Areas of specialization
- Natural resource and environmental economics
- Applied production economics
- International economics
- Applied market analysis
Curriculum and requirements
A minimum of 32 hours of course work is required with at least 18 hours in the major. A final oral exam is given by the advisory committee. Admission requirements for the Master of Agriculture are equivalent to those for the Master of Science degrees outlined in the AERS Graduate Handbook.
This non‐thesis option requires a “Plan B” paper that serves as the basis for the student’s final oral exam. Students pursuing the Master of Agriculture are typically not funded by the department but may seek funding directly from a faculty member.
Like the M.Ag. program, the Master of Science degree in agricultural economics offers studies in agribusiness management, production economics, markets and prices, environmental economics and more and helps students learn how to solve social and business problems through rigorous analysis and sound judgment. The M.S. can be either a thesis or non-thesis program offering studies in agricultural marketing, production economics, agricultural business, environmental economics and more. Like the M.Ag. program, the M.S. offers four areas of specialization:
Areas of specialization
- Natural resource and environmental economics
- Applied production economics
- International economics
- Applied market analysis
Curriculum and requirements
The Master of Science in agricultural economics requires a minimum of 30 total semester hours of graduate credit. The thesis option requires 6 hours of thesis research as part of the 30 total hours. The program of study will be planned in a field of interest, such as agricultural marketing, production economics, markets and prices, resources economics, environmental economics, agricultural finance, agricultural policy, international policy or farm management.
Candidates must pass a comprehensive examination covering the major field, as well as the research and thesis. This usually is a two‐hour oral examination upon completion of coursework and the thesis, but the student’s advisory committee also may require a written examination.
The graduate minor in agricultural economics is offered to non-majors and requires 12 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in agricultural economics, six of which must be at the 7000 level or above.
