Application Deadlines
The Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics allows students to begin their M.Sc. program on either 1 September or 1 January. For admission for each of these start dates, Canadian and U.S. students should send their applications with complete supporting documents to the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics by June 1 or October 1 respectively. International students should send their applications with complete supporting documents to the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics by March 1 or July 1 respectively.

Program Requirements
Two programs of study are available:

Program 1: The thesis option entails a minimum of 18 credit hours consisting of:
Courses	Credit Hours
Microeconomics, normally ECON 7720, or ABIZ 7100 plus ABIZ 7940	3-6
Quantitative Methods, which could include approved courses in Econometrics, Management Science or Statistics	3
*Electives prescribed by major advisor in consultation with the student, at 700/7000 level	9-12
Total Credit Hours	18
* With the major advisor’s permission, ECON 3700 may be used in conjunction with either ABIZ 7100 or ABIZ 7940 to meet the Microeconomics requirement. Another 12 units of electives are required if just ECON 7720 is chosen (and 9 units of electives are required if one of the other combinations is chosen).

Every candidate must complete an acceptable thesis and pass an oral examination based primarily on the thesis.

All students in the M.Sc. thesis program are required to present two graduate seminars open to the public. The first presentation shall be on the thesis proposal paper. The second presentation will be on their completed research.

Program 2: The comprehensive option normally entails a minimum of 27 credit hours consisting of:
Courses	Credit Hours
Microeconomics, normally ECON 7720, or ABIZ 7100 plus ABIZ 7940*	3-6
Quantitative Methods, which could include approved courses in Econometrics, Management Science or Statistics	3
*Electives prescribed by major advisor in consultation with the student, normally at 7000 level	18-21
Total Credit Hours	27
* With the major advisor’s permission, ECON 3700 may be used in conjunction with either ABIZ 7100 or ABIZ 7940 to meet the Microeconomics requirement. Another 21 units of electives are required if just ECON 7720 is chosen (and 18 units of electives are required if one of the other combinations is chosen).

In addition to the coursework for the comprehensive option, one research paper will be assigned, supervised, and evaluated by a committee of three, consisting of two members from the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics and one member from outside the Department, with the student’s advisor acting as chair. Upon satisfactory completion of all the coursework and the research paper, the student must pass a comprehensive oral examination. The student will be held responsible in the comprehensive oral examination for knowledge and understanding of the questions relating to the student’s program of study and the research paper.

Specialization in business management in agriculture is available under the comprehensive option for a selected number of qualified students. These students are required to take at least 12 units of courses within the Asper School of Business/Faculty of Management at the 6000 or 7000 level.

Second language reading requirement: none

Expected time to graduation: two years

Ph.D. in Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics*
*A Ph.D. is offered in Economics with a research specialization in Agricultural Economics

Admission

1. Except as provided in 2) below, applicants for admission to the Ph.D. program must have completed the entrance requirements and the program requirements of an M.A. degree in Economics or Agricultural Economics equivalent to that awarded by the University of Manitoba.

2. In exceptional cases, applications may be considered from students who have completed an Honours degree in Economics or Agricultural Economics equivalent to that awarded by the University of Manitoba. In such cases, the applicant will be required to fulfil, in addition to the requirements below, all course work requirements for the M.A. degree by comprehensive examination option.

Application Deadlines
Students intending to begin a Ph.D. in Economics with a Research Specialization in Agricultural Economics will begin their program in September. Please note that the Department of Economics does not normally accept students in the January session, as the required Math and Theory courses start in September. Canadian and U.S. students should send their applications with complete supporting documents to the Department of Economics by May 1. International students should send their applications with complete supporting documents to the Department of Economics by January 15.

Program Requirements

• A minimum of 24 credit hours of course work of which at least 12 credit hours must be at the 700/7000 level in Economics. No more than 6 credit hours may be taken in a department other than Economics as part of this minimum course work requirement.

• Economics courses include courses cross-listed with the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics. Cross-listed courses include advanced agricultural marketing (ABIZ 7100, ECON 7900), production economics (ABIZ 7940, ECON 7940), resource economics (ECON 7430-50, ABIZ 7430-50) and international trade (ECON 7630, ABIZ 7630).

• A minimum of 36 credit hours of 700/7000 level courses in Economics or Agricultural Economics in their M.A. and Ph.D. programs.

• A minimum of 12 credit hours in economic theory. The theory requirement will normally be ECON 7650, ECON 7660, ECON 7720, and ECON 7730. Upon recommendation of a student's advisory committee, the Graduate Studies Committee may permit a student to substitute two of the following for ECON 7660 and ECON 7730: ECON 7670, ECON 7680, ECON 7740, and ECON 7550.

• Candidates must also include 6 credit hours of History of Economic Thought and either 6 credit hours in Economic History or an acceptable research paper in Economic History. These requirements may be waived if, in the judgement of the Graduate Studies Committee, equivalent courses have been taken by the candidate at the undergraduate level or as part of the M.A. program. If the research paper option is selected to fulfil the Economic History requirement, then a committee will be appointed by the Department of Economics Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) to evaluate the paper.

Fields of Concentration and Candidacy Examination
Students must present themselves for candidacy examinations in Macroeconomic Theory, Microeconomic Theory, and two fields. Fields from which a student may select are:

With the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee, one field may be based on work taken in a department other than economics or agricultural economics. The candidacy exams are divided into two parts: theory and fields.

Candidates must complete their theory course requirements within their first year in the Ph.D. program, and sit for the candidacy examinations in theory in the following May or October.

Candidates must pass their theory exams before they sit for the fields. However, candidates may attempt their theory and fields simultaneously with the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. Students must attempt their field exams not more than one calendar year after passing their theory examinations. Students are required to withdraw from the program after two failures.

Candidacy examinations normally consist of both a written and an oral component. With the unanimous consent of the examiners that the student has passed, the oral exam can be waived.

Examinations will be held two times a year. The examination periods are: late May or early June, or late September or early October.

Field in Agricultural Economics
Students electing a research specialization in Agricultural Economics are required to complete the Agricultural Economics field examination. Other students in Economics may also take this exam.

The following courses are recommended in preparing for this exam: Advanced Agricultural Marketing ( ABIZ 7100) and Production Economics ( ABIZ 7940). Students are also advised to complete a graduate course in econometrics. In addition a set of extra readings (on seminal applications of marketing and production theory in agriculture) will be made available by the Department Graduate Advisory Committee (DGAC) of Agricultural Economics to students intending to write this field.

If either of the recommended courses has not been offered during the student’s Ph.D. program, then a brief directed studies course under Agricultural Economics (AE) supervision will be arranged to assist the student in the subject area. DGAC will choose members of AE to grade the examinations (both written and oral).

Second language reading requirement: none

Expected time to graduation: four years

Not all courses are offered every year. Please check the Aurora catalogue to find out when a course is offered.