Agriculture Specialist

(1) Admission. An institution that operates a program for the Agriculture Specialist Instruction Credential shall determine, prior to admitting the candidate into the program, that the candidate either (1) possesses a single subject teaching credential in agriculture, or (2) is enrolled in a preparation program leading to a single subject teaching credential in agriculture concurrently with enrollment in the program leading to the Agriculture Specialist Instruction Credential.

(2) Prerequisite Credential. An institution that operates a program for the Agriculture Specialist Instruction Credential shall determine, prior to recommending the candidate for the credential, that the candidate possesses a valid single subject teaching credential in agriculture. If the candidate completes both the single subject and agriculture specialist instruction programs concurrently, the institution may recommend the candidate for both credentials concurrently.

(3) Area of Specialization. An institution that operates a program for the Agriculture Specialist Instruction Credential shall determine, prior to recommending the candidate for the credential, that the candidate has demonstrated advanced knowledge in one of the following domains in agriculture: animal science; plant and soil science; ornamental horticulture; agricultural business management; environmental science and natural resource management; or agricultural systems technology. This advanced knowledge must be demonstrated through one of the following means: (1) possession of a baccalaureate degree with a major in one of the six domains listed above or in a field closely related to one of those domains; (2) verification of subject matter competence as required for the single subject credential in agriculture, plus a minimum of nine semester units or twelve quarter units of college coursework in one of the domains listed above; or, (3) verification of subject matter competence as required for the single subject credential in agriculture, plus 1,000 hours of occupational experience in one of the domains listed above. (Occupational experience accrued to meet this requirement also applies to the occupational experience precondition defined below.)

(4) Occupational Experience. An institution that operates a program for the Agriculture Specialist Instruction Credential shall determine, prior to recommending the candidate for the credential, that the candidate has completed occupational experience in agriculture that consists of one of one of the following:

  • A minimum of 2,000 hours of either paid or voluntary experience, the entirety of which must be completed after graduation from high school; or, Agriculture Specialist 1 Preconditions
  • A minimum of 3,000 hours of either paid or voluntary experience, of which a maximum of 1,500 hours may be accrued prior to graduation from high school.
Updated March 16, 2023