美国草原本科教育的现状与特征

本研究基于美国草原管理学会（Society for Range Management，SRM）及美国高校网站，对美国草原本科专业开设状况、专业主页简介、人才培养方案等信息进行检索与分析，得到美国草原本科教育的现状与特征。结果表明：美国目前共有21所大学开办草原本科专业，另有17所大学开设草原学课程，其布局特征基本与美国草原地理分布相吻合；各高校的草原专业培养方案根据定位与特色具有较大差异，呈现多样性特点；草原专业的设立凸显了美国对草原资源重要性的认知，本科毕业生也普遍具有较好的就业渠道与职业发展前景。总体而言，美国草原本科的概念和内涵要远远小于我国的“草业科学”，更聚焦于对草原资源管理方向的人才培养，不涉及草坪学与饲草学。

Status and Characteristics of Range Science Undergraduate Programs in the United States

Information of American universities that currently offer Range Science Undergraduate Degree is extremely limited. In this study,we investigated and summarized the current curriculum design,major concentration,graduate retention,and job placement rate of all accredited Range Science Programs in the United States using the online database of the Society for Range Management and other information sources (e.g. institution website,social media,etc.). Currently,21 universities in the United States offer Range Science undergraduate degrees,and the other 17 only offer Range Science courses. The geospatial distribution of these programs correlates well with the distribution of major grassland areas in the United States. Degree plan in each university is different from each another,which is mainly based on concentration/focus of each Range Science Program. Many universities offering Range Science Degrees highlights the importance of enhancing students' understanding on the ecological benefits and social contribution of rangeland resources. Employment opportunities for Range Science Majors are generally broad. In general,the definition and scope of Range Science Major in the United States is narrower than the Prataculture Major in China,which encompasses turf science,forage science,and natural resource management.