History

The Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jember (Faperta UNEJ) was established in 1961 under the Tawang Alun Foundation. In 1962, the University of Jember (UNEJ) became a public university under the administration of Universitas Airlangga. A year later, in 1963, the Faculty of Agriculture became a branch of the Faculty of Agriculture at Universitas Brawijaya. On November 9, 1964, based on Ministerial Decree No. 151/1964, the Faculty of Agriculture officially became part of the University of Jember, offering five academic departments: Agricultural Cultivation, Agricultural Socio-Economics, Soil Science, Agricultural Technology, and Plant Pests and Diseases.

The Plant Protection Study Program originated from the Plant Pests and Diseases Department, which was one of the main departments in the Faculty of Agriculture until 1997. That year, the Agricultural Technology Department was restructured into the Faculty of Agricultural Technology (as per Ministerial Decree No. 205/O/1997), leaving the Faculty of Agriculture with four departments, each offering a single study program: Agronomy, Agribusiness (formerly Agricultural Socio-Economics), Soil Science, and Plant Pests and Diseases.

In 2010, the Agrotechnology Study Program was introduced as a merger of three study programs: Agricultural Cultivation, Soil Science, and Plant Pests and Diseases, while the Agribusiness Study Program replaced the Agricultural Socio-Economics program. In 2015, the Directorate General of Higher Education (Dirjen Dikti) provided an opportunity to reactivate previously discontinued study programs. Following recommendations from the University of Jember Senate and the Indonesian Phytopathological Society, the Plant Pests and Diseases Department proposed reinstating the Plant Protection Study Program, which was approved through Ministerial Decree No. 324/KPT/I/2016.

The Plant Protection Study Program was officially reactivated in 2016 and began admitting students in the 2017/2018 academic year. As a continuation of the Plant Pests and Diseases program, it focuses on integrated pest and disease management, supporting sustainable agricultural development.