Agricultural and Resource Economics Major

Program Director: Lars Olson, Ph.D.

Agricultural and Resource Economics majors complete a set of foundational courses in economics, analytics, and business statistics; specialized classes in one of three specializations: Environmental and Resource Economics, Agribusiness, or Agricultural and Resource Economics; and one or more fields from Business Management, Environmental and Resource Policy, Advanced Degree Preparation, International Agriculture, Farm Management and Entrepreneurship, and others. The program allows students flexibility to choose fields to fit their career interests. The curriculum includes courses in economic analysis, environmental economics, energy economics, agribusiness management, data science, economic development, and agricultural policy. The major balances breadth and depth, and a strong foundation for careers in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in economics, management, environmental or natural resource policy, agribusiness, and international agriculture. 

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the degree program, students should have acquired the following knowledge and skills:

  1. Disciplinary Foundation – AREC majors will demonstrate knowledge of economic principles, terms and concepts and their application to analysis of economic problems in agricultural, environmental and resource economics, including the economics of consumers, producers and markets.
    2.
  2. Critical and Analytical Thinking – AREC majors will demonstrate an ability to think critically about economic issues and to analyze and draw inferences from data.
    3.
  3. Understanding Economic Policy – AREC majors will demonstrate knowledge of laws, policies and institutional arrangements in agricultural, environmental and resource economics, their role in determining resource allocation, and how economics can inform policy design.
    4.
  4. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – AREC majors will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and consequences of differences in the distribution of agricultural, environmental and natural resources across diverse socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic groups.
Course Title Credits
Foundational Courses
ECON200Principles of Microeconomics3
ECON201Principles of Macroeconomics3
AREC326Intermediate Applied Microeconomics3
Statistics Requirement:3-6
BMGT230
Business Statistics
or ECON230
 Applied Economic Statistics
and
STAT100
Elementary Statistics and Probability
or MATH107
 Introduction to Math Modeling and Probability
or
STAT400
Applied Probability and Statistics I
MATH120Elementary Calculus I3
or MATH140 Calculus I
Specialization (from list below)24
Agribusiness
Agricultural and Resource Economics
Environmental and Resource Economics
Total Credits39-42

Specializations:

Agribusiness

Course Title Credits
Select five of the following courses: 15
AREC306
Farm Management and Sustainable Food Production
AREC382
Computer-Based Analysis in Agricultural and Resource Economics
AREC405
Economics of Production
AREC422
Econometric Analysis in Agricultural and Environmental Economics
AREC426
Economic Methods and Food Consumption Policy
AREC427
Commodity Pricing and Markets
AREC430
Introduction to Agricultural and Resource Law
AREC431
Agricultural Water Quality: Policy and Legal Issues
AREC433
Food and Agricultural Policy
AREC435
Commodity Futures and Options
AREC445
Agricultural Development, Population Growth and the Environment
AREC446
Sustainable Economic Development
AREC453
Natural Resources and Public Policy
AREC454
The Economics of Climate Change
AREC455
Economics of Land Use
AREC456
Energy and Environmental Economics
AREC481
Environmental Economics
AREC489
Special Topics in Agricultural and Resources Economics
Other upper-level AREC courses with permission of advisor.
Select three courses from one of the following fields:9
Business Management
Farm Management and Entrepreneurship
Student Designed Field
Total Credits24

Agricultural and Resource Economics

Course Title Credits
Select five of the following courses: 15
AREC306
Farm Management and Sustainable Food Production
AREC382
Computer-Based Analysis in Agricultural and Resource Economics
AREC405
Economics of Production
AREC422
Econometric Analysis in Agricultural and Environmental Economics
AREC426
Economic Methods and Food Consumption Policy
AREC427
Commodity Pricing and Markets
AREC430
Introduction to Agricultural and Resource Law
AREC431
Agricultural Water Quality: Policy and Legal Issues
AREC433
Food and Agricultural Policy
AREC435
Commodity Futures and Options
AREC445
Agricultural Development, Population Growth and the Environment
AREC446
Sustainable Economic Development
AREC453
Natural Resources and Public Policy
AREC454
The Economics of Climate Change
AREC455
Economics of Land Use
AREC456
Energy and Environmental Economics
AREC481
Environmental Economics
AREC489
Special Topics in Agricultural and Resources Economics
Other upper-level AREC courses with permission of advisor.
Select three courses from one of the following fields:9
Agriculture Science
Advanced Degree Preparation
Food Production
Political Process
Student Designed Field
Total Credits24

Environmental and Resource Economics

Course Title Credits
Select five of the following courses: 15
AREC382
Computer-Based Analysis in Agricultural and Resource Economics
AREC405
Economics of Production
AREC422
Econometric Analysis in Agricultural and Environmental Economics
AREC431
Agricultural Water Quality: Policy and Legal Issues
AREC445
Agricultural Development, Population Growth and the Environment
AREC446
Sustainable Economic Development
AREC453
Natural Resources and Public Policy
AREC454
The Economics of Climate Change
AREC455
Economics of Land Use
AREC456
Energy and Environmental Economics
AREC481
Environmental Economics
Other upper-level AREC courses with permission of advisor.
Select three courses from one of the following fields:9
Advanced Degree Preparation
Natural Science
Social Science
Total Credits24

Fields:

Advanced Degree Preparation

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
ECON407
Advanced Macroeconomics
ECON414
Game Theory
ECON415
Market Design
ECON422
Econometrics
ECON423
Advanced Topics in Econometrics
ECON425
Mathematical Economics
MATH141
Calculus II
MATH240
Introduction to Linear Algebra
MATH241
Calculus III
STAT401
Applied Probability and Statistics II
STAT410
Introduction to Probability Theory
STAT420
Theory and Methods of Statistics
STAT430
Introduction to Statistical Computing with SAS
Any other upper-level ECON/MATH/STAT course chosen in consultation with advisor.

Agricultural Science

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
ANSC101
Principles of Animal Science
AGRI SCI
Other courses in agricultural science, chosen in consultation with an advisor 1
1

Substitutions to the above listed courses may be made with the permission of advisor.

Business Management

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
BMGT340
Business Finance (BMGT340N) 1
BMGT350
Marketing Principles and Organization (BMGT350N)
BMGT364
Managing People and Organizations (BMGT364N)
BMGT380
Business Law I (BMGT380N)
1

Course has prerequisites that do not count toward major requirements.

Farm Management and Entrepreneurship

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
ENES140
Discovering New Ventures
ENES461
Advanced Entrepreneurial Opportunity Analysis in Technology Ventures
ENES471
Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship
INAG103
Agricultural Marketing
INAG201
Agricultural Human Resources Management
INAG204
Agricultural Business Management
INAG205
Analyzing Alternative Enterprises
BMGT289E
Entrepreneurial Thinking for Non-Business Majors: How Not to Miss Great Opportunities Your Life Throws at You
or ENES210
 Entrepreneurial Opportunity Analysis and Decision-Making in 21st Century Technology Ventures
or INAG102
 Agricultural Entrepreneurship

Food Production

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
PHYS121
Fundamentals of Physics I
BSCI170
& BSCI171
Principles of Molecular & Cellular Biology
and Principles of Molecular & Cellular Biology Laboratory
BSCI223
General Microbiology
NFSC100
Elements of Nutrition
NFSC112
Food: Science and Technology
NFSC430
Food Microbiology
NFSC431
Food Quality Control
Other courses related to food science can be substituted with permission of advisor

Natural Science

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
AOSC200
& AOSC201
Weather and Climate
and Weather and Climate Laboratory
BSCI160
& BSCI161
Principles of Ecology and Evolution
and Principles of Ecology and Evolution Lab
CHEM131
& CHEM132
Chemistry I - Fundamentals of General Chemistry
and General Chemistry I Laboratory
ENST200
Fundamentals of Soil Science
ENST214
Introduction to Fish and Wildlife Sciences
GEOG201
& GEOG211
Geography of Environmental Systems
and Geography of Environmental Systems Laboratory
PHYS121
& PHYS122
Fundamentals of Physics I
and Fundamentals of Physics II
Any higher-level lab science course

Political Process

Course Title Credits
GVPTAny three courses in government and politics, chosen with permission of the advisor.

Social Sciences

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
ANTH222
Introduction to Ecological and Evolutionary Anthropology
ANTH266
Changing Climate, Changing Cultures
ANTH305
Archaeological Methods and Practice
ANTH322
Method and Theory in Ecological Anthropology
GVPT273
Introduction to Environmental Politics
GVPT306
Global Environmental Politics
SOCY200
Human Societies
SOCY405
Scarcity and Modern Society
SOCY415
Environmental Sociology
PLCY301
Sustainability
or AGNR301
 Sustainability
Any higher-level social sciences course chose in consultation with advisor

Student Designed Field

Course Title Credits
This field requires a written proposal listing at least three courses totaling at least 9 credits. 19
Total Credits9
1

The proposal must be submitted to the Undergraduate Committee of the AREC department. Committee approval must be obtained 30 or more credit hours before graduation. A student designed field may be used to study a foreign language as part of the AREC curriculum.

Other Requirements for the Major

All courses must be passed with a grade of "C-" or better to count towards prerequisite courses, major core courses, or field requirements.  "C- or better" means any grade for which the University awards 1.7 or more quality points in calculating GPA.  Beginning with students matriculating Fall 2012, to be awarded a baccalaureate degree, students must have a minimum (2.00) cumulative grade point average across all courses used to satisfy major degree requirements.

Click here for roadmaps for four-year plans in the College of Agricultural and Natural Resources.

Additional information on developing a four-year academic plan can be found on the following pages: