Academics and Advising (ABFS)

Advising & Contact

ABFS is an interdisciplinary program developed and co-managed by the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics (FARE) and the Department of Human Ecology. The program is administered out of the FARE offices on the first floor of the Cook Office Building, 55 Dudley Road on Cook Campus.

The Undergraduate Program Director for ABFS is Dr. Ethan Schoolman, Associate Professor of Human Ecology. Dr. Schoolman may be reached at ethan.schoolman@rutgers.edu.

New and interested students should write abfs@sebs.rutgers.edu with questions about the program.

Learning Goals

1. Explain the basic human, socioeconomic and environmental dimensions of the American food system, and apply a systems approach to analyzing and interpreting contemporary food and agricultural issues, opportunities, problems, and trends. 

2. Evaluate the diversity of agricultural production paradigms, including sustainable agriculture, across multiple scales and geographies (from home to the community to industrial scales), and be able to defend and critique each using a variety of frameworks that address economic, environmental, and social justice impacts. 

3. Define the scope and significance of agricultural business in the global and local food system, and apply marketing channels, logistics, and strategies for getting agricultural products from producers to consumers. 

4. Acquire skills in research design, quantitative methods, and data analysis, applicable to a wide range of agricultural business and food systems careers. 

5. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills and the ability to work in teams. 

6. Apply their knowledge, research skills, critical thinking skills, as well as qualitative and quantitative skills to solve problems, engage in an applied experiential internship or practicum opportunities, or plan a new business or social enterprise within the agricultural and food systems sector.