and Director of Research @ 804-524-5631 or at wmersie@vsu.edu