This program aims to help students learn about the key role that technology and data skills play in the operation of agribusinesses, at the regional, state, and/or national levels. Students have the opportunity to gain a strong foundation of programming and data management skills in food production, growing, processing, packaging, transportation, and/or sales/marketing. This program helps students understand how agribusiness tech and data analytics can make the food and agricultural industries more efficient, sustainable, transparent, and able to respond quickly to the rapidly shifting consumer behavior/demand. The coursework provides students with a solid foundation in data acquisition, data management, data visualization, data usage, including GIS - geographic information systems, and data-based decision making, all of which contribute to better, more efficient, and sustainable food and agricultural decisions. This will prepare students for a wide range of agribusiness technology careers; specifically, the program is designed to offer three career tracks, depending on students’ interest - i.e., farm/growing data track, agribusiness operations data track, and marketing/sales intelligence track. Students will use their Python, big data visualization, SQL, GIS, business analytics, and/or econometric/forecasting modeling skills to help the farming, processing, packaging, transportation, and/or marketing/sales side of agribusinesses.
Admission Requirements
Program is available to students from all majors as well as non-matriculating students.
Graduation Requirements
Students must earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 in courses allowed in fulfilling the Applied Agribusiness Technology minor or certificate requirements.
Program Learner Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Develop a strong foundation of programming and data skills (as they relate to data acquisition, data management, data visualization, data usage, GIS - geographic information systems, and data-based decision making) needed by agribusiness professionals in farming/growing, processing/packaging/transportation, and/or sales/marketing.
- Apply their programming and data skills to make sound agribusiness decisions that will allow them to function effectively in an ever-changing global economy; students will be able to tackle challenges faced by agribusinesses and our society at large (e.g., socio-demographic changes, scarcity of natural resources, food security, sustainability, climate change).
- Gain important programing and data competencies for a wide range of agribusiness technology careers in food and agricultural industries.