Degree Options

Specializations

AFRE graduate students may take advantage of interdepartmental specializations offered by Michigan State University. Specializations act like a minor field, and they appear on your transcript. Numerous graduate specializations are available.

Doctoral Dual Major Guidelines for AFRE and Economics

AFRE Ph.D. students may pursue a dual major in Economics. Graduates with a dual major receive one Ph.D. degree denoting majors in both departments. To complete the dual major, a Ph.D. student in AFRE or Economics must meet the degree requirements of both departments.

To qualify to pursue the dual major in Economics, AFRE Ph.D. students must complete core courses and pass Economics qualifying examinations in microeconomic theory, econometrics, and macroeconomics by the end of their first year. If the qualifying exam is failed on the first try (May), it must be re-taken the next time the exam is offered (August of the same year).

A student must apply and be approved for dual major status in the other department upon successfully completing their three qualifying exams, but no later than the end of their second year. Within this timeline, the student constructs a course plan that meets the requirements of both departments and must be approved by the Graduate Program Directors (GPDs) in both AFRE and Economics. The same course can be used to meet requirements of both programs subject to approval by both GPDs. Within this timeline, the student also constructs a guidance committee, which must have at least two AFRE members and two Economics members. Faculty members with AFRE/Economics joint appointments can count as Economics guidance committee members for the purposes of the dual major guidance committee.

Dual major students must meet the comprehensive examination requirements of the department in which they originated.

AFRE students interested in the dual major option should contact the AFRE Graduate Program Director for more information.

Environmental Science and Policy Doctoral Dual Major

A doctoral dual major in AFRE and Environmental Science and Policy is also available. Please see https://espp.msu.edu/education/dualmajor.html for details.