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College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Updated 6/23/21

 

Required talking points

  • Morrill Hall is just part of the home for CALS - there are other builds that connect to CALS

  • "Cells to society" is the theme of CALS. (Please note that's a change from "cells to civilization").

  • There are a variety of majors offered in CALS (name a few that show the variety of majors in CALS -  from hard science to social science)

    • Microbiology

    • Molecular Genetics

    • Dietetics, Nutrition, and Food Sciences

    • Animal Science

    • Community Development & Applied Economics

    • Environmental Studies/Science

    • Public Communication

    • International Development

    • Entrepreneurship

    • And more - 17 different majors (all B.S.) and 20 minors to be exact. 

  • Through these majors, CALS examines science grounded in humanity.

    • Consider this a more social approach to traditionally stricter sciences

    • For example: research/field work experiences with schools, community centers, farms, etc; working towards more global equity in the agricultural fields through justice for migrant workers, fair wages for coffee growers, etc.

  • Extracurriculars

    • CREAM​

      • A student-run dairy herd​ - UVM students manage farm operations and perform all of the barn chores.

      • 96% get accepted into vet school (national avg of 50%) 

      • 90%+ Animal Science students get accepted to vet school

    • EQUUS

      • A  hands-on horse management course modeled after CREAM - students perform the horse barn duties, keep records, and help make financial and management decisions associated with a horse boarding facility.

    • Medical internships

      • ​80% of Micro-bio and Molecular genetics (MMG) students do a medical-related internship. All the professors in this program teach in the Larner College of Medicine.  

    • Research opportunities are available to all students across disciplines within CALS.

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Additional optional talking points

  • CALS offers "Dynamic programs [...] that empower students to become doers" - a great quote from their website.

  • Other extracurriculars/hands-on learning opportunities!

    • We have the Morgan Horse Farm where we breed our own Morgan horses and offer internships, apprenticeships and public tours.

    • The Proctor Maple Research Center where we produce an average of 3,000 gallons of maple syrup each year and study plant biology.

    • A Horticulture Research & Education Center where we grow fruits, vegetables, and 70,000 lbs. of apples, offer farmer training and CSAs.

    • On campus, we have an Herbarium, greenhouses, and labs in every department.

    • First floor of Morrill Hall recently renovated to include a new design lab and maker space where students can work on visual design, community planning and other media-based and storytelling projects.

  • 25%+ of CALS graduates go to graduate school 

  • 2 new minors: Bioinformatics & Biosecurity

  • News article about UVM students caring for CREAM cows during remote learning in the spring

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AdvoCat Stories

  • CALS Classes

    • During my first year seminar for MMG we spent the whole semester doing science experiments purely to learn more about lab techniques and make some cool connections. One of my favorite experiments we did was we extracted our very own DNA and learned to analyze it through a technique called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Once the targeted section of our DNA was isolated, we were able to compare it to a sample to see if we could metabolize caffeine quickly or not. Lucky for me, I learned that I can metabolize caffeine very well!​ ~Kira White

    • Last year I took an introductory class for my major CDAE 002 with Dan Baker. In the class we learned about a sustainable hotel in the middle in the Peruvian rainforest that also does a lot of conservation work with Mawcaws. I was studying abroad in Chile in the spring, and since my program started late my plan was to travel Peru for a month and end the adventure at the hotel from CDAE 002 with my dad. I ended up going in and talking to Professor Baker about it which prompted a 2 hour long conversation about my goals, dreams, desires and life. He recommended books to me and gave me specific places to visit outside of Cusco since he does a lot of research there. When I was in Peru I went to the hotel and he asked me to present in his class this semester on what I learned! -Lauren Eisel

    • For my first year seminar in MMG, one of the activities we did was the Miracle Berry Pill taste test. Basically, it is a small pill that dissolves on your tongue and makes every food taste sweet. There are many practical applications for this pill, such as helping chemo patients to make their food taste better, but in my case, my classmates and I sat in the classroom eating lemons and drinking vinegar for the whole class period. It was probably a weird thing to see for anyone passing by, but it was such a fun experience and it happened in just my first semester here at UVM. -Kira White

  • Experiential Learning in CALS

    • I walked into the research barn one day - not expecting to do anything besides muck and feed. I was immediately handed a set of sterile gloves and a scalpel and before I knew it I was being taught how to take adipose (fat) tissue biopsies. I thought my training was going to end there... but then they handed me a 12 inch rod that was 1/4 inch in diameter and taught me then how to take liver biopsies as well. This is generally not a skill I would have learned how to do until my 3rd year of veterinary school. -Cam Fisher

    • My friend Courtney is a Dietetics major and she gets to work with the head chef of the UVMMC (who is also a dietitian) to create and customize meal plans for patients within the MC who need to change the way that they eat to better recover from various treatments they are undergoing and illnesses or injuries that they have experienced. -Grace Parker

    • CDAE offers a variety of travel-study courses that are fantastic opportunities for students. I took one called Food Systems Resilience in Puerto Rico, where we went to Puerto Rico in spring break 2020. Prior to the trip, we listened to experts discuss the impacts of Hurricane Maria on food systems in Puerto Rico and created our research plan. During the trip, we did some exploratory research, learned more about the impacts of Maria, and had lots of fun exploring the islands! After spring break, we continued with remote research on individual topics. This summer, I've continued with this work and have had a paid research opportunity with my professor to turn the research into a publishable paper, in which I will be listed as a co-author. There's many of these opportunities within CDAE, as the department loves to engage students in research and allow us to get hands-on experience with our learning.  ~Avi Bauer

    • I have had two internships through CALS, both of which I have found and gotten credit for through my department (CDAE). My first internship was teaching middle school students in South Burlington cooking lessons with a local non-profit, and the second one was with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) and Shelburne Farms in Vermont food policy. When I speak about these internships on tour, I talk about how they have provided me the opportunity to take what I've learned in the classroom and apply them to a real-life scenario, as well as to make a difference in my communities. For example, in my internship with NOFA-VT, I was able to take the concepts from my food systems classes on the use of pesticides, and then learn more about the impact of specific pesticides while lobbying for certain pesticide legislation in the Vermont Statehouse.  ~Avi Bauer

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