Agriculture Business
Associate in Science for Transfer School of Agriculture and Industrial Technology · Merced College · 2026-2027 Catalog
With a raw product value in excess of three billion dollars, agriculture is Merced County’s number one industry and is the county’s largest employer. Production agriculture employs a fifth of the county’s residents.
When you include food processing, agriculture employs about a third of the workforce. Dollar-wise, Merced is the fifth most important ag county in the state and the nation.
Agriculture is a vital component to our local, state and national economies and offers many exciting employment opportunities. The Agriculture Business program is designed to prepare students for immediate employment in Agribusiness and transfer to four-year colleges/universities to pursue advanced degrees in agriculture.
The Associate in Science in Agriculture Business for Transfer degree is designed for students looking to obtain a well-rounded education in Agriculture Business. Upon completion, students with an AS-T in Agriculture Business will be eligible to transfer with junior standing into an equivalent major within the CA State University (CSU) system. Students will be given priority consideration when applying to a particular program that is similar to the student’s community college area of emphasis.
Program Student Learning Outcomes:
A. Analyze the core concepts of various agriculture business disciplines.
B. Analyze local, state, and national agricultural issues and trends.
C. Examine economic principles with respect to the production and distribution of agricultural products and services.
D. Develop communication and problem solving skills to work effectively, respectfully, ethically, and professionally with people of diverse age, gender, ethnicity and culture in agribusiness.
E. Combine team building skills and collaborative behaviors in the accomplishment of group goals and objectives.
For an Associate in Science in Agriculture Business for Transfer (AST), students must complete the following:
60 semester CSU-transferable units.
the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) pattern.
a minimum of 18 semester in the major or area of emphasis as determined by the community college district.
obtainment of a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0.
earn a grade of C (or P) or better in all courses required for the major or area of emphasis.
Note: Students are not required to complete any additional local graduation requirements for the AS-T (e.g., PE and Computer and Information Literacy courses).
Program Requirements:
Program Core: (24-26 Units)
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AGAB-01 | Introduction to Agriculture Business | 3 |
| AGAB-02 | Agricultural Accounting | 3 |
| AGAB-05 | Agricultural Economics | 3 |
| AGAB-07 | Agricultural Sales and Communication | 3 |
| AGAB-08 | Agricultural Computer Applications | 3 |
| ECON-C2002 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| Science | 3-5 | |
| AGPS-05 | Soil Science | 3 |
| orCHEM-02A | Introductory Chemistry | 4 |
| orCHEM-04A | General Chemistry I | 5 |
| Statistics | 3 | |
| STAT-C1000 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
| orPSYC-05 | Introduction to Statistics in Psychology | 3 |
| Total Units toward the Major | 24-26 | |
Total Units that may be double counted: (-9-10 Units)
General Education (Cal-GETC) Units: (34 Units)
Elective (CSU Transferable) Units: (10-11 Units)
Total Degree Units: (60 Units)