Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE)

Overview

The Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE) program is a unique, one-year, course-based masters degree which integrates Economics, Policy, and Business concepts to provide data-driven solutions that meet the challenges and opportunities in the food, agriculture, and environmental sector. This degree offers a strong combination of economic, data and analytical rigour combined with a 4‐month work experience project, and a full year of data analytic and career-ready workshops that provides you with the skills and knowledge to take on real-world issues and opportunities in the food, agriculture, and environmental sector. Concentration options include Strategic Business Management, Data Analytics, Economic Modelling, and Policy Analysis. MFRE graduates have diverse job prospects and an ability to contribute actionable insights to solve global sustainability issues.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

Exciting technological progress, global environmental pressures and unprecedented demographic changes are rapidly reshaping the world’s food and natural resources systems.

As local issues become global and require multidisciplinary skills & knowledge, the world is increasingly demanding professionals who can analyze, design, and integrate business, economic and policy variables that help governments, industry, and institutions create and operate better systems.

At the MFRE you will be exposed to the issues and opportunities arising from this dynamic new world, and equipped with the necessary skills to address them.

The MFRE is a 12-month masters program that blends of aspects of an MBA and a MA in Economics. It incorporates applied Economics, Business and Policy aspects within the Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental sectors, helping students acquire a specialized understanding of these sectors and propelling them to pursue careers in academia, consulting, finance management and entrepreneurship.

Program Structure

The program is completed over three terms: the first two comprise rigorous courses in multiple specialization areas; in the third one, you will enhance and consolidate your MFRE experience through a summer graduating project. This project can take the form of research, a consultancy project or an internship.

Quick Facts

Faculty Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Academic Unit Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Specialization Food And Resource Economics

Mode of delivery In person at UBC Vancouver

Program Components Coursework only

Tuition (First Year) Domestic: 24,541.10 | International: 56,024.80

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Fees	Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat	International
Application Fee	$116.25	$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year	3	3
Tuition per installment	$8,180.38	$18,674.92
Program Fee	$24,541.14	$56,024.76
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible)		Not applicable
Other Fees and Costs
Supplementary fees (once)	$714.00 Mandatory program fee
Student Fees (yearly)	$1,144.10 (approx.)
Costs of living	Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.
Deposit to accept offer (if admitted)
Deposit requirement	$1500.00	$1500.00

* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options.

Program Funding Packages

1. Teaching Assistantships

Each year there are a few opportunities for MFRE students to TA undergraduate food and resource economics (FRE) courses. These are only available to exceptional students because of the time commitments required by the MFRE program. Please indicate on your application to MFRE if you are interested in a TA position, explaining why you are suitable for a given position and how you would handle the additional workload. TA positions typically range from 30–192 hours/assignment/term and pay between $18-$30 CAD per hour.

2. MFRE Merit-based Entrance Scholarships (No application required)

The MFRE program offers several scholarship opportunities to students. The admissions committee reviews the documents and grades of all incoming applicants to determine if they are eligible to be nominated for these scholarships. The scholarship recipients will be notified by email.

MFRE Scholarship. The MFRE program offers scholarships of a value of maximum $7000 to outstanding students (domestic or international). The criteria for this award include academic merit, student financial need, leadership and the recipient’s potential contribution to the MFRE program. Potential contribution ranges from bringing diversity to the program to bringing relevant professional experience to the program.

MFRE Food and/or Agricultural Sector $7000 Scholarship. Designed for an outstanding student with strong interest and/or first-hand experience in the food and/or agricultural sectors in North America, and who will contribute that experience to the MFRE program. Two of these scholarships are offered in each academic year.

MFRE Environment and/or Resource Sectors $7000 Scholarship. Designed for an outstanding student with strong interest and/or first-hand experience in the environment or resource sectors in North America, and who will contribute that experience to the MFRE program. Two of these scholarships are offered in each academic year.

For Students from China. Canadian Agri-Food Trading Inc. together with the MFRE program offer one annual $1000 scholarship to an outstanding incoming international student from China. This award will appear on the student’s academic history (transcript) as “Canadian Agri-Food Trading Intl. Graduate Scholarship in Land and Food Systems.” Two of these scholarships are offered in each academic year.

3. LFS Awards and Scholarships (No application required)

MFRE students are eligible for a small number of endowed awards with the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. These include the A.F. Barss Memorial Scholarship and the John Schildroth Memorial Scholarship.

4. Other Scholarships (Application required)

MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at UBC For students from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Canada Graduate Scholarships — Master’s Program (deadline: December 1 in the year prior to enrolling in MFRE) For Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Dr. Karl C. Ivarson Agricultural Scholarship For students from the province of Alberta.

5. Country-Specific Scholarships (Application required)

Employer support

Organizations may provide their employees with tuition benefits as part of an employment package to support lifelong learning of their workforce.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

Professional / course-based programs usually do not provide merit-based funding. Some programs may offer bursaries.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 24 hours a week during academic sessions.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Applications	245	225	375	215	186
Offers	70	65	65	63	65
New Enrolment	40	38	44	35	43
Total Enrolment	42	41	44	37	43

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 99% based on 136 students admitted between 2015 - 2018. Based on 154 graduations between 2020 - 2023 the minimum time to completion is 1.02 years and the maximum time is 1.7 years with an average of 1.03 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.

Disclaimer

Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new enrolment for each registration year, May to April, e.g. data for 2022 refers to programs starting in 2022 Summer and 2022 Winter session, i.e. May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Data on total enrolment reflects enrolment in Winter Session Term 1 and are based on snapshots taken on November 1 of each registration year. Program completion data are only provided for datasets comprised of more than 4 individuals. Graduation rates exclude students who transfer out of their programs. Rates and times of completion depend on a number of variables (e.g. curriculum requirements, student funding), some of which may have changed in recent years for some programs.

Program Website

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September 2026 Intake

Application Open Date15 September 2025

Canadian Applicant Deadline10 January 2026

International Applicant Deadline10 January 2026

Program Enquiries

If you have reviewed the information on this program page and understand the requirements for this program, you may send an enquiry

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Overview

What makes the program unique?

Program Structure

Quick Facts

Admission Information & Requirements

Program Instructions

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

English Language Test

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Other Test Scores

Prior degree, course and other requirements

2) Meet Deadlines

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

Letters of Reference

Statement of Interest

Supervision

Citizenship Verification

4) Apply Online

Research Information

Program Components

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Financial Support

Program Funding Packages

Employer support

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Foreign government scholarships

Working while studying

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Cost Estimator

Career Options

Alumni on Success

Isaac Jonas

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

ENROLMENT DATA

Completion Rates & Times

Disclaimer

Related Programs

Same Academic Unit

Further Information

Specialization

UBC Calendar

Program Website

Faculty

Academic Unit

Program Identifier

Classification

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September 2026 Intake

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