The joint research component is particularly instrumental in supporting the department's M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs financially, as well as providing problem-solving research opportunities for graduate students.
Graduate programs are an integral component of the department's basic and applied research program.
The skills and research interests of the faculty provide a wide range of opportunities for graduate research projects, particularly with respect to problems and issues faced by the agribusiness and rural sectors of the economy. Interdisciplinary and regional research programs further expand the scope of research areas available to graduate students. In addition to the traditional programs in production, management, and marketing, departmental research includes agribusiness management, consumer economics, environmental and natural resource management, international marketing and trade, and rural development. Students entering the graduate program are expected to have adequate background in economics or business, agricultural economics, statistics, and calculus. A course in linear algebra is also strongly recommended.