The Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business

Total Course Requirements for the Bachelor's Degree: 120 units

See Bachelor's Degree Requirements in the University Catalog for complete details on general degree requirements. A minimum of 39 units, including those required for the major, must be upper division.

A suggested Major Academic Plan (MAP) has been prepared to help students meet all graduation requirements within four years. You can view MAPs on the Major Academic Plans page or you can request a plan from your major advisor.

Courses in this program may complete more than one graduation requirement.

General Education Pathway Requirements: 48 units

See General Education in the University Catalog and the Class Schedule for the most current information on General Education Pathway Requirements and course offerings.

This major has approved GE modification(s). See below for information on how to apply these modification(s).

• ANSC 101 is an approved major course substitution for Life Sciences (B2).
• AGRI 482W is an approved major course substitution for Upper-Division Social Sciences.

Diversity Course Requirements: 6 units

See Diversity Requirements in the University Catalog. Most courses taken to satisfy these requirements may also apply to General Education .

Upper-Division Writing Requirement:

Writing Across the Curriculum (Executive Memorandum 17-009) is a graduation requirement and may be demonstrated through satisfactory completion of four Writing (W) courses, two of which are designated by the major department. See Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning and Writing Requirements in the University Catalog for more details on the four courses.  The first of the major designated Writing (W) courses is listed below.

The second major-designated Writing course is the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GW) (Executive Order 665). Students must earn a C- or higher to receive GW credit. The GE Written Communication (A2) requirement must be completed before a student is permitted to register for a GW course.

Grading Requirement:

All courses taken to fulfill major course requirements must be taken for a letter grade except those courses specified by the department as Credit/No Credit grading only.

Course Requirements for the Major: 80 units

Completion of the following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, is required of all candidates for this degree.

Lower-Division Requirements: 38 units

9 courses required:

2 courses selected from:

6 units selected from:

Any lower-division Agricultural Business (ABUS), Agricultural Engineering Technology (AGET), Animal Science (ANSC), Plant and Soil Science (PSSC), or Agriculture (AGRI) course.

Upper-Division Requirements: 42 units

9 courses required:

SUBJ NUM	Title	Sustainable	Units	Semester Offered	Course Flags
ABUS 301	Agricultural Production Economics and Quantitative Analysis		3.0	FS
Prerequisites: ABUS 101 or ECON 103. Application of microeconomic theory to the agricultural production process, including single and multivariate production and cost functions, price determination in competitive and non-competitive markets and programs. 3 hours lecture. (000024)
ABUS 311	Agricultural Markets and Pricing		3.0	FS
Prerequisites: ABUS 101. Economic principles applied to the marketing of agricultural products. Function, structure, and operation of agricultural markets. Introduction to the futures market. Trends in marketing of California agricultural crops and livestock. 3 hours lecture. (000026)
ABUS 321	Agribusiness Management		3.0	FS
Prerequisites: ABUS 101 or equivalent. The application of economic and management principles to the planning, control, and organization of agribusiness firms. Linear programming applications, decision trees, inventory control, and equipment replacement. 3 hours lecture. (000027)
ABUS 415	Agribusiness Data Analysis		3.0	FS
Prerequisites: ABUS 231, MATH 105. Methods in agribusiness data analysis, including descriptive and inferential statistics, hypothesis formulation and testing, analysis of variance, and regression analysis. Topics include statistical techniques for a range of agricultural applications, including the analysis of price-determining factors for agricultural products. 3 hours lecture. (000040)
ABUS 421	Advanced Agribusiness Management		3.0	FS
Prerequisites: ABUS 301, ABUS 321, senior standing. Agribusiness organization and management. Budgeting, input-output relationships, and enterprise analysis in decision making. Application of economic and management principles. Human resource management. 2 hours lecture, 2 hours activity. (000041)
ABUS 451W	Agricultural Policy (W)		3.0	FS	W
Prerequisites: ABUS 301, ECON 102. Domestic and international issues in U.S. agricultural food policy. A study of the major problems confronting agriculture, the process by which government formulates agricultural policy, and the socio-economic impact of current government programs. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. (000029)
ABUS 465	Agricultural Finance		3.0	FS
Prerequisites: ABUS 101 and ABUS 261. Financing of agricultural enterprises. Principles, methods, and institutions involved in financing farming enterprises and related agricultural industries. Coordinated financial statements. Capital budgeting. 2 hours discussion, 2 hours activity. (000030)
AGRI 331	Agricultural Ecology		3.0	FS
Prerequisites: Completion of lower-division core or faculty permission. An interdisciplinary treatment of physical and biological environments used for agriculture. Historical and ecological nature of agriculture its impact on the landscape and society. Comparison of sustainable and non-sustainable agricultural practices. 2 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. (000206)
AGRI 482W	Agricultural Issues (W)		3.0	FS	GW  W
Prerequisites: GE Written Communication (A2) requirement, senior standing or instructor permission. An examination of major issues confronting agriculture emphasizing critical thinking, research, and balancing complex, and often opposing views of the role of agriculture in society. The course uses group work and presentations to enhance written and oral communication skills. This is the capstone course for AGRI, ANSC, and ABUS majors. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement course; a grade of C- or higher certifies writing proficiency for majors. This is an approved Writing Course. (000229)

3 units selected from:

Any upper-division production course from Animal Science (ANSC), Agricultural Engineering Technology (AGET), or Plant and Soil Science (PSSC). These courses are limited to those offerings that have either ANSC 101, PSSC 101, or PSSC 250 as a prerequisite.

12 units selected from:

Any upper-division College of Agriculture courses selected with approval of your advisor. Nine of the 12 units should be Agricultural Business courses. Up to 3 units of internship can be used in this area.

Electives Requirement:

To complete the total units required for the bachelor's degree, select additional elective courses from the total University offerings. You should consult with an advisor regarding the selection of courses which will provide breadth to your University experience and possibly apply to a supportive second major or minor.

Students may double count only one approved upper-division General Education Pathway course with a required option elective.

Advising Requirement:

Advising is mandatory for all majors in this degree program. Consult your undergraduate advisor for specific information.

Honors in the Major:

Honors in the Major is a program of independent work in your major. It requires 6 units of honors course work completed over two semesters.

The Honors in the Major program allows you to work closely with a faculty mentor in your area of interest on an original performance or research project. This year-long collaboration allows you to work in your field at a professional level and culminates in a public presentation of your work. Students sometimes take their projects beyond the University for submission in professional journals, presentation at conferences, or academic competition. Such experience is valuable for graduate school and professional life. Your honors work will be recognized at your graduation, on your permanent transcripts, and on your diploma. It is often accompanied by letters of commendation from your mentor in the department or the department chair.

Some common features of Honors in the Major program are:

• You must take 6 units of Honors in the Major course work. All 6 units are honors classes (marked by a suffix of H), and at least 3 of these units are independent study (399H, 499H, 599H) as specified by your department. You must complete each class with a minimum grade of B.
• You must have completed 9 units of upper-division course work or 21 overall units in your major before you can be admitted to Honors in the Major. Check the requirements for your major carefully, as there may be specific courses that must be included in these units.
• Your cumulative GPA should be at least 3.5 or within the top 5% of majors in your department.
• Your GPA in your major should be at least 3.5 or within the top 5% of majors in your department.
• Most students apply for or are invited to participate in Honors in the Major during the second semester of their junior year. Then they complete the 6 units of course work over the two semesters of their senior year.
• Your honors work culminates with a public presentation of your honors project.

While Honors in the Major is part of the Honors Program, each department administers its own program. Please contact your major department or major advisor to apply.