2020-21 Academic Catalog

Agricultural Economics

This is an archived copy of the 2020-21 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.msstate.edu.

Head: Dr. Keith H. Coble
Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Ardian Harri

101 Lloyds Ricks Watson
Box 5187
Mississippi State, MS  39762
Telephone: 662-325-2750
Website: www.agecon.msstate.edu

The Department of Agricultural Economics offers a degree program leading to the Master of Science in Agriculture with a concentration in Agricultural Economics. This program stresses thorough mastery of advanced economic theory, methods of quantitative analysis, and the applications of these methods to the problems of agriculture. The broad program of economic research conducted by the department affords a wide selection of areas from which the student may choose a specific problem for research.

The Master of Science in Agriculture with a concentration in Agricultural Economics program is designed for the student to begin graduate coursework in a fall semester; thus, the student must submit application materials prior to July 1. However, graduate research assistantship decisions are usually made in March, and admission to the program must be obtained before an assistantship may be granted.  Students are encouraged to apply no later than February. For additional program information, please visit the department’s website at www.agecon.msstate.edu.

Admission Criteria

To obtain regular admission status to the M.S. program, an applicant must meet all University-wide graduate admission requirements and must achieve acceptable scores on each section of the GRE.  A minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) report of 575 PBT (84 iBT) or an IELTS (International English Language Testing Systems) score of 7.0 or higher is required for all international students affected by this policy.

Provisional Admission

An applicant who has not fully met the GPA requirement stipulated by the University may be admitted on a provisional basis. The provisionally-admitted student is eligible for a change to regular status after receiving a 3.00 GPA on the first 9 hours of graduate courses at Mississippi State University (with no grade lower than a C). The first 9 hours of graduate courses must be within the student's program of study. Courses with an S grade, transfer credits, or credits earned while in Unclassified status cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student shall be dismissed from the graduate program. Academic departments may set higher standards for students to fulfill provisional requirements; a student admitted with provisional status should contact the graduate coordinator for the program’s specific requirements. While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

An Agricultural Economics student who initially obtains provisional admission status must receive a 3.00 GPA on the following courses that are to be taken in the first fall semester in order to achieve regular admission status:

AEC 6713Quantitative Economics3
AEC 6733Econometric Analysis in Agriculture Economics3
AEC 8163Consumers, Producers, and Markets3

Academic Performance

A student may be dismissed from the M.S. program for making more than two grades below a B on courses on the student’s program of study. A student may appeal a dismissal decision by following normal appeal procedures outlined in this publication.