This course focuses on a project that demonstrates how the student’s multidisciplinary plan of study has prepared him/her for future academic and career activities. Students will integrate their multidisciplinary concentrations through a capstone project and supplementary exercises. The student will execute his/her identified project and prepare the finished project for public presentation and review by an approved Client or Subject Matter Expert, SME. Additional emphasis will be placed on the acquisition of networking and similar professional skills such as interviewing techniques, research techniques, and making use of academic, business, and personal networks.

This course provides an introduction to development economics, which focuses on the problems and challenges faced typically but not exclusively by the developing countries. In this course we will study the economic transformation of developing countries by focusing on the characteristics of land, labor and credit markets in rural areas of developing countries. We will survey the large literature on modeling economic growth and discuss relevant case studies from developing countries.

This course examines the relationship and apparent conflict between economic growth and environmental quality, the economics of environmental issues and policy, the environment as a resource and a public good, and the ability and lack of ability of free markets and the government to deal adequately with pollution and other environmental problems.

This course develops an economic perspective on one of the most important and challenging issues facing global society: the allocation, use, and preservation of natural resources. The course presents and discusses the methodology economists use to inform natural resource managers and policy makers. Economic thought and analysis are used to evaluate a variety of issues in this area. The course concludes with a brief discussion of the interdisciplinary aspects of natural resource management.