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Apple, Taylor

Directory Profile for Taylor Apple

Ph.D. Candidate
Email: 
Taylor Apple's Website

Education

Undergraduate Education
B.S. Agricultural Services and Development (Emphasis in Agricultural Communications), Tarleton State University
Graduate Education
M.S. Agricultural Communications, Oklahoma State University
Currently Pursuing - Ph.D. Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications, Texas A&M University

Areas of Expertise

  • Science Communication and Public Understanding of Agriculture
  • Agricultural Communication, Literacy, and Workforce Competencies
  • Media Framing and Agricultural Issues Communication
  • Emerging Media and Communication Technologies
  • Innovative Teaching and Pedagogy in Agricultural Communications

Professional Summary

Taylor Kennedy Apple is a digital communications specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications at Texas A&M University. Her professional and scholarly work centers on helping communicators make agricultural information understandable, relevant and useful for diverse public audiences while helping students and professionals feel competent and confident in the spaces they choose to occupy.

Before joining AgriLife, Apple served as a graduate teaching assistant and instructor of record at Texas A&M University and as an instructor of agricultural communications at Tarleton State University, a member of The Texas A&M University System. Across these roles, she has taught courses in agricultural communications, media writing, public relations, visual design, photography, scientific communication, podcasting, digital media, web design and internship preparation. Her teaching emphasizes experiential, project-based and reflective learning that connects communication theory to professional practice.

Apple’s research explores how agricultural communication education can better prepare students and professionals to communicate complex agricultural issues with clarity, credibility and context. Central to this work is agricultural literacy within agricultural communications, particularly identifying the competencies communicators need to interpret and translate agricultural topics effectively for diverse audiences across sectors. Her dissertation examines the agricultural knowledge and competencies needed to prepare agricultural communications graduates for the workforce.

She focuses on applied research that connects industry needs, curriculum development and communication practice. Her additional interests include science and risk communication, media framing, public engagement with agriculture, transformative learning and the responsible integration of emerging media and communication technologies, including generative artificial intelligence, into agricultural communication education.

Apple’s master’s thesis, Updating the Agricultural Communications Curriculum: A Modified Delphi Study, identified 108 competencies that agricultural communication industry professionals believe undergraduate students should possess upon graduation.