Agricultural Economics
Agricultural Economics Major
Agricultural Economics applies economic principles to the use of private and public resources to provide a safe and affordable food supply, to produce renewable energies, to maintain a sustainable agricultural and natural resources base, and to manage natural and environmental resources for current and future generations.
Students majoring in Agricultural Economics may focus on management, marketing or finance in agriculture, food, and other bio-based systems. This major requires a broad background in the agricultural sciences, with courses from other departments in the College of Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources providing students the scientific basis for applying economic concepts in decision making. Students, with guidance from their academic adviser, have the opportunity to select courses that best fit their career objectives and personal interests. The Agricultural Economics major is ideally suited for students with career interest in production agriculture, farm and natural resource policy analysis, industries providing service to agriculture, rural economic development, and risk management.
Core requirements in the Agricultural Economics major include introductory courses in agricultural management, marketing and finance. Students may choose to take all of the advanced courses in the department, yet flexibility allows building a program based on a student's individual career goals.
Major Requirements
Major: Agricultural Economics
Degree Type: B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 128
General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree
- A dynamic list of approved general education courses offered by term is available on the NDSU General Education Requirements website.
- General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable. Students should carefully review the major, minor, and program emphases requirements for minimum grade restrictions, if applicable.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| First Year Experience (F) | 1 | |
| Skills For Academic Success (Also offered with the following prefixes: ABEN, AGRI, BUSN, HD&E, ME, NURS, PHRM) | ||
| Communication (C) | 12 | |
| College Composition I | ||
| College Composition II | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | ||
Upper Division Writing † | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning (R) † | 3 | |
| Science and Technology (S) † | 10 | |
| Humanities and Fine Arts (A) † | 6 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (B) † | 6 | |
| Wellness (W) † | 2 | |
| Cultural Diversity (D) *† | ||
| Global Perspectives (G) *† | ||
| Total Credits | 40 | |
| * | May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category. |
| † | May be satisfied with courses required in the major. Review major requirements to determine if a specific upper division writing course is required. |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses for Agricultural Economics | ||
| AGEC 242 | Introduction to Agricultural Management | 3 |
| AGEC 244 | Agricultural Marketing | 3 |
| AGEC 246 | Introduction to Agricultural Finance | 3 |
| AGEC 339 | Quantitative Methods & Decision Making | 3 |
| AGEC 375 | Applied Agricultural Law | 3 |
| or AGEC 484 | Agricultural Policy | |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Farm and Agribusiness Management II | ||
| Agricultural Price Analysis | ||
| Applied Risk Analysis | ||
| Agribusiness & Applied Economics Electives: A minimum of 9 credits of 300-400 AGEC or ECON electives | 9 | |
| Agriculture Science & Technology: | 9 | |
Complete nine (9) credits from two (2) areas in the College of AFSNR other than Agribusiness & Applied Economics. (Includes: ASM, ANSC, ABEN, CFS, ENT, MICR, NRM, PPTH, PLSC, RNG, SOIL & VETS.) EXCEPTION - All 9 credits may be in the same area if a student completes a minor from the College of AFSNR. | ||
| Capstone Experience: Select one of the following: 1 | 3 | |
| Integrated Farm and Ranch Management | ||
| Commodity Trading | ||
| Agribusiness Industrial Strategy | ||
| Agribusiness Finance | ||
| Support Area: | ||
| ECON 201 | Principles of Microeconomics (May satisfy general education category B) | 3 |
| ECON 202 | Principles of Macroeconomics (May satisfy general education category B) | 3 |
| ECON 341 | Intermediate Microeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 324 | Money and Banking | 3 |
| or ECON 343 | Intermediate Macroeconomics | |
| Select one of the following: | 3-6 | |
| Fundamentals of Accounting | ||
| Elements of Accounting I and Elements of Accounting II | ||
| Additional Requirements for Ag Econ | ||
| AGRI 150 | Agriculture Orientation (Students transferring in 24 or more credits do not need to take 150.) | 1 |
| CSCI 116 | Business Use of Computers (May satisfy general education category S) | 4 |
| Select one communication course from the following: | 3 | |
| Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Intercultural Communication (Gen Ed B/D) | ||
| Business and Professional Speaking | ||
| Small Group Communication | ||
| Organizational Communication I | ||
| MATH 144 | Mathematics for Business (or any higher math) | 4 |
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics (May satisfy general education category R) | 3 |
| STAT 331 | Regression Analysis | 2 or 3 |
| or ECON 410 | Econometrics | |
| Total Credits | 71-75 | |
| 1 | Students are advised to consider which capstone course they will take by the end of their second year. This planning allows time to complete the required prerequisites for the capstone prior to the senior year. |
Degree Requirements and Notes
- Students must earn, at least, a 2.00 cumulative GPA that is based on the courses that satisfy major requirements.
Plan of Study
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| AGRI 150 (not req if entering with over 24 cr) | 1 | ECON 201 | 3 |
| AGRI 189 (not req if entering with over 24 cr) | 1 | MATH 144 | 4 |
| MATH 103 (pre-req for Math 144) | 3 | ENGL 120 | 3 |
| ENGL 110 ( co-req Engl 100 writing lab) | 3 | Hum FA Elective | 3 |
| Wellness | 2-3 | Ag Sci Elective | 3 |
| Sci Tech Elective (with co-req lab) | 4 | ||
| 14-15 | 16 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| COMM 110 | 3 | AGEC 244 | 3 |
| AGEC 242 | 3 | AGEC 246 | 3 |
| ECON 202 | 3 | ECON 341 | 3 |
| CSCI 116 | 4 | Ag Sci Elective | 3 |
| Sci Tech Elective | 2 | Hum FA elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Junior | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| AGEC 339 | 3 | AGEC 344 or 346 (or 342 in Fall) | 3 |
| ECON 324 or 343 | 3 | ACCT 201 | 3 |
| ACCT 102 or 200 | 3 | AGEC 300/400 Elective | 3 |
| STAT 330 | 3 | 300 Level English | 3 |
| Upper Level Comm | 3 | Ag Sci Elective | 3 |
| STAT 331 | 2 | ||
| 15 | 17 | ||
| Senior | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| AGEC 375 (or AGEC 484 in Spring) | 3 | AGEC 300/400 Elective | 3 |
| AGEC 300/400 Elective | 3 | AGEC 420 or 445 (Capstone) | 3 |
| AGEC 444 or 446 (Capstone) | 3 | Free Electives | 12 |
| Free Electives | 9 | ||
| 18 | 18 | ||
| Total Credits: 128-129 | |||
