Agricultural Economics Animal Science Part I Animal Science Part II Bio-Resource Engineering Food Science Plant Science Poultry Science School of Family & Nutritional Sciences Soil Science

Overview of Departments 

During UBC's first two sessions (1915/17) there was no teaching undertaken in the Faculty of Agriculture, although a general course in agriculture was given by Dr Klinck which was open to 3rd and 4th year Arts students.

The first students in Agriculture were enrolled in 1917/18. At that time the Faculty consisted of four departments: Agronomy, Animal Husbandry, Horticulture and Poultry Husbandry. Later, the departments of Dairying (1919), Agricultural Economics (1940), and Agricultural Mechanics (1945) were added. (This latter department was actually Agricultural Engineering and Agricultural Mechanics but the Engineering part of the department was in the Faculty of Applied Science).

In 1955 the Faculty was reorganized into the departments of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Mechanics, Poultry Science and Soil Science; and two Divisions, Plant Science (formed from Horticulture and part of Agronomy) and Animal Science (formed from Animal Husbandry and Dairying). In 1969 the Faculty name was changed to Agricultural Sciences, the Divisions of Plant Science and Animal Science became departments, the other departments remained, and the department of Food Science was added. The department of Agricultural Mechanics became the department of Agricultural Mechanics and Bio-Resource Engineering in 1975.

In 1985, the Department of Agricultural Mechanics and Bio-Resource Engineering discontinued the program in Agricultural Mechanics and that part of the name was dropped. In 1986 the departments of Animal Science and Poultry Science amalgamated to form a new Department of Animal Science. The School of Family and Nutritional Sciences became part of the Faculty in 1992. In 1996 the department of Bio-Resource Engineering merged with the department of Chemical Engineering within the faculty of Applied Science.

In 1998 Senate approved the dissolution of the departments of Agricultural Economics, Animal Science, Food Science, Plant Science and Soil Science, and the integration of their responsibilities into a reorganized Faculty of Agricultural Sciences structure. This was an administrative change only: programs, degrees and majors were not changed at that time. The School of Family and Nutritional Sciences was not involved in the reorganization and remained as an official entity within the Faculty.

R Blair 2001