The MSU Institute of Agricultural Technology, or IAT, has been conducting practical plant, animal and technology certificate courses on its East Lansing campus for more than 100 years.
Commercial horticulture programs focused on fruit, vegetable, greenhouse production and ornamentals are attracting students to Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor and Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. In addition to local access to MSU academic programs serving agriculture, the community college collaboration enables students to earn an associate’s degree through supplemental coursework.
Enrollment in these programs at Lake Michigan College and Northwestern Michigan College is open now. Complete applications, including transcripts, for new MSU IAT students are due Aug. 15. MSU application deadlines and procedures differ from those of community colleges, so participants should act now. Courses begin Aug. 27.
Fall semester classes include:
- Tree Fruit Production and Management
- Fundamentals of Soil Science
- Landscape Plants II
- Horticulture Industries Seminar
- Plant Diseases and their Pathogens
IAT off-campus coordinators guide prospective students through the application process, creation of a course of study and a required student internship. All IAT courses are taught by MSU-approved faculty and staff members, and credits earned are fully transferable to on-campus bachelor¹s degree programs.
For those interested in learning more about viticulture and enology information on the online Viticulture Enology Science Technology Alliance courses, which operate through a separate registration system, can be found here. The registration deadline for VESTA is Aug. 15. VESTA courses begin Sept. 2.
For information about VESTA and off-campus IAT applied plant science certificate programs and admission requirements, contact one of the community college-based coordinators: Stacey Rocklin, Lake Michigan College, (269) 927-8772, rocklin@msu.edu; or Brian Matchett, Northwestern Michigan College, (231) 995-1719, matchet4@msu.edu.