College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology

USDA AMS Assistantship


What does the Assistantship provide?
 The AMS Student Assistantship Program at CSU Fresno will provide students with a full-time assistantship covering up to $14,934 of their educational expenses for up to four academic years. The program would cover student tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and transportation and closely associated personal expenses each year during the normal course of study towards a bachelor’s degree. Renewal of each annual assistantship is contingent upon passing grades and normal progress towards the bachelor’s degree. AMS will assist the student with their selection of courses to better qualify them for careers in agriculture, food, natural resource sciences or other related fields. AMS will also make internship opportunities available for students to reinforce the on-campus learning experience.

Student Opportunities & Obligations
Upon completion of the participant’s academic degree program, there is an obligation of 1 year of service with AMS for each year of financial support, with a maximum of a 2-year work obligation. However, employment with the AMS is contingent upon the student meeting certain hiring requirements and demonstrating satisfactory job performance.

Eligibility Requirements
Applicants should:

  • Be a U.S. Citizen
  • Be an entering or current student in good standing at CSU Fresno
  • Hold a high school diploma or G.E.D. certificate
  • Overall grade point average of 2.75 or above (on 4.0 scale)
  • Have a combined verbal/math score of 1,500 or more on the SAT or a composite score of 21 or more on the ACT (Only applies to students entering directly from high school).
  • Be enrolled in a course of study in agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, or other related fields at CSU Fresno. Acceptable disciplines are: Agricultural Business, Agricultural Education, Animal Science, Biological Science, Botany, Enology, Family & Consumer Science, Food Sciences and Nutrition Sciences, Plant Science, or Viticulture
  • Demonstrate leadership and community service.
  • Elements of the above listings of eligibility requirements may be waived in certain circumstances at the discretion of CSU Fresno and the USDA’s AMS.

How to Apply
Students interested in applying for the AMS Student Assistantship Program can submit an online application. If you would like to submit an application please click on the following link to access the application: Click here for AMS Application

Need more information?
For more information about the Agricultural Marketing Service refer their website at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/

For information regarding the assistantship program or CSU Fresno you can contact:

Dr. Charles Boyer, Dean
College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
2415 E. San Ramon M/S AS 79
Fresno, CA 93740
Phone: 559-278-2061
Fax: 559-278-4496
E-mail: cboyer@csufresno.edu