Prepare For a Variety of Careers in Business and Government
The Master of Science in Resource Economics and Management, offered by the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, provides advanced training in the areas of natural resource, environmental, agricultural, mineral, energy, agribusiness, international, and rural development economics. Only a handful of other institutions across the country offer a relevant online master’s program in this area and the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that graduates of programs in the fields of natural resources and agriculture will be needed in the coming years to address issues related to food security and sustainable energy. The program can be completed with or without a thesis.
Curriculum layout: 8-week courses and 16-week courses. The program is 30 hours with or without a thesis. Students completing a thesis take 6 research credits as part of their 30 hours; students who are not completing a thesis take 30 course credits.
Students develop their formalized plan of study during their first year, in conjunction with the graduate committee.
WVU allows students to complete prerequisites before beginning coursework, but after being admitted to the program. Prerequisites for admission include the following:
- Twelve or more semester credits in economics, agricultural and resource economics, statistics, or appropriate social science courses (should include a course in intermediate microeconomics)
- Three or more semester hours of credit in calculus
Students lacking these prerequisites must complete coursework to acquire them. Graduate programs are planned to ensure that candidates develop competence in the following:
- Communicating economic policy issues
- Theoretical and analytical skills to analyze and evaluate economic policies
- Research to develop economic policy proposal