In a period of change surrounding the future of soil science education in the United States, the Department of Geoscience (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) has developed within the a new degree emphasis in Soil Science at the M.S. and Ph.D. level. This emphasis has been developed to: (1) meet the needs of employers who desire students with skills and knowledge in the area of soil science (applied to many fields); (2) meet the needs and interests of a multi-disciplinary faculty; (3) support multi-disciplinary collaboration at UNLV. While course work has been designed to not only meet traditional NRCS soil scientist job requirements, it is also designed to prepare students for positions with consulting and geotechnical firms, and a host of federal, state and other private agencies. We examine the process to the create the emphasis, the effectiveness of the emphasis in training students as soil scientists, and the research and education opportunities that have developed for all involved.