MBA-Agribusiness

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
• 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. Assistantships include a stipend and graduate base-tuition waiver in return for work within the college. The tuition waiver is limited to eligible graduate course work. Awards are competitive and administered on a case-by-case basis.

GMAT/GRE**

Individuals seeking admission to the MBA in Agribusiness program may request a waiver of the GMAT/GRE requirement if they meet one of the following requirements:

• The applicant has a cumulative post-secondary GPA of 3.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) from an accredited or otherwise recognized institution of higher education.
• The application has successfully completed two or more post-secondary degrees (bachelor's level or higher).
• The applicant holds a terminal degree (e.g., PhD, EdD, MD, JD, etc.).
• The applicant has substantial post-baccalaureate professional work experience (typically a minimum of five (5) years), including demonstrated leadership ability.

Appropriate documentation (i.e. official transcript(s), resume) is required to be uploaded to the application file. It does not, however, guarantee a waiver. Applicants requesting an exam waiver are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and waiver approval is determined at the discretion of the MBA program coordinator and/or director.

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.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Core Courses		26-27
AGEC 711	Applied Risk Analysis I
AGEC 744	Agribusiness I: Agricultural Product Marketing and Agribusiness Strategy
AGEC 797S	Comprehensive Project (Comprehensive Project/Agribusiness Strategy (capstone; integrate learning from previous courses; write a paper/case) )
AGEC 790	Graduate Seminar
MBA 701	Strategic Cost Management
MBA 702	Advanced Financial Management
MBA 703	Advanced Organizational Behavior
MBA 704	Supply Chain and Operations Management
MBA 705	Strategic Marketing Management
MBA 706	Managing Information Resources
MBA 707	Microeconomics for Managers
or AGEC 741	Advanced Microeconomics
MBA 708	Advanced Strategic Management
Choose at least two courses from the approved elective list.		4-6
Finance/Risk
AGEC 646	Agribusiness Finance
AGEC 712	Applied Risk Analysis II
FIN 640	International Finance
Logistics/Supply Chain Management
TL 711	Integrated Supply Chain System
TL 721	Global Supply Chain Management
TL 723	Advanced Supply-Chain Planning Across the Enterprise
TL 731	Supply Chain Decision Analysis
TL 829	Supply Chain Risk Management
Marketing
AGEC 644	Advanced Commodity Trading
MRKT 634	Sales Management
MBA 721	Creating and Marketing Innovations
MBA 722	Marketing Analytics and Customer Intelligence
MBA 723	Digital Marketing
MBA 724	Integrated Marketing Communications
Quantitative Methods
AGEC 739	Analytical Methods for Applied Economics
ECON 610	Econometrics
ECON 710	Advanced Econometrics
MBA 751	Business Analytics Concepts
MBA 752	Business Analytics Strategy
MBA 753	Business Analytics Methods
Other Electives, including those listed above and:
AGEC 652	Food Laws & Regulations
AGEC 674	Cooperatives
AGEC 720	Food Safety Costs and Benefits Analysis
AGEC 725	Food Policy
AGEC 793	Individual Study/Tutorial
ECON 640	Game Theory and Strategy
ECON 672	International Trade
MBA 731	Leading and Managing Teams
MBA 732	Managerial Leadership: Essential Competencies
MBA 733	Management Decision Making
MBA 734	Negotiations
MBA 736	Managing Conflict in Organizations
600- or 700-level College of Business, or related area courses approved by the MBA program director.
Total Credits		30-33

Somnath Banerjee, Ph.D. 
University of Central Florida, 2015
Field: Marketing

David W. Bullock, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 1989
Field: Agricultural Economics

Linlin Chai, Ph.D. 
Iowa State University, 2016
Field: Marketing

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