CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) – Southern Illinois University is creating new programs for students who want to know more about marijuana.

The school says that it’s creating programs at the Carbondale campus to study medical marijuana and industrial hemp. Officials hope the programs will give students and farmers a chance to earn a new certificate in the subject.

In joining the growing number of colleges around the country to offer courses related to marijuana, SIU’s interdisciplinary program in cannabis science will be a mixture of agriculture and plant biology with courses in subjects ranging from chemistry to business to engineering.

SIU researchers already have approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration to grow hemp. School leaders say they hope to begin planting next spring on a five-acre parcel of land.