Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Shida Henneberry

Student Services Specialist: Anna Whitney

Admission Website:

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Application:

  1. Q.How do I apply?
  2. The admission procedure for the Department of Agricultural Economics is outlined at the website which has a link to the OSU Graduate College online application at: (a) Complete the application. (b) Contact at least three individuals who are familiar with your academic abilities and ask them to complete a recommendation form for you. The website has a link to the form. (c) Schedule and take the GRE exam. (d) To request funding complete the assistantship application form.
  1. Q.What are the application deadlines?
  2. February 1 for the fall semester and August 1 for the spring semester.
  1. Q.Does the department require GRE scores?
  2. Yes.
  1. Q.What is the GRE institution code and department code?
  2. The institution code is 6546. The department code is 0101.
  1. Q.May I visit the department?
  2. Yes. Visiting is helpful to better understand the culture, focus, and people in the department and university, and whether it’s right for you as an individual. It also gives us a better chance to know you. Once you determine a date when you want to visit the department, we will set up a schedule for you to visit with faculty, the department head and graduate students.
  1. Q.Where do I send application materials?
  2. Complete the online application and pay the application fee at: You may send all other materials to the department. The department will make copies and forward the originals to the Graduate College.
  1. Q.When will I be notified of my status?
  2. After your file is complete, the Departmental Graduate Admissions Committee will review the materials and you should hear from us about your status in about two weeks. You will be notified of your status by email from the department and with an official letter from the Graduate College.
  1. Q.I have no prior training in agricultural economics or economics. What prerequisites would I need to gain admission to the M.S. program?
  2. (a) Principles courses in economics. (b) A course in intermediate microeconomics. (c) Differential calculus. (d) At least one course in statistics. (e)
    Evidence of an academic foundation that could benefit from earning an M.S. in agricultural economics.

For students at Oklahoma State University, prerequisite material is included in: AGEC 1114 (Introduction to Agricultural Economics), ECON 2203 (Introduction to Macroeconomics), ECON 3113 (Intermediate Microeconomics), MATH 2103 (Elementary Calculus), and either STAT 2013 or STAT 2023 or STAT 3013 or STAT 4013 and AGEC 3213 (Quantitative Methods in Agricultural Economics). If you are a good student and have the quantitative (math)background, you could take ECON 5113 (Managerial Economics) or AGEC 5103 (Math Economics). In order to receive graduate credit for an undergraduate course, you may sign up for the course under AGEC 4990 (g section), with the instructor’s permission. Note that additional work, above what is expected for undergraduate credit, is required to obtain graduate credit. Another option is to consider applying for our Masters of Agriculture program. OSU students are encouraged to meet with the Chair of the admissions committee (call 405-744-6084 for an appointment) prior to embarking on this journey.

  1. Q.Does the Master of Agriculture program in the Department of Agricultural Economics require research? Would you just take courses to obtain this degree?

A. The Master of Agriculture is not a research degree and does not prepare students for advanced study at the Ph.D. level. Three alternatives exist for satisfying the Master of Agriculture requirements: (1) 32 credit hours, including two credit hours for a formal report, (2) 36 credit hours and a creative component, and (3) 36 credit hours including six hours of AGEC 5010 for a professional internship.

  1. Q.Are there funding opportunities for the Master of Agriculture in Agribusiness?
  2. Generally, no assistantship funds are available for Masters of Agriculture students.
  1. Q.I am currently an undergraduate student and I am interested in the Agricultural Economics Ph.D. program. Is a M.S. degree required for admission into your Ph.D. program?
  2. In general Ph.D. program applicants are expected to either have a M.S. degree or to be in an M.S. program. Students who are enrolled in the M.S. degree program and perform well may apply for admission to the Ph.D. program.
  1. Q.Could I contact any of the faculty directly to let them know about my qualifications and interests?
  2. Yes, but the admissions decision is made by the DepartmentalGraduate Admissions Committee subject to meeting minimum Graduate College standards. You may submit additional materials to the Department such as a resume, letter of interest, and publications.
  1. Q.I was admitted to start in the fall. I decided not to attend. For how long is my admission?
  2. You have three semesters to enroll before being required by the Graduate College to re-apply and pay another application fee.
  1. Q.I have been admitted conditionally to the M.S. program. If I make below the minimum required grades on the pre-requisite courses, would I be permitted to enroll in a different program (such as the Master of Agriculture program)?
  2. If you make below the minimum required grades, or if you withdraw from the courses, the Graduate College will put a “No Further Enrollment Without Departmental Consent (NFEWDC)” restriction on your record. You cannot enroll in any OSU graduate program until the Graduate College lifts the NFEDWC hold with support from the department. You may apply for a different program. In that case, you may discuss with the Graduate College the possibility of withdrawing from the courses that were required for your conditional admission.
  1. Q. I have a B.S. degree, and am quite certain that I want to get a Ph.D. Can I be admitted to a Ph.D. program without earning a M.S. degree?
  2. Because a Ph.D. program is heavily research oriented, it is important to use the master’s program to develop research skills. Thus, a master’s degree is a prerequisite to a Ph.D. program. In exceptional cases, a student who has demonstrated extremely strong academic and research skills while in the master’s program may be transferred to the Ph.D. program.

International Applicants:

  1. Q.What are the TOEFL requirements?
  2. All persons for whom English is a second language are required to present an official TOEFL score of 79 iBT (internet based test), or 550 PBT (paper based test). The TOEFL is not required under the following conditions (all three conditions must hold):
  3. Graduated in a country where English is anofficial language
  4. Graduated from a school where English is the primary language of instruction (A primary language, not the “only” language)
  5. Graduated from a properly accredited institution recognized by the OSU Graduate College.
  1. Q.I have completed a M.S. degree in the U.S.,am I required to take the TOEFL?
  2. If you have completed a M.S. in the U.S., you do not need to take the TOEFL.
  1. Q.What is the TOEFL institution code and department code?
  2. The TOEFL institution code is 6546. The department code is 99.
  1. Q.I have graduated from a university where the primary language is English. Would I be exempt from the TOEFL requirement?
  2. Two conditions need to be satisfied to be exempt from the TOEFL and although you might meet the first condition, you may not necessarily meet the second condition. The second condition is that not only does English have to be the primary language of the institution from which you received your degree, but it also needs to be an official language of the country in which the institution is located. Please see the answer to question 1, above.
  1. Q.I am having problems obtaining original transcripts of my prior university training. May I send a copy now and an original later?
  2. Yes.
  1. Q.Are assistantships awarded to international students?
  2. Most first semester international students do not receive assistantships. You may fill out the assistantship form however, and it will be reviewed with your other materials. Please also see questions 3-6 in the Assistantships/Costs section.

Course Transfer:

  1. Q.How many graduate credits can I transfer from another degree program from another university?
  2. According to the 2010-2011 OSU Catalog page 169:
  3. “Transfer of credit must be recommended by the advisory committee through submission and approval of the plan of study and approved by the Dean of the Graduate College.”
  4. “Up to nine credit hours of transfer credit may be used toward any OSU graduate degree. A doctoral student may transfer more than nine hours if the courses in question were housed in a department or program that offers an Ed.D. or Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree. Doctoral students must include a minimum of 30 hours of OSU credit on their plan of study.”

If you have completed courses at another institution that fulfill the Graduate College requirements, your academic advisory committee will determine if any will be permitted for inclusion on your plan of study. Up to 30 hours of Ph.D. courses may be transferred if you are transferring from a Ph.D. program at another institution into a Ph.D. program at OSU. This may apply to those students whose major advisor have moved to OSU from another institution and have brought their Ph.D. students with them. For overlapping Masters programs, up to nine hours may be transferred.

  1. Q.I have taken some graduate courses during my undergraduate program. Can those courses be used on my M.S. plan of study?
  2. Absolutely no graduate credit taken as an undergraduate at an institution other than OSU can be used toward an OSU graduate degree. OSU undergraduates are allowed through Academic Regulation 4.7 to take a limited number of courses for graduate credit that can be applied toward an OSU graduate degree. To earn graduate credit OSU undergraduate students are required to complete the Application For Graduate Credit For Graduating Seniors form available at:

This form must be completed and turned into the Graduate College by the end of the second week of the semester in which the graduate level courses are taken (or by the end of the 1st week of a summer session). Requirements are noted on the form.

The following conditions must apply:

  • The course must not have been counted towards credit requirements for the B.S. degree.
  • The courses have to have been approved for graduate credit by the institution’s Graduate College through the proper submission of the “Graduate Credit for Graduating Senior” form.
  • You must have earned a grade of “B” or better in the course.

If you are currently an M.S. student and want to transfer graduate credits towards an OSU Ph.D. degree, the following conditions must be met:

  • These credits must not have counted towards credit requirements for your M.S. degree.
  • All transfer credit must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.
  • Up to nine graduate credit hours can be transferred from an accredited university.
  • Up to 30 hours of graduate credit can be transferred from an accredited university and a Ph.D. granting department.
  • You must have received a grade of “B” or better in those courses.

Regardless of the credits being qualified for transfer, they could count for prerequisites for subsequent upper level courses, which is decided by the student’s academic advisory committee.

  1. Q.I have applied, but have not been admitted to the program. If I enroll in the Graduate College as a Special student and earn credit in a graduate level course, and if I am eventually admitted to your program, may I use the course on my plan of study?
  2. If you are an international student, check with the office of International Students and Scholars to verify if you are allowed to take a class. Then you can apply for non-degree seeking (special student) status and then enroll in the class. If the class is approved for graduate credit, you could count it towards a graduate degree (if approved by your advisory committee) once you are admitted into the department. However, you would need to have completed your bachelor’s degree to be able to count these hours towards a graduate degree. Please note that you must be an admitted graduate student (either into the program or as a special student) in order to obtain graduate credit.

Plan of Study/Obtaining an Advisor:

  1. Q.What courses would be included on my plan of study?
  2. Example plans are included in the graduate handbook. Orientation sessions are held every semester, usually the Friday before classes begin. The Chair of the Graduate Admissions Committee will review your academic credentials and may make course suggestions. However, your advisor, and your advisory committee will help you construct and must approve your plan of study.
  1. Q.Once I am admitted, what is the process for selecting an advisor?
  2. The Chair of the Graduate Admissions Committee will be the temporary advisor for graduate students. The temporary advisor is responsible for helping first-semester students schedule course work and fulfill assistantship obligations until a permanent advisor is selected. To select a major advisor, you would complete the following steps:

1.All unassigned students or students without major advisors or committees should attend orientation sessions at which faculty will present summaries of their research.

2.Meet with the department head, 308 Ag Hall. Inform him that you would like to begin the process for acquiring a major advisor. Be prepared to discuss your educational goals, objectives, and specialty area (marketing, production, management of agricultural enterprises, price analysis, land and water use and development, rural development and planning, agricultural finance, international trade, agricultural policy, or other). The department head will request that you meet with specific faculty members.

3.Meet with all faculty members recommended by the department head. Explain to them that you are in the process of selecting a major advisor and that the department head has asked you to meet with them. For some faculty members, it may be necessary to call prior to the meeting to arrange a time. The department head's administrative assistant can provide information regarding phone numbers and secretaries for faculty members. In some cases it will be necessary to make an appointment with the faculty member's secretary. You may meet with other faculty members in addition to those suggested by the department head.

4.Schedule a second meeting with the department head. Inform him of the results of your meetings with faculty members, and indicate any preferences that you may have. (He may contact the faculty on the original list to see if you have met with each of them.) Hopefully, during your meetings with faculty you found several that would be acceptable. The department head will consider prior assignments, current work, and research projects of faculty as well as your preferences. He will then consult with the faculty member prior to making the official assignment.

5.The department head will make the official assignment and convey this information to you in a letter or email. (If you have not received a letter from him, you have not been officially assigned and do not have an official major advisor.)

6.Meet with your major advisor after receiving the official letter. Work with your major advisor to develop an Academic Advisory Committee and plan of study.

  1. Q.I will be starting in the spring semester. Are the core subjects that are pre-requisites for other elective subjects available during this semester?
  2. Students who enter in the spring semester will be able to take some core courses and pre-requisites.
  1. Q.I am a graduate student and would like to take courses outside the Agricultural Economics Department. How do I know if the courses will count towards my degree or if the Graduate College approves?
  2. Approval of these courses is up to your major advisor, your advisory committee and the department head, with final approval of the Graduate College. The departmental personnel involved in the formulation of the plan of study will be responsible for adherence to departmental regulations. The Graduate College does not review plans for compliance to departmental requirements. The Graduate College looks for the minimum number of total hours and dissertation/thesis credit. The Graduate College uses a check list on the M.S./Ph.D. plan of study, which is available at:
  1. Q.How do I enroll for an online class?
  2. If you are not a current student, you may apply to be admitted as a non-degree seeking Special student. This status is available for individuals that have earned a B.S. degree. Otherwise, you will be admitted as a non-degree seeking undergraduate student. The only exception is for OSU undergraduates who are applying to graduate study at OSU. To enroll in online courses:

Access the registration form at and click on the outreach/distance learning link on the left side of the screen, then on enrollment process. The registration form can be downloaded, completed, signed, and either faxed, mailed, scanned in and sent by e-mail to Mary Ellen Givens’ office:

Mary Ellen Givens

CASNR Academic Programs

136 Ag Hall

Stillwater OK 74078

(405) 744-5395

(405) 744-5339 (fax)

M.S. Internship and Zero Ending Courses:

  1. Q.I am a M.S. student with the thesis option. Can I also do an internship?
  2. An internship can be a valuable part of a graduate program. Under a thesis option, you would need to meet all core requirements for the M.S. degree, including writing a thesis (for which you would enroll in AGEC 5000). You could use elective hours for an internship (for which you would enroll in AGEC 5010, and which your advisory committee must approve). Because of the time requirements for an internship, however, it is very important to closely consult with your advisory committee to be sure it will not detract from your thesis research. Although there are no overall restrictions on the total number of zero-ending classes, your advisory committee has to approve them.

Assistantships/Costs: