Dec 02, 2024  
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Food and Agricultural Business Major, BS in Agricultural and Resource Economics – Five-Year BS/MS in Agricultural and Resource Economics – Agricultural Economics Program


The Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics offers an accelerated Five-Year Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science (BS-MS) Program for qualified students. Students obtain a BS degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics with a major in Food and Agricultural Business or Natural Resource and Environmental Economics in seven semesters by completing 120 credit hours, including 9 hours of graduate courses that count towards both the BS degree and the MS degree. Students then go on to obtain a thesis-based MS degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics (Agricultural Economics Concentration or Natural Resource Economics Concentration) in three semesters and one summer, completing an additional 22 credit hours of graduate work. Students are typically considered for conditional admission to the BS-MS Program during the third year of undergraduate studies at The University of Tennessee. The MS Program requires that a student complete a thesis project of original research. Therefore, a student is required to start developing a thesis research project in consultation with a thesis advisory committee immediately following their third year of undergraduate studies.

Students seeking admission into the Program must meet the following BS-MS Program requirements:

  1. The applicant must have declared a major in Food and Agricultural Business.
  2. The applicant must have a minimum GPA of 3.30.
  3. The applicant must have completed MS Graduate Program prerequisites MATH 125 *, STAT 201 * or STAT 207 *, ECON 311 , and AREC 324  or BAS 320  or ECON 381  with a B or better in each course before taking graduate courses as an undergraduate.
  4. The applicant must have completed at least 90 hours of coursework toward a BS degree with a major in Food and Agricultural Business.
  5. The applicant must ask for three letters of recommendation to be sent directly from the letter writer to the Director of Graduate Studies in Agricultural and Resource Economics.
  6. The applicant must complete an interview with the members of the Undergraduate and Graduate Committees in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
  7. The applicant must obtain a commitment from a faculty member in Agricultural and Resource Economics to serve as their major professor and at least two other faculty members to serve on their thesis advisory committee. The major professor serves as mentor and advisor for the MS degree portion of the Program.

Besides the aforementioned BS-MS Program requirements, the department may consider other factors such as applicant maturity and work experience before conditionally admitting a student to the BS-MS Program. Conditional admission of a student into the BS-MS Program must be approved by both the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and the Graduate School. Applicants are informed of the admission decision before the beginning of the fourth year of their BS.

Any course taken for graduate credit before satisfying all of the requirements for the BS degree must be approved by both the Director of Graduate Studies in Agricultural and Resource Economics and the Graduate School. The courses must be identified in advance, in consultation with the undergraduate advisor, proposed major professor, and thesis advisory committee members. The form “Agricultural and Resource Economics Conditional Admission Five-Year BS-MS” is available from the Graduate Director and must be completed, signed by the student and the Graduate Director before submitting to the Graduate School for approval and processing. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Senior Privilege rule imposes a maximum of 9 hours on the number of graduate-level hours that an undergraduate student may complete before completing an undergraduate degree and being formally admitted to the Graduate School. A student who is conditionally admitted to the BS-MS Program completes 9 hours of graduate credit during the student’s fourth year of undergraduate study, and applies those 9 hours to satisfy both BS and MS degree requirements.

Conditional admission into the BS-MS Program does not guarantee acceptance into either the Graduate School or the MS Program. Students in the BS-MS Program must apply for admission to the Graduate School and to the MS Program during their fourth year of undergraduate study, following the same procedures that all other student applicants follow. Students will be fully admitted to the MS Program after they have been accepted both by the Graduate School and by the MS Program in Agricultural and Resource Economics. Students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate students in the Graduate School.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Resource Economics – Food and Agricultural Business Major – Five-Year BS/MS in Agricultural Resource Economics – Agricultural Economics Program


Term 1 Hours Milestone Notes
AREC 110   1 One general education elective*
1Natural Sciences Electives * 4  
2Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3  
ENGL 101 * or ENGL 118  3  
MATH 125  3  
PSYC 110 *, PSYC 117 *, POLS 102 *, SOCI 120 *, or SOCI 127  3  
Term 2
2Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3 One additional general education elective*
AREC 212   3  
ECON 211  3  
ENGL 102  3  
MATH 123  3  
2Natural Sciences Elective * 3  
Term 3
ACCT 200  or ACCT 207   3 ENGL 101 
CMST 210 *, CMST 217 *, CMST 240 *, or CMST 247 * or ALEC 240  3  
ECON 213  3  
STAT 201 * or STAT 207  3  
2Natural Sciences Elective * 3  
AREC Elective 2  
Term 4
AREC 324  or BAS 320  or ECON 381 , AREC 342 , AREC 350   9-10 ECON 211 * or ECON 213 
3FDSC 100  or FDSC 150 * or NUTR 100 * 3  
2Arts and Humanities Elective * 3  
2Natural Sciences Elective * 3  
Term 5
AREC 310 , AREC 412   4 Complete prerequisites for MS Program: calculus (MATH 125 *), statistics (STAT 201 * or STAT 207 *, AREC 324 ), and intermediate microeconomics (ECON 311 ).
ECON 311   3  
2Arts and Humanities Elective * 3  
4Nondepartmental Herbert College of Agriculture Electives 6  
2Written Communication Elective * 3  
Term 6
AREC 442   3 Apply for conditional admission to Graduate Program after completion of at least 90 credit hours. Complete intermediate macroeconomics Graduate Program prerequisite (ECON 313 ).

AREC Elective (400-level course for graduate credit)

3  
ECON 313   3  
4Nondepartmental Herbert College of Agriculture Elective 3  
3Unrestricted Electives 5-6  
Term 7
AREC 410   1 Establish graduate advisory committee before completing BS degree and submit Form A: Appointment of MS or PhD Faculty Committee. Identify thesis research project.
5Experiential Learning 3  
AREC 505, AREC 524 6  
6Unrestricted Electives 4  
TOTAL 120  
1 Natural Science with Lab course chosen from University General Education list.
2 Chosen from the University General Education list. No more than two of the three Natural Science electives may be Herbert College of Agriculture courses.
3 FDSC 150 * can also be used to satisfy General Education Cultures and Civilizations requirement. NUTR 100 * can also be used to satisfy General Education Natural Sciences requirement.
4 Nondepartmental Herbert College of Agriculture electives can also be used to satisfy General Education Requirements.
5 Chosen from AGNR 491  or AREC 356  or AREC 395  or AREC 492  or AREC 499 .
6 Any courses not already required for the major.

* Meets University General Education Requirement .