Program Components

The Student Applied Economics Research Training (SET) program is designed for community college students intending to transfer to the Managerial Economics major at UC Davis within a year. Students in the SET cohort will be invited to visit the UC Davis campus and participate in activities designed to provide in-depth exposure to research related to the economics of agriculture, environment and natural resources in California. These activities include: 

• Career Connection Speaker Series: This quarterly event features presentations by leaders in industry and academia. SET students will be able to network with the speakers as well as ARE faculty, graduate students, and Managerial Economics peers at the post-event reception.  
• Research Seminars: The ARE Department holds weekly research seminars in Agricultural Economics, Environmental/Resource Economics, and International Development Economics. In these seminars, invited speakers present results from ongoing research projects. SET students have an open invitation to attend these seminars.
• ARE Research Field Day: Each quarter, one research seminar will be identified for intensive interaction with SET students. In addition to attending the seminar, SET students will have a small group meeting with the speaker and interact with ARE faculty and graduate students to further discuss the topic of the seminar.
• Summer Applied Research Course: The SET program culminates with a summer course that will provide SET students an opportunity to participate in applied economics research. The course will be offered during Summer Session II (August 7, 2023 through September 15, 2023) and supervised by ARE faculty and graduate students.  Small student teams, including a mix of upper-division Managerial Economics students at UC Davis and SET cohort members, will be provided a data set and broad topic that they can use to define their own research question and complete a research project related to a current challenge facing California communities.  Students will enroll in 2 units of ARE 98 that can be applied toward their Managerial Economics degree. (In order to participate in the Summer Applied Research Course, students must be accepted to the Managerial Economics Major at UC Davis.)

Eligibility  

The SET program is designed for community college students intending to transfer to the Managerial Economics major at UC Davis within a year (in the fall quarter following the Summer Applied Research Course).  Students applying must meet the following criteria at the time of application:

1. Be a California resident for tuition purposes.  Students with an AB 540 exemption are eligible and encouraged to apply. 
2. Be a student in good academic standing, with the intent to submit the transfer application for the Managerial Economics major at UC Davis in the Fall of 2022 with the expectation of starting at UC Davis in the Fall of 2023.
3. Have completed 60 UC transferable semester units (90 quarter units) with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.8, or 3.2 for students with a Transfer Agreement Guarantee (TAG) agreement.
4. Have successfully completed courses that articulate to at least three of the following courses with a minimum grade of  C-  and plan to take the remaining courses prior to transfer:
   1. Economics 001A and 001B 
   2. Mathematics 016A/B/C or 017A/B or 021A/B
   3. Statistics 013

Students from historically under-represented groups in the STEM disciplines: American Indian/Alaskan native, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, as well as socio-economically disadvantaged, or first-generation college students, and Veterans are strongly urged to apply. Financial support will be offered to students that demonstrate need. 

Application 

A few spots are still available and applications are accepted until all spots are filled in our inaugural 2022-23 cohort!  Students will need to submit their current community college transcript and complete two short essays to apply.  

Timeline