The world has serious problems to solve and it needs your help. Sustaining agriculture to provide quality food, fiber, and landscape beauty for our planet is about training new farmers, and more. Farmers require a variety of support systems to be successful. Knowledge of agriculture is integral to a wide range of careers. Rutgers is dedicated to providing individuals with the tools to solve the difficult problems facing our state, nation, and world.
Interested in being part of the solution to major world problems? Come get your hands dirty with us.
Our students and farm interns come from diverse backgrounds and go on to serve the changing needs of agriculture and all related fields. As active participants in cutting-edge research and its direct application, they gain character building experiences, comprehensive knowledge, leadership skills, and develop life long relationships.
Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the Rutgers Research and Extension Farms are a unique combination because together they provide experiential education where classroom studies are applied in the field. There is no better way to learn than working side-by-side in the field with renowned Rutgers professors and successful urban fringe farmers.
Sustainable Agriculture
Want to get a taste of a career related to agriculture?
This undergraduate course is offered through the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Get out of the classroom and into the field. Walk the rows with successful farmers of our state. Critically dissect controversial topics important to food and fiber production. Discuss sustainable agriculture issues with the movers and shakers of our region. Find your passion.
Research and Extension Farming Internships
In cooperation with the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers NJ Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) offers summer research farming internships at:
- Snyder Research and Extension Farm
Pittstown, Hunterdon Co. - Rutgers Agricultural Research & Extension Center (RAREC) Farm
Upper Deerfield, Cumberland Co. - Philip E. Marucci Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension Center Farm
Chatsworth, Burlington Co.
These paid internships provide opportunities for gaining hands-on field science experiences under the mentorship of Rutgers NJAES faculty and staff in a variety of areas. The farms grow crops under real farming practices to conduct research and demonstration. Depending on location, experiences include:
- Fruit & vegetable production practices, plant breeding, herb production, nutraceuticals & plant products, forages, and organic crop production.
- Biological science expertise in agricultural disciplines (i.e., Agronomy, Entomology, Horticulture, Plant Pathology).
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and crop protection field-testing practices.
- Hands-on skills in equipment use and maintenance as it relates to plant production.
- Environmental Science/Bioresource Engineering, including greenhouses, high tunnels, instrumentation, constructed wetlands, and water management.
- Vector insect monitoring through training with County Department of Health involving mosquitoes, deer ticks, and black flies.
- Turfgrass management – emphasis on low maintenance and athletic field turfgrass.
Payment is on a per hour basis and depends on previous experience, hours and weeks worked from May through August. On-site student living is available on a first-come-first-serve basis at Snyder and RAREC farms. Student course credit (optional) is available by participating in Departmental Special Problems (registration and payment per credit required).
Requirements for consideration include:
- SEBS Sophomore or Junior undergraduate status with minimum 3.0 GPA.
- A one-page letter of interest for evaluation. Include contact information, current major and previous experience.
- Valid NJ Driver’s License and 2 years driving experience.
