SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Doris Turner’s (D-Springfield) effort to make agricultural sciences courses count toward Illinois university admissions requirements passed the Senate unanimously last week.

“The goal here is to highlight the importance of agricultural studies,” said Turner. “Our current curricula did not reflect that by excluding it from courses that count toward the three required years of sciences, and may have deterred some students from pursuing those studies.”

Currently, the minimum requirements to gain admission to state universities include the completion of at least 15 units of high school coursework in the following subjects: English, Social studies, Mathematics, (Laboratory) Sciences and electives in either foreign language, music, vocational education, or art.

Additionally, some colleges may accept agricultural science under the auspices of a science course but not all are doing so. This legislation will add some conformity to the available options.

“We want to encourage students to feel confident and passionate about their career choices especially when choosing a field that has such a substantial and diverse impact,” said Turner.