The University of Vermont (UVM) is taking a new step in its long-standing commitment to sustainable agriculture and community engagement with the launch of a fully online Master of Science in Agroecology, beginning in Fall 2026, the first of its kind in the United States.
Agroecology is a way of understanding and designing food systems using social, ecological, and political principles to regenerate nature and create a more just society. It is rooted in indigenous practices and ancestral knowledge, which are combined with scientific knowledge to address the current food crisis. Agroecology is not only about changing farming techniques, but is also about transforming policy, science, cultures, and economies to bring about more just food systems.
The new degree is built through the UVM College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Agriculture, Landscape & Environment and the Institute for Agroecology (IFA), which is the first such Institute at a land-grant university in the United States. It grows directly out of the IFA’s internationally recognized Certificate of Graduate Study in Agroecology, which has been enrolling students for nearly a decade. The certificate has drawn educators, organizers, nonprofit leaders, extension professionals, and applied researchers from across the U.S. and around the world. The new master’s program responds to what many of those learners have been asking for: a deeper, degree-level pathway that builds on practice while remaining accessible to people rooted in their communities and careers.
“This program reflects a growing number of learners, who are eager to engage with a transformative and agroecological approach,” says Ernesto Méndez, co-director of the IFA and professor of agroecology at UVM. “They’re already doing important work and what they need is a generative space to think critically, learn together, and strengthen their impact, without having to step away from their livelihoods or the places they care about.”
The 30-credit M.S. in Agroecology, offered fully online, brings together ecological science, participatory action research, political ecology, and social movement learning. It treats agroecology not only as a scientific field, but also as a living practice shaped by people, power, and place. Students are encouraged to apply what they learn directly to their own contexts, whether that means working with farmers, shaping policy, teaching, conducting community-based research, or supporting food systems transformation from within organizations and businesses.
“As a land-grant university, UVM has a public mission to connect knowledge with real-world needs,” says Linda Prokopy, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at UVM. “This new graduate offering is a perfect example of how we do this and I’m excited to see the global impacts.”
The degree is designed for early- to mid-career professionals working in sustainable agriculture, food systems, environmental and social justice organizations, extension and farmer education, international development, and related fields. It also offers a clear pathway for alumni of UVM’s Graduate Certificate in Agroecology and similar programs to build on prior coursework, with up to 21 credits transferable. It supports current UVM students seeking continuity and flexibility, extensionists and educators looking to deepen participatory and systems-based practice, career-switchers entering agroecology-focused work, and professionals exploring advanced study without immediate commitment to a Ph.D.
The curriculum combines core courses in agroecology, participatory action research, and food sovereignty with a six-credit master’s project that integrates ecological, social, and political dimensions of agroecology through applied, research, or community-engaged work.
“This is about taking seriously the idea that learning doesn’t only happen on campus,” says Colin Anderson, co-director of the IFA and research associate professor of UVM. “Our students are already embedded in food systems. The program is structured so their communities, workplaces, and questions become part of the classroom.”
Applications for the first cohort are due July 15, 2026.
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