Soil Science Courses
Below is listing of the soil science courses offered at WSU. Where given, the links below will direct you to either the most recent syllabus and/or course web page.
Several courses utilize the Blackboard Learning Systems (formerly known as WebCT) web interface where login is required and is limited to those enrolled.
9/09
101 Organic Gardening and Farming 3 Principles and production practices of organic gardening and farming. Field trip required. Cooperative course taught by WSU, open to UI students (SOIL 101) (web)
201 [B] Soil: A Living System 3 Biological, chemical, and physical properties of soils; fundamentals of soil ecology, soil-water-plant relations, soil fertility, and soil genesis. (web-Flury/Fall) (web-Reganold/Spring)
301 [M] Ecological Soil Management 3 Prereq SoilS 201. Soil and water conservation and management; land classification and reclamation; soils and environmental quality; sustainable agroecosystems. (web) (distance delivery)
360 [I] World Agricultural Systems 3 Prereq two semesters physical or biological sciences. Same as CropS 360. (web) (distance delivery)
368 Introduction to ArcGIS 3 (1-6) Prereq one course in biology, geology, or soils. Introduction to geographic information systems applied to landscape data; geographic coordinate systems and projections, make maps and use geodatabases.
374 Remote Sensing and Airphoto Interpretation 3 (2-3) Physical basis of remote sensing, fundamentals of aerial photography and image analysis applied to agriculture, forestry, wildland management problems.
412 Seminar 1 May be repeated for credit. Same as CropS 412.
413 Soil Physics 3 (2-3) Prereq Math 107; Geol 101, 102 or SoilS 201. Characterization of soil properties including water content and potential and hydraulic conductivity; modeling water, solute transport, erosion and contamination of groundwater. Credit not granted for both SoilS 413 and 513.
414 Environmental Biophysics 2 Prereq Math 107. Physical environment of living organisms (temperature, humidity, radiation, wind); heat and mass exchange and balance in plant and animal systems. Credit not granted for both SoilS 414 and 514. Cooperative course taught by WSU, open to UI students (BOT 435) (web)
415 Environmental Biophysics Laboratory 1 (0-3) Prereq SoilS 414 or c//. Experimental methods and procedures in environmental measurements; temperature, wind, radiation, and humidity measurements in biological environments. Credit not granted for both SoilS 415 and 515. Cooperative course taught by WSU, open to UI students (BOT 533)
421 Environmental Soil Chemistry 3 Prereq two semesters of Chem; SoilS 201. Soil constituents; soil solutions: mineral equilibria; absorption reactions; acid/base reactions; oxidation-reduction; soil contaminants. Credit not granted for both SoilS 421 and 521.
431 Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry 3 (2-3) Prereq by permission of instructor. Biology and significance of organisms inhabiting soil; roles in nutrient cycling, ecosystem function, agriculture and bioremediation. Credit not granted for both SoilS 431 and 531.
441 Soil Fertility 3 Prereq SoilS 201. Nutrient management impacts on crop productivity, soil and water quality; mineral requirements; soil testing; plant analysis; inorganic and organic fertilizers.
451 [M] Pedology 3 (2-3) Prereq SoilS 201. Soil profiles, soil-forming processes, and soil classification. Field trips required.
468 ArcGIS and Geospatial Analysis 4 (2-6) Prereq Biol 120, Geol 101 or Soils 201. Geographic information systems applied to analysis of landscape data; maps, geographic coordinate systems and projections, geodatabases. Cooperative course taught by WSU, open to UI students (SOIL 468) (web)
480 Practicum in Organic Agriculture V 1-6 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 12 hours. Prereq by permission. Applied principles and practices of organic agriculture; immersion and participation in all required farming/gardening activities. (web)
495 Research Experience V 1-4 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 12 hours. Same as CropS 495.
497 Special Topics: Study Abroad V 1-15 May be repeated for credit. S, F grading.
498 Professional Internship V V 1-6 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 9 hours. Planned and supervised professional work experience. S, F grading.
499 Special Problems V 1-4 May be repeated for credit. S, F grading.
501 Seminar 1 May be repeated for credit. Presentation of research information.
502 Advanced Topics in Soils V 1-3 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 6 hours. Interpretation, presentation, and discussion of current research on soils, uses, and management. (syllabus-Fortuna, Fall 2008) (syllabus-Brown, Fall 2008)
503 Advanced Soil Analysis V 1-3 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 6 hours. By interview only. Soil research techniques; application of modern instrumentation to soil analysis. (web)
504 Research Presentation Techniques 1 Preparation of visual aids and oral presentation of research findings. S, F grading.
505 Teaching Practicum 1 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 4 hours. Supervised experience in classroom teaching; classroom preparation for lectures, discussions, laboratories; preparation and grading of exams. S, F grading.
511 Research Proposal and Development 2 Same as CropS 511. S, F grading.
514 Environmental Biophysics 2 Prereq Math 107. Graduate-level counterpart of SoilS 414; additional requirements. Cooperative course taught by WSU, open to UI students (BOT 435)
515 Environmental Biophysics Laboratory 1 (0-3) Prereq SoilS 414 or c//. Graduate-level counterpart of SoilS 415; additional requirements.
525 Landscape Modeling 3 (1-6) Same as L A 525.
526 Soil Mineralogy 2 (1-3) Prereq SoilS 421, 451. Distribution and significance of soils minerals; weathering and reactivity of mineral structures; techniques of mineral identification including x-ray diffraction, chemical dissolution, optical and electron microscopy. Cooperative course taught by UI, open to WSU students (SOILS526)
533 Advanced Vadose Zone Hydrology 2 Prereq SoilS 413. Methods and models for water, heat, vapor and solute transport in the vadose zone; transfer functions to describe solute transport; non-linear parameter estimation. Cooperative course taught by WSU, open to UI students (SOILS533)
537 Soil Biochemistry 3 Prereq MBioS 303; Micro 201; SoilS 421. Enzyme activity; microbial activity/biomass; rhizosphere; carbon, nitrogen phosphorus, sulfur, and micronutrient cycles. Cooperative course taught by UI, open to WSU students (SOILS537)
541 Soil-Plant-Microbial Interactions 3 Prereq SoilS 421, 431, or 441. Soil-plant-microbial relationships to plant nutrition, plant health, and environmental cleanup; rhizosphere chemistry and microbial ecology. Cooperative course taught by WSU, open to UI students (SOILS541)
547 Soil Fertility Management 3 Prereq SoilS 441. Philosophy of fertilizer recommendations based on soil and plant tissue testing; principles of fertilizer manufacture, placement and use. Cooperative course taught by UI, open to WSU students (SOILS547)
557 Advanced Soil Genesis and Classification 3 (2-3) Prereq SoilS 451. Genesis, classification and interpretation of soils, including field investigation emphasizing existing interrelationships. Cooperative course taught by UI, open to WSU students (SOILS557)
568 ArcGIS and Geospatial Analysis 4 (2-6) Graduate-level counterpart of SoilS 486; additional requirements. Credit not granted for both SoilS 468 and 568.
574 Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis 3 (1-4) Prereq SoilS 374; 476 or equivalent. Digital image processing theory and geographic information systems applied to landscape analysis. Cooperative course taught jointly by WSU and UI (FOR 572). (web)
600 Special Projects or Independent Study V 1-18 May be repeated for credit. S, F grading.
700 Master's Research, Thesis, and/or Examination V 1-18 May be repeated for credit. S, F grading.
702 Master's Special Problems, Directed Study, and/or Examination V 1-18 May be repeated for credit. S, F grading.
800 Doctoral Research, Dissertation, and/or Examination V 1-18 May be repeated for credit. S, F grading.
Heading using the h3 tag
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.