Professor Don Ethridge, Chairperson.

Thompson Professor Mathis; Professor Segarra; Associate Professors Elam, Ervin, and Misra; Assistant Professors Johnson, Livingston, and Ramirez; Adjunct Faculty: M. Dean Ethridge and Harman.

This department offers study in the following graduate degree programs: AGRICULTURAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. The department also participates in the interdepartmental program leading to the Master of Agriculture degree and cooperates with the College of Business Administration in a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in agricultural business management. This M.B.A. program is administered by the College of Business Administration.

Master's programs in agricultural and applied economics require a minimum of 30 hours of graduate credit for the M.S. thesis option or 36 hours for the M.S. nonthesis option and for the Master of Agriculture degree. A student seeking an M.S. degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics may choose courses to emphasize agribusiness and trade or resource policy and development. Each candidate in the M.S. option is expected to demonstrate competency by satisfactorily completing a comprehensive written examination.

The doctoral program in agricultural and applied economics is designed to develop competence in advanced economic theory, techniques of quantitative analysis, and public administration of economic and agricultural issues. The program has been designed to take advantage of the strengths of the department and the supporting disciplines of economics, mathematics, statistics, business administration, political science (public administration), sociology, and the other agricultural sciences. A program with different emphases in the supporting areas is possible with the approval of the departmental graduate committee. Each candidate is expected to demonstrate competency by satisfactorily completing a comprehensive written examination in each specialty field chosen, a dissertation demonstrating original independent scholarly research, and a final oral examination.

Before being recommended for admission to a degree program with a major in agricultural and applied economics, the student may be required to take (without graduate credit) undergraduate leveling courses as specified by the department.

The School of Law and the Graduate School of Texas Tech University offer a joint degree program that allows students to complete the requirements for the Master of Science degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics and the Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. This joint program can be completed one year quicker than when each is pursued separately. The M.S. component is administered by the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics on behalf of the Graduate School, while the J.D. component is administered by the School of Law.

The joint degree program is of particular benefit to students who are interested in practicing law in an agricultural setting or who want to pursue certain types of careers in agricultural finance. Students must be admitted to both programs but the LSAT test will suffice for both applications.

Courses in Agricultural and Applied Economics. (AAEC)

5100. Seminar (1:1:0). Current issues related to public policy. F, S.

5301. Special Study in Agricultural and Applied Economics (3). Individual and group study in advanced topics not covered in other graduate courses. May be repeated for credit. F, S, SS.

5302. Food and Agriculture Sector Public Policy (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 4305. Analysis of public policies affecting the food and fiber sector; commodity programs, environmental laws, and trade policy. F, SS.

5303. Advanced Production Economics (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 3316. Criteria for resource use optimality and technology adoption; duality relationships; and linear programming. F.

5307. Applied Econometrics I (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 4302. Advanced statistical methods, including multiple regression analysis, for applied economic problems; constructing econometric models; multicollinearity, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, and related problems. F.

5308. Natural Resource Economics (3:3:0). Economic theory and empirical investigations of resource utilization with special emphasis on arid and semi-arid land areas and environmental issues. S.

5309. International Economic Development in Food and Fiber Sectors (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 3315. World food and development issues; economic development of the food and fiber sector in industrialized and developing economies. F.

5310. Advanced Market Analysis (3:3:0). Prerequisite: ECO 5312 and AAEC 5307. Theoretical and empirical approaches to market structures and market price behavior. S.

5312. Agribusiness Analysis (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 3315. Application of economic theory and methods to management problems of the business firms in the food and fiber sector. F.

5313. Microcomputer Applications in Agribusiness and Research (3:2:2). Use of microcomputers, software, and design of software for agricultural business and research purposes. Not open to majors. S, SS.

5315. Property Appraisal (3:3:0). Factors governing land prices, valuation. Appraisal for use, sale, lending, condemnation, estate settlement, taxation. Not open to students with AAEC 4303 or equivalent. F.

5317. Financial and Commodity Futures and Options (3:3:0). Mechanics of futures trading, history and functions of futures market. Role of futures and options markets in managing risks. Not open to students with AAEC 4317 or equivalent. F, S, SS.

5318. Finance and the Agribusiness Sector (3:3:0). Prerequisite: FIN 5320. Applications of financial theory for the agribusiness sector. Risk, capital structure, business structure, investment analysis. S.

5320. Agribusiness Law (3:3:0). Federal regulatory programs, market orders, bankruptcy. Administrative, environmental, antitrust law, Uniform Commercial Code in agricultural context. Not open to students with AAEC 4320 or equivalent. F, SS.

5321. Research Methodology in Economics (3:3:0). Review of philosophical and conceptual basis of economic research and study of the procedural aspects of designing, planning, and conducting research in economics. S.

6000. Master's Thesis (V1-6).

6301. Advanced Special Problems in Agricultural and Applied Economics (3). Individual study in advanced topics not covered in other graduate courses. F, S, SS.

6302. Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Policy Analysis (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 4305. Analysis of policies, programs affecting food, agricultural commodities, trade, and natural resources. Includes policies in the U.S. and other countries. F.

6305. Dynamic Economic Optimization (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 5303. Development, use of mathematical economic models emphasizing static and stochastic linear, nonlinear and dynamic processes. S.

6308. Advanced Natural Resource Economics (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 5308. Advanced economic theory and analysis of environmental and natural resource issues, both domestic and global. F.

6310. Demand and Price Analysis (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 5311, ECO 5312. Applied price and demand analysis including complete demand systems and hedonic-characteristic price analysis. F.

6311. Applied Econometrics II (3:3:0). Prerequisite: AAEC 5307. Methods and applications of single and multi-equation models in agricultural economics; logit and probit models, nonstructural models and related methods. S.

7000. Research (V1-12).

7200. Teaching Practicum (2:3:0). Prerequisite: Doctoral student in the program and previous or concurrent enrollment in a higher education teaching methods course. Supervised teaching at the university level.

8000. Doctor's Dissertation (V1-12).