Arkansas Communications Professor Supports Development of the UK’s First Ag Communications Program

The Problem

Unlike in the United States, which boasts about 50 degree programs in agricultural communications, the universities in the United Kingdom offer no such programs. Since agricultural communications is an established profession in the U.K., students interested in the field must either focus on a journalism-related curriculum and learn agriculture on the job or study agriculture and pick up their journalism skills as they work.

The Work

Researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station conducted a study that focused on interviews with faculty, students and prospective employers in the U.K. to gather opinions on which skills were vital for agricultural communications graduates to learn. Jefferson Miller, professor for the Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Department, served as an author of the study.

The Results

The study showed resounding agreement from interviewees on the need for an agricultural communications program to ensure that students interested in the field are equipped with both journalistic skills and agricultural knowledge. Those surveyed also emphasized the importance of implementing experiential learning through internships, for example, within such a program.

Program interest was illustrated by the desire expressed by interviewees for both bachelor’s and master’s programs. Miller will begin by using interview insights to develop microcertificates for Scotland’s Rural College of Edinburgh. Having built relationships with those in Scotland’s agriculture field since 2006, he will also travel the country to help develop the certificates’ curricula.

The Value

Miller has already received approval for the curriculum development and is now planning five master’s level microcertificates set to be offered by the college in Edinburgh. The courses, which begin in the fall of 2025, cover journalistic skills such as writing, reporting and technical communication.

Implementation of the curriculum will help fill a critical deficiency in training the U.K.’s emerging generation of agricultural communicators. With enhanced academic preparation before aspiring agricultural communicators enter the workforce, Miller expects the profession itself to be strengthened. Since about 80 percent of U.S. agricultural communications students are female, Miller also sees potential for the new U.K. offering to increase female participation in agriculture.

About the Researcher