Specific program objectives sought by faculty are related to the particular degree involved. The primary purposes of graduate education in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Oregon State University are to provide doctoral and masters students with an understanding of the theories and methods used to analyze economic problems, particularly in those areas emphasized by the Department and opportunities to use their theory and methods knowledge and experience to analyze and discuss important economic questions faced by individuals, private organizations and government in Oregon, the United States, and the world.
Most prospective students seek a graduate degree to obtain employment in a particular profession.
Faculty members provide high-quality courses, research, and public education opportunities, and they serve as mentors to graduate students so the students will reach their potential as professional economists. The MS degree, like the PhD, is a research degree. Unlike PhD students, however, incoming MS students are presumed to have had little or no previous experience in conducting research. Graduates are trained for two basic career paths. The first path is followed by the student desiring to add the MS degree to an undergraduate degree in economics or another field.