Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Agricultural Engineering Graduate Program

Do you want to make a difference in the future of agriculture? If so, join us in Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University!

A world leader in grain, poultry, and livestock production, Iowa is one of the best places in the world to pursue advanced studies in the many applications of engineering to the world's largest and most complex industry---agriculture.

Program of Study

We offer master of science, master of engineering, and PhD degrees in agricultural engineering.

Courses

Degree Requirements

Research

The graduate faculty in Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University strive to provide cutting-edge research opportunities that will place you at the forefront of new developments in agriculture.

Current areas of research emphasis include

  • advanced machine engineering
  • process engineering for food safety and value addition
  • environmental stewardship engineering
  • structures and environment

Learn more about the faculty research interests.

Labs

We have several research labs in each of our buildings, including the following:

Get Paid to Learn

The ABE Department offers research assistantships with competitive stipends. Please read below about contacting faculty with research interests similar to yours.

PhD students receive a full tuition scholarship, and master's students receive a 50 percent tuition scholarship. Find out more about tuition and fees.

Scholarships and fellowships are also available.

Admission to Graduate Study

The Graduate Admissions Office handles all admissions to Iowa State graduate programs. Graduate information is available from the ABE Admissions page.

Identifying Faculty

To help ensure the success of our graduate students, the agricultural engineering graduate program generally does not offer admission  unless funding to support your research is available or anticipated.

You are urged to contact faculty members who conduct research in your anticipated area of specialization to discuss the potential for project funding before you submit your application to the Graduate College.

Identify faculty members in agricultural engineering with research interests similar to yours.

Once you have identified one or more potential faculty members to contact, send each a brief (1-page maximum) email message with the following summary information:

  • paragraph indicating your specific area of interest and your reason for selecting this area
  • summary of your academic degrees, institution granting the degrees, dates of graduation, grade point average for each degree, and GRE scores (if degrees are not from a U.S. institution), TOEFL scores (if your native language is not English)
  • semester and year when you plan to begin your studies
  • whether you need an assistantship have personal funding to support you during your study

Prerequisites

To be eligible to enter the ABE MS or PhD program, students must have

  • earned a BS degree in agricultural engineering or another engineering curriculum
  • completed at least 16 undergraduate semester credits in mathematics and 16 undergraduate semester credits in basic science
  • completed at least 32 undergraduate semester credits in engineering science
  • completed at least 16 undergraduate semester credits in design and synthesis, with at least 8 of these in agricultural engineering and at least 5 credits within a single option area.

For More Information

For more information about the program, email abegradinfo@iastate.edu.

Or contact the graduate secretary, Kris Bell, kabell@iastate.edu, 515-294-1033.