Main Content
100 Level Courses
11:373:101 Economics, People, and the Environment (3 credits)
Prerequisite: NONE
Description: This introductory economics course fulfills the economic analysis component of the SEBS core curriculum requirement in social analysis. The course covers both microeconomics and macroeconomics in a single semester. As indicated in the course’s title, we will apply economic thinking to select topics that relate to the School’s mission areas in food, environment, and natural resources. Because of these special topics, the course fulfills the Rutgers-New Brunswick core requirement in “contemporary challenges” (CC) as well as “social analysis” (SCL). Note that this course does not serve as a prerequisite for more advanced courses in economics. It is generally not appropriate for students who plan to major in economics or business.
11:373:121 Principles and Applications of Microeconomics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: NONE
Description: Microeconomics is concerned with the behavior of buyers (consumers) and sellers (producers/firms), how they interact with each other in markets, and how this interaction leads to the allocation of scarce resources and the distribution of output. This course introduces students to microeconomic principles with a focus on consumer behavior, firm costs and the prices that result from different market structures.
11:373:122 Principles and Applications of Macroeconomics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 01:640:111 or 112 or 115 or CALCULUS PLACEMENT
Description: This is an introductory course in macroeconomics. Macroeconomics may be defined as a “level of economic analysis concerned with the activity of the entire economy and interactions among large sectors of it.” This course introduces basic economic principles, broad sectors of the entire economy (‘The Big Picture”) dealing with aggregate production and aggregate employment involving the labor market, money demand and money supply for the entire economy. It discusses problems of unemployment, inflation, interest rates, and economic growth. This course will introduce the role of government and the Federal Reserve Bank (“The Fed”) in conducting economic policies (both fiscal policy and monetary policy) to manage the whole economy.
200 Level Courses
11:373:201 Corporate Social Responsibility (3 credits)
Prerequisite: NONE
Description: The course introduces general accounting concepts and offers instruction into how an accounting system is constructed and operated, with a specific focus on the basic financial infrastructure governing modern agricultural production. The course pays particular attention to using accounting methods to evaluate and manage agricultural business risks, financing alternatives, hedging strategies, cooperatives, government programs and financial statement preparation.
11:373:202 Sustainability Decision Tools (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:101 or any 100-level Course in Microeconomics
Description: This course will introduce students to the day-to-day tools of sustainability management for corporations, government, and nonprofits. Primary emphasis will be on the tools used to measure the environmental and resource impacts of industrial processes: life cycle analysis, carbon footprint analysis, and their variants. Corporate responsibility and internal management processes used within firms for achieving sustainability objectives will be discussed. Other topics cover sustainability history and theory, especially the consideration of equity and economic welfare goals in addition to environment. Finally, we will talk about sustainability professions, existing laws and policies, and media strategies. In addition to the two required paperbacks, many readings will consist of professional consulting reports—the kind of research and communication products that are actually read and used by sustainability practitioners.
11:373:205 Small Business Essentials (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Microeconomics course and Accounting recommended
Description: This course focuses on the design and management of all aspects of a business, including employee management, understanding financial statements, customer experience, pricing, marketing, and developing a mission statement.
11:373:210 Business Decision Computer Tools (3 credits)
Prerequisite: tba
Course Syllabus — tba
Description: tba
11:373:211 Applied Mathematical Concepts in Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Pre-Calculus or Math Placement test.
Description: Mathematical Application in Agricultural Economics uses quantitative methods to describe agricultural business and economic phenomena. This course can help students improve their mathematical skills and apply them to Business, Economics, and Social Sciences.
11:373:215 Applications of Statistics in Business Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Any course EQUAL or GREATER than 01:640:111
Description: The purpose of this course is to develop skills in statistical analysis and computer techniques. Particular focus will be on applied descriptive and inferential statistics, including cross-tabulations and correlation and regression analysis, and on computer tools useful in business economics. The course will consist of lectures, weekly readings, problem sets and examinations. In addition, we will have two formal lab sessions and learn to use the statistical package Stata for Windows.
11:373:218 Sustainable Food Policy for Developing Countries (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: This course is interdisciplinary and provides an overview of the food problem in the developing world, examines the social, political and economic reasons for population growth, poverty, malnutrition, food insecurity, underemployment, under development and gender inequality, and the role of agriculture in economic development. The course has three parts. Part I provides a global perspective of economic development and introduces a conceptual framework to analyze it. The framework includes both theories and empirical methods of economic development. Part II provides an in-depth look into critical domestic issues such as poverty, inequality, population growth and control, healthcare, education, human capital, agriculture, urbanization and rural-urban migration in the developing world. Part III extends the discussion to international and macroeconomic issues such as agricultural trade, the role of international institutions in promoting growth and protecting the environment.
11:373:220 Introduction to Environmental Valuation (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
Course Syllabus — TBA
Description: TBA
11:373:231 Introduction to Marketing (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Intro/Principles of Microeconomics (11:373:121 or 01:220:102)
Description: It has been said by many that anyone with good ideas can be successful in the business world today. However, only 20 percent of the businesses that are created survive their first 5 years. This course helps explain that good ideas and good products are not enough to survive in the marketplace today. Honoring the fundamental principles of marketing, including pricing, product development, promoting and distributing of business products are absolutely essential to ensure the long-term viability of an organization. This course explores and applies marketing concepts and how they fit within the context of agricultural products and their distribution. Part one explores the marketing landscape in which all marketing decisions are made, including the development of relationships with customers, the creation of a target market, how to segment your markets into measurable and successful subcomponents, and an exploration of why consumers behave the way they do. Discussions surrounding service, quality, customers, and relationship building are explored with specific reference to the creation, pricing, promotion, and distribution of agricultural commodities. The second part of the course explores the importance of the pricing function and promotional activities in the marketing mix.
Concepts like demand elasticity, sales promotion and public relations are discussed. The third part of the course explores distribution strategies, i.e., how to get a product out to the customer in the most efficient and least costly way. Supply chain theory and the science of retailing, wholesaling, and direct marketing are discussed. Included here are discussions regarding the growing industry we call “e-commerce” and ways to use the worldwide web for expanded marketing opportunities for all agri-related organizations. While this course is conceptually based, students spend a great deal of energy analyzing appropriate marketing opportunities, courses of action, and creating original marketing strategies.
11:373:241 Introduction to Management (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:121 or equivalent
Description: General application of basic concepts, functions, and tools of management that contribute to success and improve individual performances in decision making and other situations and problems in the field of management.
300 Level Courses
11:373:321 Economics of Production (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 01:640:135 or 01:640:151 or 11:373:121 AND 11:373:211
Description: This is an applied intermediate microeconomics course that focuses on Economics of Production and its application in agricultural and business management. The Economics of Production is looked at from the inside as concerns of production, cost, profitability, and competitive strategy considerations, and it is examined from the outside as concerns of the influences of market demand, competition, market structure, and resource supply. The course uses examples and applications to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The course also gives a good grounding in the terminology of Operations Management and an overall perspective of Operations Management within the context of a business organization.
11:373:323 Agriculture and Food Policy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: Policy analysis is a dynamic process of discovery rather than a passive exercise of memorizing facts and
conclusions. This course provides opportunities to “practice the craft” of policy analysis by engaging the
students in realistic case studies and problem-solving scenarios that require the selection and use of applicable
investigative techniques.
US Agricultural and Food Policies will help students learn how policy choices impact the overall performance
of agricultural and food markets. It encourages students to systematically investigate scenarios with appropriate
positive and normative tools. The course emphasizes the importance of employing critical thinking skills to
address the complexities associated with the design and implementation of twenty-first-century agricultural and
food policies. Students are asked to suspend their subjective opinions and emotions and instead apply research
methods that require the careful consideration of both facts and values. The opportunities to build these
investigative skills are abundant when we consider the diversity of modern agricultural and food policy
concerns.
11:373:331 Economics of the Food and Marketing System (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: This course is designed to teach students the economics and management of the US food marketing system that
encompasses the value chain extending from farm gate to consumers’ plate. Students will learn a variety of
concepts, including analytical models and how to use them in assessment of the real-world marketing strategies,
consumer behavior, and market performance. Student’s work throughout the semester should show strong and
coherent evidence of the learning goals, embodied primarily in the writing and thinking they do.
11:373:335 Energy Economics and Policy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: TBA
Course Syllabus — TBA
Description: TBA
11:373:341 Organizational Dynamics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:101 or 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: This course focuses on the integration and application of behavioral and managerial sciences to promote processes by which individuals, groups, and organizations work together for common goals and mutual success.
11:373:351 Business Finance I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ((11:373:215 or 01:960:401 or 01:960:401 ) and (11:373:121 )) OR
((01:960:285 or 01:960:401 or 01:960:401 ) and (11:373:121 )) OR ((01:960:211 or 01:960:401 or 01:960:401 ) and (11:373:121 )) OR ((01:960:211 or 01:960:401 or 01:960:401 ) and (01:220:102 )) OR ((01:960:285 or 01:960:401 or 01:960:401 ) and (01:220:102 )) OR ((11:373:215 or 01:960:401 or 01:960:401 ) and (01:220:102 ))
Description: This course provides a basic understanding of concepts and practices of financial management including the analysis of a firm’s financial position, working capital management and budgeting, costs of funds and capital structure, and financial instruments.
11:373:352 Economics of Futures Markets (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: The course includes basic investment instruments, tools such as options on futures. The basics about trading both stocks and futures. Topics include order types, technical and fundamental analysis for stocks and futures, hedging, factors that affect cash and futures prices (the basis), margin requirements and procedures, regulations, and spread/arbitrage trading. The Internet will be used extensively as an information source.
See the most recent syllabus for a detailed listing of topics that will be covered.
11:373:353 Personal Finance (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Microeconomics 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: This course will teach economic and financial strategies used to accumulate, manage, and protect personal assets, with an emphasis on income generation, expense reduction, investment selection, and wealth creation to meet future needs and goals. Topics include investing (mutual funds, stocks, etc.), annuities, deferred savings,
insurance, retirement planning, estate planning, and real estate finance.
11:373:361 Land Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:101 or 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: This course focuses on some key aspects of land use from a policy perspective. In particular, the topics address the theory and analysis of land rent, land evaluation, efficiency of land as an input into the production process, property rights, land-based institutions, and demand aspects of land and land-based resources. The goal is to provide a broad overview of the problems related to land use and an appreciation of land as a social and natural resource.
11:373:362 Natural Resource Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:101 or 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: This course will focus on some key topics in natural resource economics from a policy perspective. In particular the topics examine market and nonmarket decision making and their policy implications. The goal is to provide an understanding of the economic phenomena at play at the nexus of society and the environment and allow students to solve allocation problems under different social objectives. The economic tools developed are applied to renewable resources, exhaustible resources, water, pollution, marine resources, climate change, conservation planning, and other contemporary economic problems.
11:373:363 Environmental Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: TBA
Course Syllabus — TBA
Description: TBA
11:373:371 Food, Nutrition and Health Policy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: This course explores economic and policy aspects of the U.S. agriculture and food supply chain with a focus on food safety, nutrition, and health. The objectives are twofold: (a) to help students better understand the U.S. agriculture and food supply chain under both the domestic and international contexts; and (b) to guide students to apply economic concepts and methods to analyze food related issues by utilizing both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
400 Level Courses
11:373:402 Global Marketing (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:121 or 01:220:102 Microeconomics, 01:220:103 Macroeconomics, and 11:373:231 Agribusiness Marketing
Description: This course involves the study of the issues involved in identifying, and developing, relationships with global markets. The course analyzes the marketing that occurs across national boundaries. Never before in the history of this country has global marketing been so critically important
11:373:403 Innovation and Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:231
Description: “The direction of all economic affairs is in the market society a task of the entrepreneurs. Theirs is the control of production. They are at the helm and steer the ship. A superficial observer would believe that they are supreme. But they are not. They are bound to obey unconditionally the captain’s orders. The captain is the consumer.” Ludwig Von Mises, Human Action (1940). In this course, we will explore how the entrepreneur (translated from the French “undertaker”) use new knowledge (innovation) or updated knowledge to address a consumer need. Consumers can be acutely aware of this need or ignorant of the need, in this latter instance the consumer depends on the entrepreneur to introduce him/her to a good or service that “he/she can’t really live without.”
11:373:404 Bioscience Policy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: An introduction to microeconomic theory. Need to be comfortable with economic analysis using supply and demand curves and be prepared to learn the basics of cost benefit analysis
Description: The development and spread the mRNA and DNA vaccines for COVID-19 is an example on how breakthroughs in science combine with billions of government dollars in funding for vaccine production, guaranteed demand for the product, streamlining regulations, and government marketing can save millions of lives as well as allowing companies to make profits. Additional advances in biology will be the basis of growth in health, agriculture, industry and the environment in the 21st Century. New Jersey industry and Rutgers University are among the leaders in biological sciences and biotechnology research. This course will examine the impact of government investments in science and the impact of technology policies on research and technology development by industries which are based on the biological sciences – Pharmaceuticals, Food, Agriculture, Biofuel and other biochemicals. It will also look at how government policies shape the impact of science on these industries and on economic growth and welfare of the citizens of United States and the World.
11:373:422 Demand and Price Analysis (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
Description: TBA
11:373:431 International Trade Policy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: 11:373:121 or 01:220:102
Description: This course focuses on the political economy of trade in agricultural products, trade policies and practices of import and export nations, agricultural policies of common market areas and other major trading blocks, market instability and other primary commodity problems, trade negotiations and current developments in agricultural trade and trade policy from a multidisciplinary perspective.
11:373:491 Research Problems in Agricultural, Environmental, and Business Economics (3 credits)
Credits by Arrangement
11:373:492 Business Issues (3 credits)
Credits by Arrangement
11:373:495 Issues in Agricultural, Environmental, and Business Economics (3 credits)
Credits by Arrangement