Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Major
Degree Requirements
Major: Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Degree Type: B.S.A.B.En.
Minimum Required Credits: 128
University Degree Requirements
For complete details on these and other university degree requirements, refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section in the University Catalog.
- Minimum of 120 semester credits (some programs may exceed this minimum).
- Complete the University General Education requirements.
- Minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
- Minimum of 30 credits in resident at NDSU.
- Minimum of 36 upper level credits (courses numbered 300 or higher).
- Students with transfer credit must meet the NDSU 30 credits in residence (#4). Of these 30 credits in residence, a minimum of 15 credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, and 15 credits must be in the student's declared major curricula.
University General Education Requirements
A list of university approved general education courses along with the administrative policies governing the requirement and the categories is available here.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Category C: Communication | 12 | |
| Category R: Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | |
| Category S: Science and Technology | 10 | |
| Category A: Humanities and Fine Arts | 6 | |
| Category B: Social and Behavioral Sciences | 6 | |
| Category W: Wellness | 2 | |
| Category D: Cultural Diversity | ||
| Category G: Global Perspectives | ||
| Category L: Digital Literacy | ||
| Total Credits | 39 | |
Major Requirements
ABEN Core Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| ABEN 110 | Introduction to Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering | 3 |
| ABEN 255 | Computer Aided Analysis & Design | 3 |
| ABEN 263 | Biological Materials Processing | 3 |
| ABEN 348 | Agricultural Technology Exposition 1 | 1 |
| ABEN 358 | Electric Energy Application in Agriculture | 3 |
| ABEN 391 | Seminar | 1 |
| ABEN 444 | Transport Processes | 3 |
| or ABEN 452 | Bioenvironmental Systems Design | |
| ABEN 479 | Fluid Power Systems Design | 3 |
| ABEN 482 | Instrumentation & Measurements | 3 |
| ABEN 484 | Drainage and Wetland Engineering | 3 |
| or ABEN 464 | Resource Conservation and Irrigation Engineering | |
| ABEN 486 | Design Project I | 3 |
| ABEN 487 | Design Project II | 3 |
| BIOL 150 | General Biology I | 3 |
| or BIOL 111 | Concepts of Biology | |
| or BIOL 124 | Environmental Science | |
| or MICR 202 | Introductory Microbiology | |
| BIOL 150L | General Biology I Laboratory | 1 |
| or CHEM 121L | General Chemistry I Laboratory | |
| or MICR 202L | Introductory Microbiology Lab | |
| CHEM 121 | General Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 122 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CE 309 | Fluid Mechanics | 3 |
| or ME 352 | Fluid Dynamics | |
| CSCI 122 | Visual BASIC | 3 |
| or ME 213 | Modeling of Engineering Systems | |
| or GEOG 455 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | |
| or PAG 215 | Mapping of Precision Ag Data | |
| ENGR 327 | Ethics, Engineering, and Technology | 3 |
| IME 440 | Engineering Economy | 3 |
| IME 460 | Evaluation of Engineering Data | 3 |
| MATH 128 | Introduction to Linear Algebra | 1 |
| MATH 165 | Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 166 | Calculus II | 4 |
| MATH 259 | Multivariate Calculus | 3 |
| MATH 266 | Introduction to Differential Equations | 3 |
| ME 212 | Fundamentals of Visual Communication for Engineers | 3 |
| ME 221 | Engineering Mechanics I | 3 |
| ME 222 | Engineering Mechanics II | 3 |
| ME 223 | Mechanics of Materials | 3 |
| ME 350 | Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer | 3 |
| PHYS 252 & 252L | University Physics II and University Physics II Laboratory | 5 |
| Program Electives | ||
| Select 13 credits from the following: (At least 3 of the 13 credits must be selected from the courses with a 3 footnote.) | 13 | |
| Introduction to Controlled Environment Agriculture (Natural Resource/General Focus) | ||
| Finite Element Analysis in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (Machinery/Natural Resource/General Focus) 3 | ||
| Biobased Energy (Processing Focus) 3 | ||
| Process Engineering for Food, Biofuels and Bioproducts (Processing/General Focus) | ||
| Agricultural Power ( Machinery Focus) | ||
| Field Experience (All Focus Areas) 2 | ||
| Machinery Analysis & Design (Machinery Focus) | ||
| Introduction to Animal Sciences (Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Livestock Production (Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Natural Resource Management Systems (Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Post-Harvest Technology (Machinery/Processing Focus) | ||
| Machinery Principles and Management (Machinery Focus) | ||
| Introduction to Biomedical Engineering (Processing Focus) | ||
| Introduction to Food Science and Technology (Processing Focus) | ||
| Food Processing I (Processing Focus) | ||
| Surveying (Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Soil Mechanics (General Focus) 3 | ||
| Structural Engineering and Analysis (General Focus) 3 | ||
| Water Resources and Supply (Natural Resource Focus) 3 | ||
| Slope Stability and Retaining Walls (General Focus) 3 | ||
| Open Channel Flow (Natural Resource Focus) 3 | ||
| Basic Dynamics of Structures (General Focus) 3 | ||
| Applied Hydrology (Natural Resource Focus) 3 | ||
| Survey of Organic Chemistry (Processing Focus) | ||
| Digital Design (Machinery Focus) | ||
| Electrical Engineering I and Electrical Engineering Lab I (Machinery Focus) 3 | ||
| Manufacturing Processes (Processing Focus) 3 | ||
| Welding Technology (Machinery Focus) 3 | ||
| Program and Project Management (All Focus Areas) 3 | ||
| Materials Science and Engineering (Machinery Focus) 3 | ||
| Theory of Vibrations (Machinery Focus) 3 | ||
| Plastics and Polymer Processing in Manufacturing (Processing Focus) 3 | ||
| Machine Design I (Machinery Focus) 3 | ||
| Introduction to Precision Agriculture (Machinery/Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Electronic Systems in Precision Ag (Machinary Focus) | ||
| Applications of Precision Agriculture (Machinery Focus) | ||
| World Food Crops (Processing/Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Principles of Crop Production (Processing/Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Introduction to Soil Science (Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Soils and Land Use (Natural Resource Focus) | ||
| Total Credits | 105 | |
- 1
ABEN 348 - AG Tech Exp (1 add'l cr.) may be used as a Program Elective.
- 2
ABEN 496 - Field Exp./Internship (1 - 3 cr.) may be used as a Program Elective. A maximum of three credits of ABEN 496 Field Exp./Internship may be counted towards degree requirements.
- 3
Students must select at least 3 cr. of upper-division College of Engineering courses to satisfy the 13 cr. Program Elective requirement.
Degree Requirements and Notes
SUGGESTED FOCUS AREAS: Consult with adviser when making selections.
- Machinery Focus - Select electives with emphasis on machine, power, robotic/autonomous, and electrical/electronic systems.
- Natural Resource Focus - Select electives with emphasis on areas that contribute to solving problems in environmental engineering, natural resources management, hydrology, irrigation, watershed management, and waste management.
- Processing Focus - Select electives with emphasis on combining engineering, biological, and physical sciences in the application of engineering principles to handling and processing of biomaterials for food and non-food products.
- General Focus - Select electives from any of the above focus areas. Includes courses in structural and environmental aspects of agricultural facilities.
Degree Requirements for the Accelerated M.S. Program in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Students pursuing an accelerated master’s degree in ABEN must complete the following requirements:
- 30 credits after the B.S is required. However, a maximum of 15 graduate credits earned during the combined/accelerated degree program may also be counted toward the graduate degree.
- 20-24 credits are from didactic course work, while 6-10 credits are typically devoted for a master's thesis based on research
- A minimum of 6 credits of NDSU ABEN courses numbered 601-689 and 700-789 is required.
- ABEN Graduate Seminar (ABEN 790).