Graduate Program By-Laws
The graduate program in Agricultural Economics is a department-based program offering the M.S. (either Plan I or Plan II) and the Ph.D. degrees in Agricultural and Resource Economics. We apply the following by-laws for administering the program and governing participation in the graduate program:
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The program is administered by the Department’s Graduate Administrative Committee, the members of which are nominated by the Department’s Chair and approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies. The Committee shall consist of a chair and three members. All four members of the GAC must be members of the graduate faculty of the Department.
The GAC is responsible for managing all matters of policy, procedures, etc., relating to all aspects of graduate education, from admission to completion of all degree requirements, including preliminary and oral examinations, graduate curriculum, student petitions, etc. Matters of policy aside from what are deemed by the GAC to be routine procedural questions shall be voted upon by the graduate faculty of the Department.
The GAC is responsible for maintaining a Departmental Handbook for the graduate program, which shall include course descriptions, degree requirements, and specific rules concerning written and qualifying examinations. The Handbook shall serve as the official statement of all policies and procedures, except for the statement of the rules governing participation in the graduate program, which is provided by this document.
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The graduate faculty shall consist of all faculty with a 0% or greater appointment in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics who have either an academic senate appointment or are agricultural cooperative extension specialists. By-law 3 below governs participation in the program by individuals who are not part of the Department’s graduate faculty.
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An individual may serve as a member of an orals or thesis committee, though not a member of the Department’s graduate faculty, provided that the GAC approves their participation. Eligibility is determined by evidence of excellence in scholarship and an active research program in an area that is relevant for the student’s proposed research. When deemed appropriate, such an individual may also co-chair a thesis committee, subject to approval by the GAC. Such individuals may not chair oral examinations within the Department.
Every three-person Ph.D. thesis committee must have at least two members of the Department’s graduate faculty. The majority of every orals committee must by graduate faculty in Agricultural and Resource Economics.
Finally, individuals who are not members of the Department may serve as sole chairs of a thesis committee, subject to approval by the GAC and also by the Departmental Chair, who represents the entire graduate faculty. At the Department Chair’s discretion, a vote by the entire graduate faculty may be required before a chair from outside the Department is approved, in which case, a simple majority would have to vote in favor. The criteria for service as chair are the same as for membership – evidence of a research program and expertise in the area of research to be pursued by the student.
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Any individual who joins the Department as a faculty member with at least a 0% appointment automatically becomes a member of the graduate faculty.