Strengths of the Graduate Program

International focus and opportunities for overseas field research

• The department is well known for its large and active international program, a tradition which began in the 1960s. Our current five major international projects provide unparalleled opportunities for graduate students to be involved on a wide range of development issues, from technology development and transfer, to food security, agribusiness, trade and development, institutions and policies for improved market performance, environmental sustainability and development, and many others.
• The primary geographical emphasis of these projects currently is Africa and Latin America, but opportunities exist for work in Asia and elsewhere.
• Graduate students, both M.S. and Ph.D., contribute to these projects through both short- and long-term overseas assignments, and data analysis and report writing on campus.
• MSU's reputation as an internationalist university, and the prominence of the Department's long-standing international program, are illustrated by the major role we are playing in the Partnership for Cutting Hunger in Africa. Launched in 2001, this public and private sector activity, of which MSU's President Peter McPherson is a Co-Chair, aims to develop a new long-term strategy for U.S. efforts to cut hunger and poverty in Africa. The Partnership's activities to date have provided nearly a dozen Agricultural Economics graduate students with a unique opportunity to witness and contribute to high-level policy dialogue on international development issues.

Full financial support for most students

Typically at least 90% of graduate students receive full funding either through a departmental half-time graduate assistantship, or through outside scholarships or fellowships (e.g., foreign government funding, Rockefeller or Kellogg Foundation scholarships, Fulbright program funding, etc.). For example, in early 2001, out of a total of 68 students, 50 had departmental assistantships, 12 had outside scholarships, and 6 (less than 10%) were unfunded. Of that six, five were not actively working to complete their degrees.

Diverse student group with excellent student organization and tradition of working together

• Of the approximately 70 students currently enrolled, 48 percent are master's students, 38 percent are women, 65 percent are international students (representing 28 countries), and 2 are ethnic minorities.
• The Graduate Student Organization is active in representing the interests of students, and putting on informal seminars and social activities that promote interaction among students and between students and faculty.
• Graduate students play a major role in contributing to departmental policy and governance. This includes participation on department committees dealing with graduate program policy, computer and reference services, orientation, and recruitment of new faculty.
• Students have a long tradition of working together. Study groups are common both for working on class assignments and studying for comprehensive examinations.

Diverse and outstanding faculty

The department is fortunate to have a philosophically diverse and outstanding faculty. This diversity provides graduate students with an unusually broad set of economic perspectives and tools for solving applied problems in agricultural and natural resource economics. For example, the faculty include a strong group of institutional economists, including University Distinguished Professor A. Alan Schmid. Incorporation of the concepts and approaches of institutional economics into mainstream economics has been growing rapidly, particularly in the field of development economics. Institutional economics is also relevant to the study of contracting, strategic alliances, and other institutions used by firms in the increasingly vertically integrated agribusiness and food industry sectors.Other faculty members bring expertise in areas such as business management and social capital.

Excellent facilities for students

• Graduate students receive free e-mail and Internet access.
• The graduate student computer room in Room 403 Agriculture Hall houses 16 late-model computers with a variety of software to support classroom and research work, as well as providing access to laser printers, e-mail, and the Internet. Three full-time staff provide computer support to graduate students as well as department faculty and staff.
• Graduate student offices and study areas are located in Cook Hall just next to Agriculture Hall. These facilities were extensively renovated in 1998, and offer excellent office and study room space, as well as a kitchen and lunchroom. All desks have Ethernet connections for high-speed Internet access.
• The Elton R. Smith Conference Room located in 219A Agriculture Hall contains bound copies of most MSU Ph.D. dissertations and Plan A master's theses in agricultural economics since about 1975, and most Plan B papers starting from 2003. The Cook Hall Reading Room in Room 100 contains reference books, current periodicals, back issues of major agricultural economics journals, and some theses. The journals and theses are duplicate copies of ones available in the Main Library. The Cook Hall Reading Room is maintained by the Agricultural Economics Graduate Student Organization, primarily for student use.
• The MSU Main Library, Computer Laboratory, and Student Union Building are all only a few minutes' walk from Cook Hall.
• Many classrooms and conference rooms around campus, including several in Agriculture Hall, are equipped for Internet access and the display of video or electronic presentations.

Strong departments in complementary disciplines

Solving applied problems in today's world requires the professional agricultural economist to integrate knowledge from many disciplines. Agricultural Economics is fortunate to have a close working relationship with the highly ranked Department of Economics. Economics faculty are especially strong in econometrics, micro theory and risk, and economic development. Courses in these areas are excellent. Economics faculty members also serve frequently on guidance committees for agricultural economics students, and have often collaborated closely with agricultural economics faculty on research projects, especially in the international development area. Opportunities exist for pursuing dual agricultural economics and economics degrees at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels.

Other departments with which Agricultural Economics has close teaching or research collaboration include Crop and Soil Sciences, Animal Science, Fisheries and Wildlife, Forestry, Resource Development, and Sociology. Many faculty do research on projects that involve faculty members from other departments. Interdisciplinary research is a very important part of the department's program, focusing on topics such as biotechnology, waste management, soil conservation and pollution control, and land use policy.

Another example of cross-department collaboration is the Interdepartmental Specialization in Environmental and Resource Economics. This graduate study specialization is coordinated by a group of resource economists from five departments in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Agricultural Economics, Fisheries and Wildlife, Forestry, Park and Recreation Resources, and Resource Development) along with the Economics Department.

Integration of research with outreach/extension

Many faculty members have appointments which combine research with outreach/extension duties. This increases the relevance of their research programs to the needs of particular client groups, and raises the likelihood of significant economic and social payoff. Even faculty without a formal extension appointment will generally devote a part of their time to discussing the results of their research with relevant stakeholders.