MBA-Agribusiness
This is an archived copy of the 2020-21 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://bulletin.ndsu.edu.
Program Description
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Agribusiness program at North Dakota State University is a non-thesis, professional program designed to meet the educational needs of current and future agribusiness leaders. The program carves a niche at the intersection of business and agriculture, drawing on the resources and expertise of both the College of Business and the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics. It accommodates full- and part-time students, including working professionals, and focuses on preparing managers of agribusiness firms to make decisions that consider factors unique to agribusiness. Examples may include:
- production volatility caused by weather, pests, and biology;
- logistics disruptions;
- seasonality in production and consumption;
- long investment and production cycles;
- and linkages with the government, financial institutions, and other organizations.
In addition to these industry-specific topics, the program also provides a solid background in business, emphasizing the practicalities of managing agribusiness organizations. Graduates of the program can expect to gain high quality general business management skills along with in-depth knowledge of agribusiness and agricultural industries.
Financial Assistance
The College of Business and the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics offer financial assistance through a limited number of graduate assistantships and scholarships. Applicants must be admitted on a conditional or full-standing basis to be considered for either an assistantship or scholarship. Assistantships include a stipend and tuition waiver for NDSU's base graduate tuition in return for work within the college. The tuition waiver is limited to graduate course work. Awards are competitive and administered on a case-by-case basis.
GMAT/GRE**
Individuals seeking admission to the MBA in Agribusiness may request a waiver of the GMAT/GRE requirement if they meet one of the following requirements:
- The applicant holds a terminal degree (e.g., PhD, MD, JD).
- The applicant has a minimum of five (5) years of recent, post-bachelor’s, full-time, professional work experience, including managerial responsibilities.
Appropriate documentation (i.e. official transcript, resume) is required to be uploaded to the application file. It does not, however, guarantee a waiver. Applicants are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and waiver approval is determined at the discretion of the program’s administration.
The program will consist of 26-27 credits of core courses, with two elective courses (4-6 credits) for a total of 30-33 total credits.
Core courses of the MBA in Agribusiness (26-27 credits):
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| AGEC 711 | Applied Risk Analysis I | 3 |
| AGEC 744 | Agribusiness I: Agricultural Product Marketing and Agribusiness Strategy | 3 |
| AGEC 797S | (Comprehensive Project/Agribusiness Strategy (capstone; integrate learning from previous courses; write a paper/case) ) | 2 |
| AGEC 790 | Graduate Seminar | 2 |
| MBA 701 | Strategic Cost Management | 2 |
| MBA 702 | Advanced Financial Management | 2 |
| MBA 703 | Advanced Organizational Behavior | 2 |
| MBA 704 | Supply Chain and Operations Management | 2 |
| MBA 705 | Strategic Marketing Management | 2 |
| MBA 706 | Managing Information Resources | 2 |
| MBA 707 | Microeconomics for Managers | 2 |
| or AGEC 741 | Advanced Microeconomics | |
| MBA 708 | Advanced Strategic Management | 2 |
| Students must take at least two elective courses (4-6 credits). The approved elective courses are shown below: | ||
| Finance/Risk | ||
| AGEC 646 | Agribusiness Finance | 3 |
| AGEC 712 | Applied Risk Analysis II | 3 |
| FIN 640 | International Finance | 3 |
| MBA 711 | Advanced Investment Analysis | 2 |
| MBA 712 | Advanced Portfolio Management | 2 |
| MBA 713 | Financial Derivatives | 2 |
| MBA 714 | Financial Analysis and Valuation | 2 |
| Logistics/Supply Chain Management | ||
| TL 711 | Logistics Systems | 3 |
| TL 721 | International Logistics Management | 3 |
| TL 723 | Advanced Supply-Chain Planning Across the Enterprise | 3 |
| TL 731 | Logistics Decision Analysis | 3 |
| TL 829 | Supply Chain Risk Management | 3 |
| Marketing | ||
| AGEC 644 | Advanced Commodity Trading | 3 |
| MRKT 634 | Sales Management | 3 |
| MBA 721 | Creating and Marketing Innovations | 2 |
| MBA 722 | Marketing Analytics and Customer Intelligence | 2 |
| MBA 723 | Digital Marketing | 2 |
| MBA 724 | Integrated Marketing Communications | 2 |
| Quantitative Methods | ||
| AGEC 739 | Analytical Methods for Applied Economics | 3 |
| ECON 610 | Econometrics | 3 |
| ECON 710 | Advanced Econometrics | 3 |
| MBA 751 | Business Analytics Concepts | 2 |
| MBA 752 | Business Analytics Strategy | 2 |
| MBA 753 | Business Analytics Methods | 2 |
| Other Electives, including those listed above and: | ||
| AGEC 652 | Food Laws & Regulations | 3 |
| AGEC 674 | Cooperatives | 3 |
| AGEC 720 | Food Safety Costs and Benefits Analysis | 3 |
| AGEC 725 | Food Policy | 3 |
| AGEC 793 | Individual Study/Tutorial | 1-5 |
| ECON 640 | Game Theory and Strategy | 3 |
| ECON 672 | International Trade | 3 |
| MBA 731 | Leading and Managing Teams | 2 |
| MBA 732 | Managerial Leadership: Essential Competencies | 2 |
| MBA 733 | Management Decision Making | 2 |
| MBA 734 | Negotiations and Alternative Dispute Resolution | 2 |
| Or other 600- or 700-level courses in the College of Business, or a related area, taught by graduate faculty, and approved by the MBA Program Director and the NDSU Graduate School. | ||
Somnath Banerjee, Ph.D.
University of Central Florida, 2015
Field: Marketing
Paul Brown, MBA, CPA
North Dakota State University, 1989
David W. Bullock, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 1989
Field: Agricultural Economics
Linlin Chai, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 2016
Field: Marketing
Jeffrey (Jun) Chen, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2014
Field: Accounting & Information Systems
Rajani Ganesh-Pillai, Ph.D.
University of Central Florida, 2009
Field: Marketing
Robert Hearne, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 1995
Field: Agricultural and Applied Economics
Jeremy Jackson, Ph.D.
Washington University in St. Louis, 2008
Field: Economics
Joseph M. Jones, Ph.D.
University of Missouri-Columbia, 1991
Field: Marketing
Derek Lehmberg, Ph.D.
University of Western Ontario, 2010
Field: Strategic Management
Siew Lim, Ph.D.
University of Georgia, 2005
Field:Economics
Joshua Marineau, Ph.D.
University of Kentucky, Lexington, 2012
Field: Organizational Behavior
Frayne Olson, Ph.D.
University of Missouri, 2007
Agricultural Economics
Supavich Pengnate, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University, 2013
Field: Management Information Systems
Tim O. Peterson, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University at College Station, 1988
Field: Management/Organizational Behavior
Xudong Rao, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 2015
Field: Applied Economics
Frederick Riggins, Ph.D.
Carnegie Mellon University, 1994
Field: Management Information Systems
Saleem Shaik, Ph.D.
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 1998
Field: Agricultural Economics
Tom Wahl, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 1989
Field: Agricultural Economics
William W. Wilson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor
University of Manitoba, 1980
Field: Agricultural Economics
Lei Zhang, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Dallas, 2011
Field: Economics
Limin Zhang, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, 2005
Field: Management Information Systems
Emeritus
Bahman Bahrami, Ph.D.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1983
Field: Managerial Economics, Management Information Systems, Labor Relations and Negotiation
C. Frederick Eisele, Ph.D.
University of Iowa, 1971
Field: Labor Management and Negotiation
Karen Froelich, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 1994
Field: Strategic Management
Terry W. Knoepfle, J.D., CPA
University of North Dakota, 1981
Field: Business Law and Tax Accounting