Data Science: Computational Agriculture and Natural Resources

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Bachelor of Science in Data Science: Computational Agriculture and Natural Resources Concentration

Top 5 Reasons to Study

Gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to drive innovation in agricultural production, agtech, agricultural finance, natural resource management, wildlife and fisheries science, and plant science organizations.

Learn to represent agricultural and environmental phenomena as data (including satellite imagery, soil sensors, weather data, crop genetics, wildlife populations, and farm equipment telemetry), enabling the analysis of food systems and ecosystems.

Learn to extract actionable insights from agricultural and environmental data to improve yields, predict harvest, monitor resources, track wildlife, improve land management, and reveal patterns that lead to breakthroughs.

Build intelligent systems that enhance agricultural decision-making and resource management through precision agriculture, predictive models for crop and livestock production, environmental monitoring, and other AI-driven solutions.

Gain the ability to feed the world while improving agricultural productivity and environmental stewardship by optimizing farm operations, reducing waste, enabling precise application of inputs, and monitoring system health.

Core
Skills

Optimize and manage agricultural and natural resources systems to make them faster, smarter, and more efficient.
Adapt systems with data and innovative methods to respond to challenges and changes and stay resilient and sustainable.
Develop smart systems and AI technologies to improve agricultural methods.

Sample
Jobs

Agribusiness Manager
Forest Business Analyst
Agricultural Economist
Agricultural Lending Officer
Natural Resources Data Analyst

Successful Career Outcomes

$103,500 Median Annual Salary

35% 10 Year Growth Expected

Top
Employment
Industries

Agricultural Production: Optimizing crop yields and farm operations
AgTech Companies: Developing precision agriculture tools and equipment telemetry
Agricultural Finance: Supporting data-driven decisions in the financial side of agriculture
Natural Resource Management: Monitoring sustainability and ecosystem health
Wildlife and Fisheries Science: Tracking populations and managing conservation efforts

Brag
Points

Study with the best: data science majors at MSU have a median ACT score of 29
Our students have access to Ptolemy, a 64 GPU NVDIA system dedicated to academic use
38% of our Data Science students participate in the Shackouls Honors College

Experiential Learning Opportunities

Capstone Project: You'll participate in a two-semester capstone experience and will be matched with a faculty mentor while pursuing a meaningful project.

Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES): MAFES frequently employs our students and researchers to assist with precision agriculture projects, including sensor data collection and crop modeling.

Sensing and Automation in Agri-Systems (SAAS) Lab: Located within the scientists' research network, this lab focuses on AI and automation in agriculture, perfect for applying computational skills to farming challenges.

Agricultural Autonomy Institute: The institute frequently employs our students and researchers to pursue its mission of terrestrial and aerial autonomous agricultural systems.

Data Science Academic Institute: Our undergraduate researchers work on faculty projects in diverse subject areas, often involving agricultural and food security-related data.

You'll take five hands-on labs that use real data. This builds career-relevant experiential learning directly into your coursework.