Agricultural and Applied Economics

The Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics provides students, public officials, the private sector, and the general public with the education and knowledge needed to make sound economic decisions about the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products; the development of rural communities; the use of natural resources; and the policies and behavior that influence human health and financial well-being.

Undergraduate Program - Bachelor's degree

The Department offers a high quality undergraduate education with award-winning teachers who are nationally recognized for their teaching expertise. The Department’s focus is student centered, helping each student achieve their greatest potential. Students can choose a concentration of study from six concentrations:

Agribusiness Management - Students learn principles of marketing, management, and finance to prepare for careers in agribusiness or related industries.

Environmental Economics, Management and Policy - Students learn to apply economic principles for the effective protection of natural resources and the environment.

Financial Planning - Students prepare for careers as financial planners or as financial professionals providing client services or products in banking, insurance, investments, or employee benefits and retirement planning.

International Trade and Development - Students gain an understanding of global development, trade, and policy issues through courses, internships, and study-abroad experiences.

Community Economic Development - Students prepare to work with local, state, and federal governments on job creation, labor markets, rural poverty, land-use management, and other development issues.

Veterinary Business Management - Students complete the scientific coursework necessary to apply to veterinary school, while also taking business-oriented classes to assist in running a veterinary practice.

Recent graduates have returned to family farms, taken jobs with Farm Credit, Miller and Associates Appraisers, National Cattlemen’s Association, Saunders Brothers Nursery, Smithfield Foods and Southern States, and sought a graduate degree from Virginia Tech, Colorado State, Penn State, Purdue, and Texas A&M.

Our students have become very successful professionals. Examples of their successes include:

  • 2007 "Virginia Farmer of the Year" by Country Folks mid-Atlantic
    Chronicle;
  • 2007 "Eisenhower Fellowship in Agriculture" (one awarded each
    year);
  • 2007 Ameriprise Financial Planning Invitational champions ($10,000 prize);
  • 2008 Fulbright Scholarship to South Korea;
  • 2008 Outstanding Senior, College of Agriculture and Life
    Sciences;
  • 2008 U.S. House of Representatives "Agriculture Committee
    Internship"; and
  • 2009 Harry S. Truman Scholarship (only 60 awarded nationally).

The Department is a great place to study, make life-long friendships and develop the foundation of a successful professional career.

Graduate Program

The Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics offers graduate studies leading to an M.A. in Economics, M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics, and Ph.D. in Economics. The Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and the Department of Economics jointly offer the Ph.D. in Economics. The Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics teaches field courses and supports student research in:

  • Development and Trade,
  • Environmental and Resource Economics,
  • Food and Health Economics, and
  • Applied Econometrics

The goal of the graduate program is to train students for professional careers as economists in academic, policy and development institutions, and in private business. Recent M.S. graduates have taken jobs in the private sector with Farm Credit, Smithfield Foods, Triangle Economic Research, IBM, Norfolk Southern and Kroger, government agencies such as the U.S.D.A. Economic Research Service, U.S.D.A. Foreign Agricultural Service and North Carolina Department of Revenue, and continued their studies for a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, University of California Berkeley, University of California Davis, University of Minnesota, and North Carolina State University. Recent Ph.D. graduates have taken positions at the University of Georgia, University of Minnesota, Oklahoma State University, University of Tennessee, University of Massachusetts and Kansas State University, and at international agencies like the International Food Policy Research Institute, the International Potato Center and The World Bank.

Research

The department's research program focuses on integration of its three major themes:

  • Agricultural competitiveness
  • Rural and community development
  • Environmental and natural resource systems
  • Economics of consumer behavior, nutrition, and health
  • Maximizing economic and financial well-being

Much of the research is focused in areas where these themes overlap. Research is characterized by a high level of entrepreneurial activity where faculty members work individually and with others to seek funding from a variety of public and private sources. Much of the research requires interdisciplinary collaboration with scientists from other fields of study. Recent research studies include economic evaluations of integrated pest management systems and direct marketing of agricultural products, the economic implications of obesity and safe drinking water, the economic effects of agricultural trade policies and land-use laws, the economic return from African American males attending Historically Black colleges and universities, and many other applications.

Extension

The Department's Extension programs are designed to improve the knowledge, understanding, and ability of Virginia’s agribusinesses and related rural business to make informed economic and financial decisions. Extension economists are engaged with citizens of Virginia to identify critical economic problems and/or opportunities, and employ appropriate economic methods to analyze workable solutions and deliver targeted education programs to improve economic conditions. Educational programs are delivered to Virginia's farmers, agribusinesses, credit managers, educators and youth, public and private sector policy makers, and rural residents.

The Department’s Extension faculty members work with Extension agents through out the state in the development and delivery of education programs. Ongoing Extension programs offered by the Department include use-value taxation of farmland, income tax preparation education for farmers and agribusinesses, direct marketing of agricultural products, farm-business transition, environmental conflict resolution and other important activities.

Contact Information:

Kevin J. Boyle, Department Head
208 Hutcheson Hall (0401)
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
(540) 231-2907
Fax: (540) 231-7417
kjboyle@vt.edu

Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics Homepage