We are pleased to announce that as of December 2017, all graduate degrees from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Department at UW-Madison have a Federal STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) designation. This is possible due to a shift in CIP code to ‘Econometrics and Quantitative Economics ‘ from ‘Agricultural Economics’.
This shift resulted from a recent evaluation of our curriculum and student outcomes. The focus of the program has evolved significantly since its founding, to keep up with a rapidly changing global economy. For years, our students have been instructed in the understanding and application of quantitative and mathematical skills necessary to be an applied economist. Department Chair Jeremy Foltz said “It was time that our official designation match what our students are learning.”
AAE at UW-Madison is the first Agricultural and Applied Economics department in the country to have a federal STEM designation for its graduate programs. This designation gives both our students and faculty access to additional funding opportunities through NSF and other sources. In addition, it qualifies international graduate students for an extension through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program.
As part of this new classification, all master’s degrees from the department will be Master’s of Science. This includes our degrees in both Agricultural and Applied Economics, and Resource and Energy Demand Analysis (REDA). All degree requirements are available here.