Agricultural & Resource Economics Accelerated Master's Program (MS)

Program Description

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-Agricultural Economics emphasis (ABEM-ECON) or the Environmental and Water Resource Economics (EWRE) major.  Agribusiness Management emphasis majors are not eligible for AREC AMP.  Students with the ABEM-ECON or 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.  Also, the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) must be completed prior to application submission in order for the application to be reviewed.  The quantitative GRE minimum score required for admitted students into this program is the 70th percentile. 

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.

The AREC Department offers a program leading to the Master of Science degree with a major in Agricultural & Resource Economics. 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.