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University teaching in the field of agriculture began formally in Puerto Rico in 1911 with the establishment of the College of Agriculture at Mayagüez. Graduate instruction in agricultural sciences began in 1963-64 with the approval of the Master of Science degrees in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Education, Agricultural Extension, Horticulture, Animal Science, Agronomy and Soils Science, through Certification No. 8 of the Council on Higher Education. A program leading to the M. S. in Crop Protection was approved in 1981-82, and in Food Science and Technology in 1990-91.

The Agricultural Experiment Station was originally established in 1910 as a private entity of the Sugar Producers’ Association of Puerto Rico. In 1914 it was transferred to the Government of Puerto Rico. With the Jones Act of 1917, the Agency became part of the Department of Agriculture and Labor and it was given the name “Insular Experiment Station”. In 1933, and in accordance with Joint Resolution No. 3 of the Legislature of Puerto Rico, the Experiment Station was transferred to the University of Puerto Rico.

The Agricultural Extension Service, established in Puerto Rico in 1934, was made possible by an understanding between the United States Department of Agriculture and the University of Puerto Rico.

The College of Agricultural Sciences was created in accordance with Public Law No. 1, approved on January 20, 1966, known as the University Law, and Certification No. 13 of the Council of Higher Education, dated September 11, 1968, integrating within the Mayagüez Campus the formal teaching, research, and extension in agricultural sciences. A management team, composed of the Dean and Director of the College of Agricultural Sciences, the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, the Associate Dean and Deputy Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Associate Dean and Deputy Director of the Agricultural Extension Service, provides direction for the plans and programs of the College, in accordance with Certification No. 174 of the Council of Higher Education, dated September 24, 1980.

The Office of International Programs adds a dimension of hemispheric cooperation to the College of Agricultural Sciences. Through this office, the College coordinates short course offerings to international participants and trainees; facilitates short term technical assistance to institutions in developing nations; sponsors international graduate student programs; and provides logistic support for faculty exchange and internship programs in tropical agriculture.

The Mayagüez Campus is one of two Land-Grant universities in the tropics and the only one where Spanish is the native language (although the English language is also used extensively). The Campus provides a unique setting and, to some extent, is in a privileged position to serve as an international center for studies, training, and research in the fields of agricultural sciences. At the Graduate level, the Faculty of Agriculture offers study programs leading to the Master of Science degree in Animal Industry, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Education, Agricultural Extension, Agronomy, Soils, Crop Protection, Food Science and Technology, and Horticulture.

Besides the library, laboratories, and farm facilities for research at the Mayagüez Research Center, facilities are also available at the Río Piedras Research Center and at the six substations located at different geographic regions of Puerto Rico. The USDA Tropical Agriculture Research Station (TARS), adjacent to the Mayagüez Campus, offers technical assistance and makes available to the graduate students its Library and other physical facilities for research.