College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Main Types of Funding 

There are several ways graduate students can receive financial support for their programs. The Department offers graduate Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, and Extension Assistantships.  

• Research Assistantships (RAs) are the most common type of assistantship and are available to both M.S. and Ph.D. students. RAs support faculty on research projects, most of which are grant-funded projects.  

• Teaching Assistantships (TAs) in AFRE are instructor of record positions and entail the TA teaching an undergraduate-level course in AFRE. As such, only Ph.D. students are eligible for TAs in AFRE and students employed as TAs are typically in their third or fourth year of doctoral studies. Prior to TAing, AFRE Ph.D. students typically serve as a grader for the course they will teach and are mentored by a faculty instructor of record in the course content, classroom management, and pedagogy. Students interested in academic careers are encouraged to TA in at least one semester during their doctoral studies. 

• Extension Assistantships (EAs) are a new initiative in AFRE beginning in 2024 and are a partnership with MSU Extension. EAs work with an AFRE faculty member on extension/outreach activities related to issues of importance to MSU Extension stakeholders. EAs are available to both M.S. and Ph.D. students and help prepare students for careers that involve extension or outreach. 

Graduate assistants are generally expected to work 20 hours per week on their assistantship. As well as providing a stipend (approximately $30,000 per year with annual raises), graduate assistantships cover health insurance for 12 months and up to 9 credits of tuition in fall and spring semesters. Also, if the student takes additional credits, they are only charged the in-state tuition rate.  

You can indicate in your application if you wish to be considered for a graduate assistantship. ***If you have an interest in a particular type of assistantship (especially RAs and EAs, as these are the types of assistantships offered to first-year AFRE graduate students), please mention this in your application and describe how the assistantship will help you meet your academic and career goals.***  

Domestic and international students are both eligible to apply for assistantships.  

The number of available assistantships is limited and not all students admitted to the program can be offered an assistantship. 

Students not receiving graduate assistantships can finance their program in other ways. Grading opportunities for 10 or 20 hours per week are offered in fall and spring semesters. The hourly rate of pay for these positions is the hourly equivalent of the stipend portion of a graduate assistantship, but grading positions do not include tuition and health insurance benefits. Hourly research positions may also be available.  

Many international students can apply for graduate training fellowships through programs operated in their own countries. The MSU Library also maintains a useful list of Graduate Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loan opportunities. You can also visit the MSU Office of Financial Aid.

Some students self-fund their programs. Tuition costs are available here and student health insurance plan information is available here. 

The Foreign Fulbright Graduate Student Program is also available to students from many countries. Within the U.S., this program is administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Outside the U.S., the program is administered in 50 countries by a Binational Commission, and in the remaining countries by the U.S. Information Service (USIS).  

In addition, the AFRE M.S. program is a graduate program partner of the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service International Agricultural Fellowship Program (IAFP). The IAFP “provides graduate fellowships to qualified individuals who will attend two-year graduate programs in Agribusiness or Agricultural Economics at U.S. universities, provide[s] two summer internships – one domestic and one overseas, offers mentoring from Foreign Service Officers, and provides professional development activities” (source: https://www.fasfellowship.org/). One of four IAFP fellows per year in the first two years of the program chose AFRE for their M.S. studies, and we look forward to more IAFP fellows joining AFRE in the future. AFRE offers an attractive funding package to IAFP fellows to complement their IAFP funding. See https://www.fasfellowship.org/ for more information. 

If you have external funding (full or partial), please be sure to describe this in your application. 

Research Assistantship (RA) Opportunities for Fall 2026 Applicants

Please note: Numerous RA opportunities beyond those listed below will also be available.

Research Assistantship: Food security, nutrition, and health (with Dr. Leah Costlow)

Dr. Leah Costlow, faculty member in AFRE and Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN), is hiring an incoming AFRE M.S. or Ph.D. student as an RA. Dr. Costlow’s research focuses on food security, nutrition, and health in the United States and around the world, including analysis of food prices, dietary requirements, and policy interventions. The RA will have opportunities to contribute at multiple steps of the research process. The ideal candidate will possess experience and/or interest in interdisciplinary research and nutrition science, as well as a desire to work both independently and collaboratively on complex topics.

To express interest in this RA opportunity, please mention the position and why you are interested in it in the academic statement portion of your application to the AFRE M.S. or Ph.D. program. Application materials for interested applicants who are deemed admissible by the AFRE graduate admissions committee will then be shared by the admissions committee with Dr. Costlow for further consideration. The RA position is for an average of 20 hours of work per week and includes stipend, tuition, and health insurance benefits.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Dr. Leah Costlow at costlow1@msu.edu.

Research Assistantship (with Professor and Elton R. Smith Chair in Food & Agricultural Policy Alan Ker)

AFRE faculty member Professor Alan Ker is seeking to hire an incoming AFRE Ph.D. student as an RA. The position will focus on research related to one of a number of areas: econometrics, risk management, crop insurance, program/policy evaluation, etc. The successful candidate will be self-motivated, quantitatively inclined, and have a strong work ethic.

To express interest in this RA opportunity, please mention the position in the academic statement portion of your application to the AFRE Ph.D. program. Application materials for interested applicants who are deemed admissible by the AFRE graduate admissions committee will then be shared by the admissions committee with Dr. Ker for further consideration. The RA position is for an average of 20 hours of work per week and includes stipend, tuition, and health insurance benefits.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Dr. Alan Ker at keralan1@msu.edu

Research Assistantship: Issues at the nexus of U.S. livestock production and the environment (with Dr. Jaime Luke)

AFRE faculty member Dr. Jaime Luke is seeking to hire an incoming AFRE M.S. or Ph.D. student as an RA. The position will focus on research at the intersection of U.S. livestock production and the environment. Work will contribute to the evolving knowledge on livestock producer adoption of risk management strategies in the face of extreme weather events and the impacts of evolving policies on meat and livestock markets. The successful candidate will have opportunities to gain experience in Extension, including authoring informational documents and presenting research results to non-academic audiences. The ideal candidate will possess experience and/or interest in U.S. livestock production, experience and/or interest in Extension work, and a strong work ethic.

To express interest in this RA opportunity, please mention the position and why you are interested in it in the academic statement portion of your application to the AFRE M.S. or Ph.D. program. Application materials for interested applicants who are deemed admissible by the AFRE graduate admissions committee will then be shared by the admissions committee with Dr. Luke for further consideration. The RA position is for an average of 20 hours of work per week and includes stipend, tuition, and health insurance benefits.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Dr. Jaime Luke at lukejaim@msu.edu.