Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics

The student must acquire (a) competence in economics by completing 9 credits of Ph.D. level courses in economic theory and (b) 9 credits in a major field in one of the five fields within agricultural, food and resource economics referenced above; Pass written comprehensive examinations in economics no later than the end of the second year and in the student’s chosen major field by the end of the third year; Complete (a) 6 credits in a minor field in agricultural, food and resource economics outside the major field, and (b) 6 credits in a second minor field that may be outside the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics; Acquire competence in quantitative methods by taking specified courses in mathematics for economists (3 credits), probability and statistics (3 credits), econometrics (3 credits) and one other quantitative methods course (3 credits). A grade of 3.0 must be achieved in each course; Complete one graduate course (3 credits) in research methodology; Complete 24 credits of dissertation research, present and obtain formal approval for the proposed dissertation research, present the results of the research at the outset of the final oral examination, and prepare a research paper suitable for submission to a professional journal; The student’s dissertation research forms a part of the department’s research program and contributes to it. Dissertation research may be conducted overseas in conjunction with university projects or with the support of other research grants. A detailed description of master’s and doctoral program requirements and a timetable for completing them are included in the Graduate Education Policies document of the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.