Non Technical Summary
The Puerto Rico Council of Higher Education has approved a new doctoral program in tropical agriculture at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, set to launch in August 2024. Currently, the university offers a master's degree in agricultural economics, available both on-campus and online. However, the new doctoral program does not yet include courses in agricultural economics. This proposal aims to add agricultural economics to the program's curriculum. We plan to train faculty in teaching methods and coding, and to create eight online doctoral-level courses in agricultural economics. This would make it the only doctoral program in Puerto Rico focused on economics. Including agricultural economics is crucial for students working in agriculture, as it will make them more competitive in the job market, particularly for agriculture-related positions.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
601	6299	3010	30%
901	6299	3010	70%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 901 - Program and Project Design, and Statistics;

Subject Of Investigation
6299 - Marketing, general/other;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics;

Goals / Objectives
This project aims to include agricultural economics in the new doctoral program curriculum on tropical agriculture. To our knowledge, this would be the only program focused on economics at the doctoral level in Puerto Rico. Incorporating agricultural economics into the program is particularly important for understanding certain aspects necessary for students working in agriculture. By having knowledge in agricultural economics, students can be more competitive in the labor force, especially in agricultural-related jobs.The specific objectives are to (1) train faculty members of the AERS department on instructional strategies, evaluation metrics, coding and to revisit tools available in Moodle (yr. 1), (2) prepare a curriculum with an emphasis in agricultural economics (yr. 2-3), (3) and upgrade the current laboratory, thus providing doctoral students with additional tools to become successful in the program (yr. 4).

Project Methods
Workshops: We plan to develop 6 workshops to train faculty members in instructional strategies and coding, which contributes to change in knowledge.Course development: We plan to develop 8 courses using literature review, databases, peer-reviewed journals, newsletters and books. A combination of video conferences, forums, homeworks and exams will be developed for each course.Upgrade the current laboratory: To enhance the academic experiences of students and provide a better environment for faculty members conducting online seminars and training, we plan to upgrade the current laboratory by purchasing new computers, software, a smart board, and a microphone.We will evaluate the output by examining the number of training, courses developed, including the content by course, and equipment purchased for the laboratory.