Benefits
Students who complete the M.S. in Seed Technology and Business will be able to
--understand seed science and technology, including the scientific principles underlying plant breeding and biotechnology, pathology and physiology and their application to variety selection, seed production and conditioning;
--understand the core business concepts that are common across all businesses with a focus on issues that are of special interest to the seed and agricultural biotechnology industry;
--understand the dynamics of groups of people and facilitate the accomplishment of individual and collective goals;
--critically evaluate business decisions based on technical and economic criteria using established decision making procedures;
--apply technical knowledge to real-world problems via application of scientific and management principles;
--understand social, economic, ethical, and legal perspectives of seed and biotechnology related activities;
--effectively communicate with scientists, businessmen, regulatory officials, farmers and the general public for the purposes of gathering information, understanding viewpoints, and delivering information; and
--display competence in electronic communications and various internet information transfer processes.

Results
Through their new capabilities graduates will experience:
--increased access a growing and dynamic seed industry; and
--opportunities for advancement and higher salaries that are not available to others in the industry.

The leader
Paul Christensen, Seed Science Center Distance Education Manger, coordinated the development of the degree and now oversees the program. He has broad experience in the seed industry. "This program is unique. New communications technology has enabled us to draw information from many subjects and deliver material that is focused on issues that are of special utility in making superior decisions in seed activities and material that is general enough to address tomorrow's seed industry as well as today's."

The faculty
The faculty will be drawn from the ISU departments of Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Pathology as well as instructors of the Master of Business Administration core curriculum from the ISU College of Business. ISU's expertise in seed and agronomy is known worldwide. The College of Business graduate program ranked 67th in the nation in US News and World Report's 2005 rankings.

More about the Program

For more information, contact
Dr. Paul Christensen, Program Coordinator
Seed Technology and Business Program
152 Seed Science Center
Ames, Iowa 50011-3228
(515) 294-8745
e-mail: seedsci@iastate.edu
www.seeds.iastate.edu