The Master of Agriculture degree is designed to provide the student with specific application skills. A major emphasis is placed on the use of current decision-aid tools used to solve problems routinely faced by decision makers. The Master of Agriculture degree in the Department of Agricultural Economics is a nonresearch degree. It does not prepare the student for advanced study at the Ph.D. level.
Students who are accepted for study in the Master of Agriculture program will be assigned an advisor. A three member committee, which includes the student's advisor, will assist the student in developing a plan of study which includes a minimum of 36 semester credit hours. The minimum requirement must include 6 hours of credit earned for a professional internship, and a minimum of 21 credit hours must be earned at the 5000 level or above. A written comprehensive exam is required of all Master of Agriculture degree candidates.
A student completing the Farm and Agribusiness Management Option will be prepared to pursue a broad range of professional careers which include or relate closely to production agriculture. These careers include (1) farm management, (2) agricultural loan officer, (3) area or county extension specialist, (4) farm business management instructor, and (5) agribusiness management, among others.
Three semester credit hours of statistical methods and 12 semester credit hours of courses in agricultural economics and economics, including intermediate microeconomic theory and agricultural business records, constitute a minimum background for advanced study in the Farm and Agribusiness Management Option. In certain cases, a part of this work may be taken after admission, but will not be counted toward the graduate degree.
The courses which constitute the core of the Farm and Agribusiness Management Option are: commodity futures markets, advanced farm, ranch and agribusiness management, and management techniques, and internship in farm and agribusiness management. The terms of the professional internship are determined by the student, the advisory committee and the sponsoring institution.
To complete the remaining courses required for the Farm and Agribusiness Management Option, the student and advisory committee must select 21 additional hours, of which 9 must be from courses in disciplines other than agricultural economics. The following is a list of suggested courses:
AGEC 3203
Agricultural Price Analysis
AGEC 3313
Agribusiness Management
AGEC 5423
Agribusiness Management
AGEC 4513
Farm Appraisal
AGEC 4703
American Agricultural Policy
AGEC 5113
Applications of Mathematical Programming
AGEC 5303
Agricultural Market Policy and Organization
AGEC 5403
Production Economics
AGED 3303
Leadership Skills for Agricultural Organizations
AGED 5123
Adult Programs in Agricultural and Extension Education
AGED 5752
Leadership in Agriculture
AGED 5823
Advanced Methods of Teaching Agriculture
PLNT 3213
Pasture Management and Forage Production
RLEM 3913
Principles of Rangeland Management
PLNT 4123
Crop Physiology
SOIL 4234
Soil Nutrient Management
ECON 3313
Money and Banking
FIN 4333
Financial Management
FIN 4443
Banking Strategies and Policies
FIN 5053
Theory and Practice of Financial Management
ACCT 5103
Financial Accounting and Analysis
LSB 4413
Law of Business Organizations
LSB 4633
Legal Aspects of International Business Transactions
The Master of Agriculture in Agribusiness degree is intended for students with a B.S. degree in a field other than agricultural economics such as animal science, agricultural communications, horticulture, or plant science. The program of study is more flexible than a typical MBA program and is directly related to agriculture. The Master of Agriculture degree is a non-research degree and does not prepare students for advanced study at the Ph.D. level. Students with a B.S. in agricultural economics or a related field or students who plan to pursue a Ph.D. should enroll under the Master of Science option.
Three alternatives exist for satisfying the Master of Agriculture requirements: (1) 32 credit hours, including two credit hours for a formal report, (2) 36 credit hours and a creative component, and (3) 36 credit hours including six hours for a professional internship. A minimum of 21 credit hours must be earned at the 5000 level or above.
The departmental requirements are that at least 12 credit hours must be in agricultural economics. Additional requirements are expected to be established by the student's three-member committee that includes the student's advisor. The committee is expected to establish a rigorous set of requirements. The set of courses will generally be expected to include AGEC 5423, AGEC 5603, MGMT 5113, STAT 4043, and ECON 5113.
The prerequisites include one course in statistics, a working knowledge of computers, and nine additional semester credit hours in agricultural economics and economics.
The Master of Agriculture in Agribusiness degree provides the economics and business training needed to enter a management position in agricultural or related industries. These include agricultural cooperatives, commodity merchandisers, banks, and farm consultants.
Example Plan of Study for the Master of Agriculture in Agribusiness Degree (internship option)
Fall:
STAT 5013
Statistics for Experimenters I
ECON 5113
Managerial Economics*
MGMT 5113
Management and Organization Theory
(Prerequisite course, if needed.)
Spring:
AGEC 5423
Agribusiness Management
AGEC 4333
Commodity Futures Markets
FIN 5053
Theory and Practice of Financial Management
STAT 4043
Applied Regression Analysis
Summer:
AGEC 5010
Professional Experience in Agricultural Economics (six credit hours)
Fall:
MKTG 5133
Marketing Management
AGEC 5303
Agricultural Market Policy and Organization
AGEC 5603
Advanced Agricultural Finance
*Students who have had calculus should take AGEC 5103 Mathematical Economics instead of ECON 5113. Students with no training in microeconomics should take ECON 3113 Intermediate Microeconomics instead of ECON 5113.
Other Recommendations: Students with no background in accounting should take ACCT 5103 Financial Accounting and Analysis. Students with strong skills in mathematics and statistics should take STAT 4043 in the fall instead of STAT 5013 and then take AGEC 5213 Econometric Methods in the spring.
