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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.
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 Credits40

Major Requirements

Core Courses for Agricultural Economics
AGEC 242Introduction to Agricultural Management3
AGEC 244Agricultural Marketing3
AGEC 246Introduction to Agricultural Finance3
AGEC 339Quantitative Methods & Decision Making3
AGEC 375Applied Agricultural Law3
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 electives9
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: 13
Integrated Farm and Ranch Management
Commodity Trading
Agribusiness Industrial Strategy
Agribusiness Finance
Support Area:
ECON 201Principles of Microeconomics (May satisfy general education category B)3
ECON 202Principles of Macroeconomics (May satisfy general education category B)3
ECON 341Intermediate Microeconomics3
ECON 324Money and Banking3
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 150Agriculture Orientation (Students transferring in 24 or more credits do not need to take 150.)1
CSCI 116Business 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 144Mathematics for Business (or any higher math)4
STAT 330Introductory Statistics (May satisfy general education category R)3
STAT 331Regression Analysis2 or 3
or ECON 410 Econometrics
Total Credits71-75
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
FallCreditsSpringCredits
AGRI 150 (not req if entering with over 24 cr)1ECON 2013
AGRI 189 (not req if entering with over 24 cr)1MATH 1444
MATH 103 (pre-req for Math 144)3ENGL 1203
ENGL 110 ( co-req Engl 100 writing lab)3Hum FA Elective3
Wellness2-3Ag Sci Elective3
Sci Tech Elective (with co-req lab)4 
 14-15 16
Sophomore
FallCreditsSpringCredits
COMM 1103AGEC 2443
AGEC 2423AGEC 2463
ECON 2023ECON 3413
CSCI 1164Ag Sci Elective3
Sci Tech Elective2Hum FA elective3
 15 15
Junior
FallCreditsSpringCredits
AGEC 3393AGEC 344 or 346 (or 342 in Fall)3
ECON 324 or 3433ACCT 2013
ACCT 102 or 2003AGEC 300/400 Elective3
STAT 3303300 Level English3
Upper Level Comm3Ag Sci Elective3
 STAT 3312
 15 17
Senior
FallCreditsSpringCredits
AGEC 375 (or AGEC 484 in Spring)3AGEC 300/400 Elective3
AGEC 300/400 Elective3AGEC 420 or 445 (Capstone)3
AGEC 444 or 446 (Capstone)3Free Electives12
Free Electives9 
 18 18
Total Credits: 128-129