Food safety and security, natural resource depletion, climate change and the drive for sustainability are among the most significant global challenges of our time. There is a growing demand for professionals who are skilled at solving economics problems and making decisions relevant to these critical agricultural and natural resource issues.

With UNE’s Bachelor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, you will build specialist quantitative skills to pivot your career in a diverse range of agricultural and natural resource settings.

Why study the Bachelor of Agricultural and Resource Economics with UNE?

Our course is uniquely positioned to equip you with the knowledge, skills and attributes you need to solve economic problems and drive decision making in various sectors grappling with agricultural and natural resource issues, whether you work in business, government or the community.

Students consistently award UNE the maximum 5-star ratings for Overall Experience and Student Support in The Good Universities Guide, so when you study with us, you know you are in good hands.

What makes our course different?

We offer a unique opportunity to examine agriculture and natural resources through an economics lens. Specifically, you will be able to:

• Develop advanced skills in analysing economic trade-offs, weighing up costs and benefits, and interpreting the interconnected relationships between economic activity, environmental depletion and production systems.
• Apply initiative, judgement and critical thinking to solving real-world agricultural and natural resource issues.
• Consider current agricultural and natural resources challenges from a global perspective.
• Undertake an in-depth research project, with supportive supervision, giving you valuable practical experience in analysing agricultural and natural resource issues.
• Hone your understanding of social responsibility in relation to agricultural and business practices and develop an appreciation of the importance of the environment and sustainability.
• Choose between a coursework-only option, or undertake an embedded honours program, comprised of a supervised program of reading and research and a dissertation that investigates and reports on a particular area of economic enquiry that interests you.
• Undertake practical work experience.
• Participate in overseas study tours and exchange programs that value add to your degree, such as attending the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) symposium.
• Choose between the flexibility of studying online where you can balance your work and study commitments to suit you or studying on-campus in Armidale, where you’ll be living in a regional community and will see the relevance of your learnings first-hand.
• Interact with the Smart Region Incubator, an innovative hub co-located in our Business School, that connects regional businesses that have growth potential with academic business research, business mentors, corporate and community partners.

(a) To qualify for the award a candidate must pass units to the value of 192 credit points with not more than 60 credit points at 100 level; at least 72 credit points at 300 level; and not more than 24 credit points at 400 level.
(b) To qualify for the award of Honours a candidate must pass units to the value of 192 credit points with not more than 60 credit points at 100 level; at least 36 credit points at 300 level; and at least 42 credit points at 400 level including BUS481C.

Rule A

192 credit points

Coursework Candidates

• Core Units
• Listed Units
• Elective Units

Rule B

192 credit points

Honours Candidates

• Core Units
• Listed Units
• Elective Units

See UNE Handbook for more details. The Handbook contains detailed course information designed for enrolled students, including course plans, exit awards, intensive schools, and work placement requirements.

You will graduate with a strong economic and quantitative background that allows you to explore a variety of professional career options in the private and public sectors, domestically and internationally, or to advance to higher degree studies. 

 You could consider positions in:  

• government departments and bureaus 
• industry bodies such as Meat and Livestock Australia, and Graincorp 
• agribusiness and primary production 
• commodity trading 
• agribusiness banking, finance and insurance 
• investment banking. 

For direct admission into undergraduate courses offered by UNE you must have completed an educational qualification considered to be at least equivalent to completion of Year 12 in Australia.

An IELTS (Academic) overall score of at least 6.0 with no sub-band less than 5.5; or equivalent TOEFL score of at least 213 in the computer-based test; or at least 79 in the internet-based test with no less than 22 in the written component; or a PTE Academic minimum overall score of 57 with no skill less than 50;