Two new master's degrees for our times

Graduate students enrolled in the new Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE) at the faculty of Land and Food Systems will discuss world grain prices and other related issues - photo from ©iStock/melhi

UBC Reports | Vol. 55 | No. 8 | Aug. 6, 2009

Two new master’s degrees for our times

New master’s degree helps students tackle global food issues

What caused two recent spikes in grain prices? Are we facing a global food crisis? Graduate students enrolled in the new Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE) at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems will probe these and other real world issues when the program launches this fall.

“The world is faced with increasingly complex economic issues dealing with food security, safety and trade and the effects of the food sector on the environment,” says Shoren Jin, one of 15 graduate students to enter the program this September. “The marketplace needs people who can analyze, evaluate and solve these public policy and business issues.”

The MFRE is the first professional masters degree in Canada to offer a combination of applied economics, policy analysis and agribusiness management. The 30-credit program can be completed in one year and should be of particular interest to graduates and professionals such as policy analysts, market consultants and researchers looking to sharpen their skill-sets with more advanced economics and real world applications. MFRE courses are taught by faculty members as well as people in industry or government from the food and resource sectors.

The Food and Resource Economics (FRE) group in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems devised the program to fulfill a demand of bachelor’s degree graduates from agricultural economics and related programs for a master’s degree adapted to their interests and education.

“The new program will prepare students to understand changes in food markets, undertake agricultural and resource policy analyses, and evaluate proposals to solve environmental problems,” says Rick Barichello, associate professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. “This will enable graduates to contribute better in government and industry as policy-makers and marketing managers.”

“I’m hoping to learn more about issues in the food and resource sectors relating to natural resources and sustainable growth that I can then apply in the workplace when I graduate,” she says.

Xuhui Yuan, a recent UBC graduate with a major in economics, also likes the MFRE’s straightforward approach to tackling today’s economic issues.

“I want to study something that can be used in the real world,” Yuan says. “The MFRE seems to fit what’s going on right now in the food and resource sectors.”

Already working for a trading company that imports food and owns a supermarket, Yuan says she didn’t want to enter a graduate degree program that was too sweeping and theoretical. She first became interested in pursuing graduate studies as a UBC undergraduate student. Finding no specialized focus for economics majors at the undergraduate level, Yuan took several Food and Resource Economics courses in her third and fourth years. She hopes the MFRE will deepen her knowledge of food markets and give her a better understanding of

ways to cut down on waste and use scarce resources more sustainably. Both students like the fact that there seems to be an increasing demand for jobs in those sectors and that, through the MFRE program, they can learn more about sustainable practices.

“With this degree I am more likely to be hired in a management position in the food industry,” says Yuan. “I could work for government, futures markets, a trading company, a resource company, or in the agricultural sector. The possibilities for me once I graduate are many.”

For more information about the MFRE program, www.landfood.ubc.ca/programs/master_food_res_econ.htm.

A New Masters of Engineering with a Clean Energy Focus

The Faculty of Applied Science and the Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC) at UBC are offering a new master’s degree in Clean Energy Engineering to help conserve and meet the global need for energy while minimizing the release of greenhouse gases and other emissions.

The first of its kind in Canada, the program is aimed at engineering graduates looking for advanced training in both reducing energy demand through energy-efficient technologies and improving the supply of energy from sustainable energy sources such as biomass, solar, wind and small-scale hydro. The 12-16-month program will also focus on energy conservation, social change concepts, efficient use of electricity and acquiring the tools to compare and evaluate alternative energy scenarios.

The program combines courses with a co-operative work term where students will have the opportunity to begin to develop their career goals in areas such as technology development, management, business and leadership.

In partnership with the UBC Sustainability Office and the Faculty of Applied Science, BC Hydro Power Smart will support the program by providing expertise with a focus on energy conservation, co-funding engineering co-op work placements, and supporting a BC Hydro Power Smart Instructional Fellow and program curriculum development.