Division of Applied Social Sciences- University of Missouri

NEW Research Assistantship: Agricultural Prices and Agribusiness (with Dr. Jason Franken)

The Division of Applied Social Sciences (DASS) at the University of Missouri is seeking to recruit an incoming Ph.D. student to work as a Research Assistant (RA) with Dr. Jason Franken starting Fall 2026. The position will focus on research in agricultural prices and agribusiness, with potential areas including cooperative organizations, marketing contracts, price risk management, supply chain and market analysis, and related empirical applications in U.S. agriculture. The ideal candidate will have experience and/or strong interest in agricultural prices-related research, agribusiness analysis, quantitative methods, applied econometrics, and a demonstrated work ethic and motivation for research.

To express interest in this RA opportunity, applicants should mention this position and explain their interest in the academic statement portion of their application to the Ph.D. program in Applied Economics in DASS at the University of Missouri. M.S. applicants may also apply, with the possibility of transitioning to the Ph.D. program at a later stage. Application materials of interested candidates who meet the program’s admission standards will be reviewed by the Graduate Studies Committee, which will then share admissible files with Dr. Franken for further consideration. The RA appointment is for an average of 20 hours per week and includes a competitive stipend, tuition waiver, and health insurance.

For priority consideration, applicants should submit their complete application by January 15, 2026.

Please direct inquiries about this position to Dr. Jason Franken at [email protected]. To learn more about admission requirements and to apply, please see https://cafnr.missouri.edu/academics/degrees-programs/agricultural-and-applied-economics-graduate-studies/

NEW Research Assistantship: Farm Finance (with Dr. Alejandro Plastina)

The Division of Applied Social Sciences (DASS) at the University of Missouri is seeking to recruit an incoming Ph.D. student to work as a Research Assistant (RA) with Dr. Alejandro Plastina starting Fall 2026. The position will focus on research in farm finance, with potential areas including farm income, financial stress, and the impacts of policy decisions, innovations, and external events on the financial health of U.S. farms. The ideal candidate will have experience and/or strong interest in farm finance–related research, and quantitative analysis using farm-level data, and a demonstrated work ethic and motivation for research.

To express interest in this RA opportunity, applicants should mention this position and explain their interest in the academic statement portion of their application to the Ph.D. program in Agricultural and Applied Economics in DASS at the University of Missouri. Application materials of interested candidates who meet the program’s admission standards will be reviewed by the Graduate Studies Committee, which will then share admissible files with Dr. Plastina for further consideration. The RA appointment is for an average of 20 hours per week and includes a competitive stipend, tuition waiver, and health insurance.

For priority consideration, applicants should submit their complete application by January 15, 2026.

Please direct inquiries about this position to Dr. Alejandro Plastina at [email protected]. To learn more about admission requirements and to apply, please see: https://cafnr.missouri.edu/academics/degrees-programs/agricultural-and-applied-economics-graduate-studies/.

NEW Research Assistantship: Agricultural Policy (with Dr. Alejandro Plastina)

The Division of Applied Social Sciences (DASS) at the University of Missouri is seeking to recruit an incoming Ph.D. student to work as a Research Assistant (RA) with Dr. Alejandro Plastina starting Fall 2026. The position will focus on research in agricultural policy, with potential areas including farm policy design and evaluation, risk management, conservation incentives, farm-level decision-making, and related empirical applications in U.S. agriculture. The ideal candidate will have experience and/or strong interest in agricultural policy analysis, quantitative methods, and a demonstrated work ethic and motivation for research.

To express interest in this RA opportunity, applicants should mention this position and explain their interest in the academic statement portion of their application to the Ph.D. program in Agricultural and Applied Economics in DASS at the University of Missouri. Application materials of interested candidates who meet the program’s admission standards will be reviewed by the Graduate Studies Committee, which will then share admissible files with Dr. Plastina for further consideration. The RA appointment is for an average of 20 hours per week and includes a competitive stipend, tuition waiver, and health insurance.

For priority consideration, applicants should submit their complete application by January 15, 2026.

Please direct inquiries about this position to Dr. Alejandro Plastina at [email protected]. To learn more about admission requirements and to apply, please see: https://cafnr.missouri.edu/academics/degrees-programs/agricultural-and-applied-economics-graduate-studies/

Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week Established in 1993 by the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, National Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week aims to recognize the contributions, impact, and value of graduate and professional students. […]

Personal Financial Planning - The CAFNR Experience Combine your passion for math and finance with your passion for people in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources perso...

Agriculture isn’t just about the fields or livestock-it’s about smart business too! Learn more about an Ag Business Management degree in the video below.

Agribusiness Management: The CAFNR Experience At the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, you can acquire a solid foundation of business and economic skills as well ...

To our Facebook followers – We want to share that our division will take a hiatus from posting actively to our DASS page. We made this decision following a need to focus our limited resources on other efforts at this time.

We thank you for engaging with us here on Facebook. To keep up with the latest happening within our division, we invite you to follow our LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/mudass.