The MPIA emphasizes two themes that are central to policy and governance in the 21st century - gloabalization and collaborative governance. The 36-hour curriculum enables students to integrate those two themes into selected areas of specialization. Student's who write a thesis complete 24 credits of course work in economic theory, quantitative methods and applied fields, then spend one semester or more entirely on research. Non-thesis options are offered and require 30 hours of course work. Approximately 20 students are typically enrolled in the master's degree program.
Most students writing a thesis receive financial support.
The M.S. degree in STS is a 30-hour degree that trains students to examine the conceptual and social dimensions of science and technology in relation to one another and in historical perspective. Interested students can select a track in policy studies. The Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics grants the Ph.D. in Economics in a joint program with the Department of Economics. Basic disciplinary fields can be pursued in Economic Theory or Econometrics. The Ph.D. program requires two years of course followed by research during the third and fourth years.