The Agricultural and Resource Economics (AREC) Accelerated Masters Program (AMP) is open to active, current University of Arizona undergraduate students majoring in either Agribusiness Economics and Management or Agribusiness Management (ABEM-MGMT), and the Environmental and Water Resource Economics (EWRE) major. Students with the ABEM-ECON, ABEM-MGMT and EWRE major are eligible for either of our graduate programs Applied Econometrics and Data Analytics (AEDA) or Applied Economics and Policy Analysis (AEPA). The AEDA plan is an 18 month program and does not require a thesis. The AEPA plan is a 2 year program and does require a thesis. Students interested in aplying to AREC AMP must have at least 75 earned/completed units at the time of application submission and must have at least 90 earned/completed units prior to admission to AMP. Prior to admission a minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA is required, if the GPA falls below 3.3 prior to admission or 90 units are not completed, the student will not be allowed to begin this AMP.
During a student's 3rd year they should prepare to apply to this program for the next soonest Fall semester, February 1st is the annual deadline for the application submission. This department's incoming AMP cohort begins in Fall semesters only. It is during their 4th year/senior year that the admitted AMP student will take graduate level AREC courses that will count toward their undergraduate and graduate degrees. Up to 12 total graduate level units are permitted to be shared between both degrees, 6 graduate units in the Fall semester and 6 graduate units in the Spring semester. While an undergraduate student, taking the 12 permitted graduate level units in courses numbered 500-599, tuition will be charged at the undergraduate tuition amount. After the bachelor degree has been completed and the student is taking only graduate AREC MS degree courses, tuition will then be charged at the graduate tuition amount. Should the undergraduate degree not be completed at the completion of the 12 graduate AMP units, the student tuition will begin charging at the graduate level tuition cost and the student will no longer be eligible for undergraduate aid or scholarships nor graduate assistantships. AMP students while an undergraduate student, are not eligible for graduate assistantships, only once they have successfully and completely transitioned to a fully graduate level student and no longer AMP, will they be eligible for graduate assistantships.
Agricultural & Resource Economics
The Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics (AREC) offers a program leading to the Master of Science degree with a major in Agricultural & Resource Economics. Applicants may choose one of two plans to follow within this Master's degree: Applied Econometrics & Data Analytics, and Applied Economics & Policy Analysis. A broad spectrum of agricultural economics subject matter is presented, with emphasis in natural resources, international business, and agribusiness. The Master's program provides training in the theory and methods of applied agricultural and resource economics. Graduating students are qualified for positions in the private sector with agribusiness, financial, farm management, and consulting firms, and in state and federal government agencies. Some students choose to follow the master's degree with enrollment in a Ph.D. program, either at the University of Arizona or elsewhere. Many AREC graduates have excelled in premier doctoral programs throughout the United States. We also offer an Agricultural & Resource Economics minor for PhD seeking students. We have a strong and consistent history of Peace Corps Fellows in our Master's program and we proudly invite all Returning Peace Corps Volunteers to apply for this graduate program. Interested in a Peace Corps Fellowship? See https://grad.arizona.edu/peacecorps/welcome for more information.
See the Department sponsored interactive Returning Peace Corps Volunteer Mapping Project to view our program's connections with Peace Corps Volunteers: https://economics.arizona.edu/graduate-programs/peace-corps-alumni
See past placements of our alums going into industry careers and PhD programs https://economics.arizona.edu/graduate/past-placements
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
University of Arizona - Main - Tucson
International students (of non-English speaking countries):
Minimum TOEFL (Paper-based) Score: 550
Minimum TOEFL (Internet-based) Score: 80
Minimum IELTS (overall band score): 7
Required test(s):GRE and TOEFL-see Graduate College English proficiency details to confirm if you need to submit TOEFL here.
Effective Fall 2023, GRE is optional and not required for AREC MS AMP.
GRE Subject tests: all parts of the general GRE, this program is looking specifically for the quantitative reasoning score.
International students (of non-English speaking countries): See the University's Acceptable English Proficiency credentials here
Minimum TOEFL (Paper-based) Score: 550
Minimum TOEFL (Internet-based) Score: 80
Minimum IELTS (overall band score): 7
Students while pursuing AMP are eligible for undergraduate scholarships and financial aid only. AMP students are not eligible for graduate assistantships.
Domestic Applicants:
International Applicants:
International applicants may be considered for conditional admission to this program at the department's discretion.
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General program requirements
Depending on the program you choose, this master's program requires three or four semesters of coursework. Students complete 15 units from requried core courses including two courses in economic theory and two courses in econometrics. All M.S. students are required to take an intensive three-week review course in mathematics (AREC 580) before the start of their fall semester. In addtion to the required 15 core units, students in both AEDA or AEPA will complete the program's seminar course, AREC 596A, each semester once the student is no longer AMP. Due to unit limitations for AMP students, AREC 596A is optional for the 2 semesters the student is in AMP status, in their final semesters as a full graduate degree seeking student, AREC 596A will be required.
Students may select remaining coursework according to their interests. To add depth to their program, students are encouraged (but not required) to focus their efforts in an area of specialization. Students choose specific courses in consultation with their advisor or Director of Graduate Studies.
Thesis options and examinations
Students pursue either AEPA and complete a thesis which requires a thesis defense, or the AEDA option which requries a final oral examination which will cover past coursework and projects completed. With AEPA, students will write a thesis and six units of thesis coursework units. In the event of failure, of the first attempt of the defense/oral exam, students may repeat the oral examination once.
Grade requirements
Students are required to earn a 3.0 (B) grade or better in each of their core courses and a 3.0 (B) average GPA in all graduate coursework. Students failing to maintain a 3.0 grade average will be placed on academic probation and possibly dropped from the program. If this occurs, the student must petition the Graduate Advisory Committee for permission to re-enter the program.
Core courses
AREC 504 Production Economics (3 units)
AREC 513 Consumption Economics & Price Analysis (3 units)
AREC 548 Introduction to Statistical Methods in Economics (4 units)
AREC 549 Applied Econometrics (3 units)
AREC 559 Advanced Applied Econometrics (4 units, required for AEDA, optonal for AEPA)
AREC 580 Math for Economists (2 units)
AREC 596A Seminar (taken each semester for 3 total units AEDA or 4 total units AEPA)
Language requirements
There are no language requirements within this degree.
Contact:
Graduate Program Coordinator & Undergraduate Academic Advisor, Danielle Buhrow, email: danielleb@email.arizona.edu
There is no elective coursework to be completed with the AMP portion of the Master's degree. Only 12 graduate level units are to be taken while AMP and undergraduate degree seeking.
Successful completion of AMP graduate level courses and undergraduate degree are required to progress into a full graduate degree seeking AREC Master of Science student.
Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.
This is an Accelerated Master's Program (AMP).
The Graduate College offers exceptional undergraduate students in selected majors the opportunity to earn both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in as few as 5 years. The Accelerated Master's Program is for the top undergraduates in participating majors who plan to continue in a graduate program in the same, or closely related, UA discipline.
Programs will select from among a qualified pool, based on the following criteria. Individual programs may have more stringent or additional requirements: