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; specialize in one of three tracks: Environmental and Resource Economics, Agribusiness, or Agricultural and Resource Economics; and take a complementary field from Business Management, Environmental Data Science, Agricultural Management and Entrepreneurship, Ag Food and Natural Resources Systems, Environmental and Resource Management and Policy, Sustainable Development or Advanced Degree Preparation. The curriculum includes courses in economic analysis, energy economics, agribusiness management, data science, environmental economics, economic development, and natural resource policy. The major provides a strong foundation for careers in the private, public and non-profit sectors in business, economics, agriculture, management, environmental or natural resource policy, and sustainable development. Well qualified students may also choose to pursue an advanced degree in applied economics, business, statistics or law.

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. 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. 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. 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
or AREC240 Introduction to Economics and the Environment
or AREC250 Elements of Agricultural and Resource Economics
ECON201Principles of Macroeconomics3
AREC326Intermediate Applied Microeconomics3
Statistics Requirement:3-6
Business Statistics
Applied Economic Statistics
and
Elementary Statistics and Probability
Introduction to Math Modeling and Probability
or
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
Farm Management and Sustainable Food Production
Data Science for Environmental and Resource Economics
Economics of Production
Econometric Analysis in Agricultural and Environmental Economics
Economic Methods and Food Consumption Policy
Commodity Pricing and Markets
Introduction to Agricultural and Resource Law
Agricultural Water Quality: Policy and Legal Issues
Food and Agricultural Policy
Commodity Futures and Options
The Economy of China
Economics of Land Use
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
Agricultural Management and Entrepreneurship
Student Designed Field
Total Credits24

Agricultural and Resource Economics

Course Title Credits
Select five of the following courses: 15
Farm Management and Sustainable Food Production
Data Science for Environmental and Resource Economics
Economics of Production
Econometric Analysis in Agricultural and Environmental Economics
Economic Methods and Food Consumption Policy
Commodity Pricing and Markets
Introduction to Agricultural and Resource Law
Agricultural Water Quality: Policy and Legal Issues
Food and Agricultural Policy
Commodity Futures and Options
Agricultural Development, Population Growth and the Environment
Sustainable Economic Development
The Economy of China
Natural Resources and Public Policy
The Economics of Climate Change
Economics of Land Use
Energy and Environmental Economics
Transportation Engineering, Economics, and Policy
Environmental Economics
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
Advanced Degree Preparation
Agricultural, Food and Natural Resource Systems
Global Hunger, Poverty and Sustainable Development
Student Designed Field
Total Credits24

Environmental and Resource Economics

Course Title Credits
Select five of the following courses: 15
Data Science for Environmental and Resource Economics
Economics of Production
Econometric Analysis in Agricultural and Environmental Economics
Agricultural Water Quality: Policy and Legal Issues
Agricultural Development, Population Growth and the Environment
Sustainable Economic Development
Natural Resources and Public Policy
The Economics of Climate Change
Economics of Land Use
Energy and Environmental Economics
Transportation Engineering, Economics, and Policy
Environmental Economics
Other upper-level AREC courses with permission of advisor.
Select three courses from one of the following fields:9
Advanced Degree Preparation
Environmental Data Science
Environmental and Resource Management and Policy
Student Designed Field
Total Credits24

Fields:

Advanced Degree Preparation

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
Advanced Microeconomics
Game Theory
Market Design
Econometrics
Advanced Topics in Econometrics
Calculus II
Introduction to Linear Algebra
Calculus III
Applied Probability and Statistics II
Theory and Methods of Statistics
Introduction to Statistical Computing with SAS
Any other upper-level ECON/MATH/STAT course chosen in consultation with advisor.

Agricultural, Food and Natural Resource Systems

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
The Food Chain: What Happens As Your Food Goes From Farm to Table
Principles of Animal Science
Eating with Eyes Wide Open
Fire, Farming and Climate Change: An Archaeology Take on the History of Human Impacts on our Planet
Nutritional Anthropology
Sustainable Agriculture
Culture and Natural Resource Management
Appetite for Change: Politics and the Globalization of Food
Elements of Nutrition
Introductory Crop Science
Feeding Ten Billion by 2050: Food Security and Crop Protection
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:
Business Finance (BMGT340N) 1
Marketing Principles and Organization (BMGT350N)
Managing People and Organizations (BMGT364N)
Business Law I (BMGT380N)
1

Course has prerequisites that do not count toward major requirements.

Agricultural Management and Entrepreneurship

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

Global Hunger, Poverty and Sustainable Development

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
The Science of Gender in Economics and Development
Global Poverty and Economic Development
World Hunger, Population, and Food Supplies
Agricultural Development, Population Growth and the Environment Course may not double count toward upper level specialization requirements
Poverty and African American Children
Sustainability
Anthropology and Development
Poor in America: Health and Wellbeing
Globalization's Winners and Losers

Environmental Data Science

Course Title Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
Harvesting Big Data to Examine Agriculture and Climate Change
Data Science for Environmental and Resource Economics Course may not double count toward upper level specialization requirements
Econometric Analysis in Agricultural and Environmental Economics Course may not double count toward upper level specialization requirements
FIRE Semester 3
Scientific Programming: Python
Principles of Python Programming and Geocomputing
Introduction to Earth Observation Science
Geographic Information Systems
Machine Learning in Earth Science

Environmental and Resource Management and Policy

Course Title Credits
The Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem: Intersection of Science, Economics, and Policy
Sustainability
Fire, Farming and Climate Change: An Archaeology Take on the History of Human Impacts on our Planet
Changing Climate, Changing Cultures
Introduction to the Blue Ocean
Invasive Species Ecology
Water Management in Urban Environment
Energy and Environmental Policy
Economic Geography

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 graduation plans in the College of Agricultural and Natural Resources.

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