Michigan State University Turf Management B.S. Program In China: Pedagogical Challenges and Opportunities.

In 2003, Michigan State University signed a formal agreement with four Chinese agricultural universities to create a joint B.S. program in turfgrass management. Qualified program students are enrolled by MSU as off-campus transfer students beginning their junior year. Junior and senior students take MSU turf classes in China and perform an internship in the U.S. in the Fall semester of their senior year. During the 2009-10 academic year 13 MSU faculty members traveled to China to teach full-semester courses in two-week periods. Including Fall 2010 semester, 184 Chinese students have traveled to the U.S. for internships. Program students typically complete golf course internships, but students interested in graduate study complete university-based research internships. The MSU-China Turf Program is preparing the first generation of native Chinese turfgrass managers and golf course superintendents for a rapidly growing industry in China. Pedagogical challenges, curriculum, schedules, and internship opportunities and difficulties, will be discussed.