FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Paula Johnson, a senior transfer student from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and a student in the Poultry Science Department at the University of Arkansas, recently became the first student presented with a 3-plus-1 Certificate of Poultry Science. The Certificate program is available to UAPB seniors from the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

The 3-plus-1 Certificate of Poultry Science program is a collaboration allowing agriculture majors with an animal science option at UAPB to take poultry science classes at the University of Arkansas as seniors. The courses are recognized by UAPB's School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences and count toward degree requirements. At the same time, students earn a Poultry Science Undergraduate Certificate of Poultry Science from the University of Arkansas. Completion of the certificate requires 26 to 28 hours of poultry science credit.

"I met Paula three years ago when she was a freshman at UAPB," said Michael Kidd, Poultry Science Department head. "At that time we were preparing the agreement for a 3-plus-1 program between University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with a certificate in poultry science. Paula is finishing her year with us and has successfully completed the requirements for the certificate. We look forward to tracking her career progress."

Johnson is a native of Pine Bluff. Her parents are Paul and Lyna Johnson. She is a 2012 Honors graduate of Pine Bluff High School. Johnson will graduate from UAPB on May 7 with a bachelor of science degree in agriculture-animal science. After graduation she plans to gain more knowledge and experience about the poultry industry by attending graduate school at the University of Arkansas in the fall.

Any student seeking to participate in the 3-plus-1 Certificate of Poultry Science program may contact Patrice Sims, administrative manager for the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, at patrices@uark.edu.