One Upstate College Decides It’s High Time For A New Minor
Saying you minored in cannabis at college does feel like a punch line from a lame 90s-00s bro movie. The joke gets a little less funny when you realize cannabis is becoming a booming business in a time where other industries are lagging behind. Grandview Research predicts that cannabis will be a $40 billion industry in America by 2030.
With so much growth predicted in hemp, CBD, and recreational marijuana, a lot of students are interesting in growing green to make green. As New York State's adult-use recreational weed industry begins, it makes sense for college kids interested in agriculture to branch out into the field - now an Upstate university is stepping up with a new minor.
From Seed to Weed
With the new 2022 school year, SUNY Cobleskill is introducing a cannabis science minor for the fall semester that promises to take students through the cultivation, production, and business "from seed to final product." The full minor consists of these required courses and electives.
Cannabis Science Minor Requirements: 16 credits
AGRN 135 – Cannabis Management (2 credits)
AGRN 255 – Cannabis Harvest and Analysis (2 credits)
AGRN 313 – Soil Fertility (3 credits)
AGRN 351 – Cannabis Cultivation (3 credits)
ORHT 377 – Integrated Pest Management (3 credits)
Three credits chosen from the following:
AGRN 335 – Agricultural Chemicals
AGRN 338 – Weed Identification and Control (natch)
CHEM 244 – Instrumental Analysis
ORHT 335 – Irrigation
There are also some prerequisites for the program. Students need to have some basic agricultural sciences, biology, and chemistry classes under their belts before they can dive into the wild world of weed.