Program Description
Are you interested in a career with a food or agricultural business? If so, the food and agricultural business minor is designed for you. This minor gives you the opportunity to select core business courses that are relevant to your personal and career interests, and take courses that specifically equip you to better understand the particular characteristics of food or agricultural sectors in the United States and abroad. Career opportunities exist in food processing, marketing and distribution, the production and marketing of agricultural products, and the businesses that support food and agricultural enterprises.
Eligibility
All Cornell undergraduates except students enrolled in Dyson, and any majors that include overlap of two or more core courses. Students are eligible to sign up for the minor as early as their first year and no later than their sixth semester.
Academic Policies
A minimum of 12 unique credits (outside of major's core requirements) must be taken to complete any/all minors. Some majors may be required to take an additional course to satisfy this requirement. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, and a grade of C or better is required.
Minor Requirements
Required Credits
This minor requires a total of 18 credits to complete, which includes 3 foundation credits and 15 core credits. From the total credits, 9 must be taken at Cornell University, and 9 must be Johnson College of Business (JCB) courses, which include any course code of AEM, HADM, NBA, or NCC. *Note - in many cases, the Cornell and JCB requirements will overlap (e.g. AEM 2241 Finance is a JCB course and a Cornell course, so it will satisfy 3 credits for each requirement).
Foundation Courses
This minor requires 3 credits in microeconomics. We recommend taking this course before taking the minor's core requirements and require it to be completed by your sixth semester. A letter grade of C or better is required.
Introductory Microeconomics (3 credits)
Course List Code | Title | Hours |
ECON 1110 | Introductory Microeconomics | 3 |
ECON 3030 | Intermediate Microeconomic Theory | 4 |
HADM 1410 | Microeconomics for the Service Industry (Nolan students only) | 3 |
PUBPOL 2000 | Intermediate Microeconomics | 4 |
Core Requirements
The minor's requirements (15 credits) must be fulfilled by taking courses from the list below. Please note that 9 credits must be Johnson College of Business (JCB) courses. Of the courses taken, at least 2 of the 5 courses need to be 3000 level or above. You may not double count courses across the categories below. In the general business and management category, only 1 course may be taken per area. A letter grade of C or better is required.
*Nolan students - your allowed overlaps are HADM 1410 and one non-elective core course of your choosing.
General Business and Management (6 credits)
Two of the following courses are required. Only one course per area may be taken:
Core Courses (3 Credits)
The following course is required:
Course List Code | Title | Hours |
AEM 2310 | Business and Economics of Food | 3 |
Electives (6 Credits)
6 credits are required from the list below. A maximum of 3 credits may be taken in experiential courses. All courses must be taken for letter grade.
Course List Code | Title | Hours |
AEM 2050 | Introduction to Agricultural Finance | 3 |
AEM 2480 | Food and Consumer Packaged Goods Industry Dynamics | 3 |
AEM 3020 | Farm Business Management | 4 |
AEM 3040 | Dairy Markets and Policy | 3 |
AEM 3270 | Supply Chain Strategy and Supermarket Simulation | 3 |
AEM 4450 | Toward a Sustainable Global Food System: Food Policy for Developing Countries | 3 |
Experiential
Course List Code | Title | Hours |
AEM 3290 | International Agribusiness Study Trip | 2 |
AEM 3385 | Social Entrepreneurship Practicum: Anabel's Grocery | 3 |
AEM 4050 | Farm Credit Fellows - Agricultural Lending | 1 |
AEM 4460 | Food Marketing Fellows | 0.5 |
HADM 4315 | Nonprofit Social Enterprise and Food Justice | 3 |
HADM 4340 | Catering and Special Events Management | 3 |