Select one of the options below:
Learn to strengthen local food systems and global agribusiness while you advance as an entrepreneur or innovator.
Shape your professional identity with strategic and design thinking as you solve problems face-to-face with experts in the industry at the new CSU Spur campus in Denver.
As the global population grows, companies, governments, and other organizations seek scalable solutions to ensure a sustainable food supply. As a student in this master's program, you will expand your understanding of how people produce, access, and consume food. You will also develop skills that enable value creation and help empower social and cultural change.
Learning in the Agribusiness and Food Innovation Management Program at CSU Spur campus is a new adventure in education. CSU Spur brings learning to life in its three buildings focused on water, food, and health. More than a physical location, CSU Spur is a hub, the heart of a network to connect people across the state, region, and world.
Earn a degree that sets you apart. Study with expert faculty in agribusiness from CSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences, an academic entity that has thrived since the University’s founding in 1870. The College has produced, and continues to produce, science and business leaders capable of solving local and global challenges in agriculture and the natural environment.
In your first semester you will:
After completing your first semester, you will spend the next year engaging with innovators and companies in a venture practicum project. Working in a team-based model, gain hands-on experience as you determine the viability of a new business idea, take it through initial development, and potentially help launch the business.
Upon completion of the program, you will be able to:
Opportunities have never been so abundant for creative innovation and transformation in the agriculture and food industries. Learn to solve problems in this environment with a creative, interdisciplinary, and collaborative approach.
Achieve practical outcomes and move forward in your career with new relationships, skills, and knowledge to become a competitive innovator, entrepreneur, and leader in a variety of industries including:
Potential job titles include:
The structure of this program begins with intensive coursework designed to provide a thorough overview of the agribusiness and food system. You will then start to develop and refine your entrepreneurial capabilities through the collaborative learning process, supported by faculty and industry professionals.
At the end of the first semester, program faculty and incubator staff will undertake a screening process, assembling student teams from the new cohort, and guiding them through a selection process to match each team with a recently solicited idea. The student teams then take up the challenge of becoming “surrogate entrepreneurs,” exploring the market potential of an innovative business concept; reaching out to build a network of partners, customers, and funders; and developing a detailed business plan.
Practicum projects can fall under one of two tracks. Student teams in the “Venture Launch” practicum track will be matched with an idea suited to commercialization through creation of a startup company. Student teams in the “Corporate Partnership” practicum track are matched with a partner company on a question or innovation within that company’s existing lines of business, similar to an internship or consultancy relationship.
In both practicum tracks, student teams take on ideas solicited from external providers or partners. The business and legal terms of those relationships, along with the financial and legal commitments of the teams, are overseen by the Agribusiness Innovation Center.
Projects with established market potential, as demonstrated by student teams in the Venture Launch practicum, may result in new companies being launched by the students in partnership with the Agribusiness Innovation Center and external partners. Similarly, marketable projects developed by student teams in the Corporate Partnership track may result in significant innovations being implemented by those company partners, with those students potentially being hired (either on a contract or full-time basis) by the company to help with continued development and implementation.
Gregory Graff, professor of the economics of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, is a globally recognized expert on intellectual property rights, technology transfer, and innovation in agriculture. His work has been widely published in the economics literature as well as leading scientific journals such as Science and Nature Biotechnology. At CSU, Dr. Graff teaches courses on the global agricultural and food system, agricultural policy, high tech entrepreneurship, and technological change in agricultural production. Most recently, Dr. Graff has worked with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He has also advised a number of startups and venture capital investors in the agricultural industry.
In 2016 Dr. Graff took a sabbatical at the Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship, at Chalmers University of Technology, in Gothenburg, Sweden, which inspired the program design for launching CSU’s new master’s program in Agribusiness and Food Innovation Management at the new CSU Spur campus in Denver in 2022.
Dr. Graff received a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from Cornell University in 1992, a master’s from Ohio State University in 1995, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California Berkeley in 2002. Since 2007, Dr. Graff and his family have owned, operated, and resided at Laughing Buck Farm, just outside of Fort Collins, Colorado.
Since April 2022, Laston Charriez is an Assistant Professor of Practice and Industry Liaison at the Colorado State University Spur Campus in Denver Colorado. Laston is teaching in the new Masters in Agribusiness and Food Innovation at CSU’s Spur Campus.
Before that, Laston was the Head of Marketing at Pilgrim’s Pride. In this role Laston was responsible of creating the Marketing Department for this $12 B company. Pilgrim’s is the second largest Chicken company in the World. Laston launched the “Who makes your food campaign” that propelled Just Bare to become the fastest growing chicken brand in the USA. He also worked with Amazon and made Just Bare Chicken the #1 chicken on Amazon.
Laston worked for four years as Senior Vice President of Marketing & Product Americas at Western Union. In this role Laston led all Marketing activities for Western Union U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America. Before this role, Laston was VP of Insights & Innovation at Sara Lee North America. In that role Laston oversaw consumer insights, analytics, and platform innovation. His team drove external focus, support the business units with the voice of the consumer and deep analytics, while developing the next innovation platforms across all Sara Lee brands.
He started his professional career in Puerto Rico P&G Marketing Department, and then was promoted to Brand Manager in P&G Central America based in Guatemala. He was later transferred to Mexico and then back to Puerto Rico. In 2000 Laston became the Marketing Director of Charmin & Puffs in North America based in Cincinnati. In this job Laston developed innovative and holistic marketing strategies for Charmin North America including: The Charmin State Fair Program, the Charmin “potty Pollloza” mobile restroom tour, and the first P&G commercial aired in the Superbowl (a Commercial for Charmin).
Laston Charriez has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Purdue University, Cum Laude, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Purdue University.
This master’s level training in innovation and entrepreneurship, with an industry-specific focus in agriculture and food, is a highly attractive and competitive new option. It is distinctive in its structure, objectives, and educational outcomes: one of the first of its kind in the world.
Yet, the design of this degree program is based on trends we observe in several related areas of study:
Courses and practicum work for this program are conducted in-person at the new CSU Spur campus in Denver.
The program is not offered online at this time. However, enrollment in this program is managed through the CSU Online/Extended Campus division of CSU’s main campus in Fort Collins.
CSU Spur is a new set of facilities located just north of downtown and the RiNo district of Denver, at the interchange of I-70 and I-25. CSU Spur is part of the National Western Center, a world class events center and home to Denver’s historic National Western Stock Show.
CSU Spur is just that. It is an offshoot of the main CSU campus in Fort Collins, but also spurring on of new approaches to publicly accessible and engaged research and education. The campus houses programs in agriculture and food, animal health, and water resources, with the masters in Agribusiness and Food Innovation Management as its first degree-granting program.
Students in the program will have access to state-of-the-art office and classroom facilities at Spur, as well as opportunities to integrate and collaborate with other ag and food innovation initiatives, as well as a range of professional networking events and activities anchored at Spur and the neighboring National Western Center.
Yes, this program is open to both full-time and part-time students, with evening course offerings available.
Coursework introduces you to:
Practicum projects give students hands on opportunity to:
The term “agribusiness” was coined at Harvard Business School to holistically describe the many complex and overlapping systems of agricultural business, including facilities, equipment, production, processing and manufacturing, storage, sales, and distribution. The larger system of “agribusiness and food” encompasses the entire value chain, including the land, water, and other natural resources utilized by agricultural producers through to consumers, and beyond. While agribusinesses – such as farms, ranches, and food enterprises – are the core of the value chain, they are also embedded within broader communities and the natural environment.
Yes, you can. In fact, the venture-creation track of the practicum facilitates the startup process.
Innovation in agribusiness includes the practical implementation of new ideas, strategies, or technologies that result in new products and services, or better ways of providing or distributing them. Innovation can take place anywhere within the food system, from the way we manage natural resources to the design of complex distribution networks. Innovation can be driven by new technology, such as blockchain or biotech, or it can focus on improving existing systems, such as modifying farming practices to sustain soil health and sequester carbon.
Some current areas of agribusiness innovation include:
As the global population continues to expand and demand increases, the field of agribusiness and food innovation will continue to grow and evolve. Here are just a few career possibilities:
The health insurance requirements for graduate students enrolled in the Agribusiness and Food Innovation Management program at CSU Spur is as follows:
How to enroll in SHIP:
Complete the online enrollment form for “CSU Online students enrolled in 6 or more credits” at the CSU Student Insurance Office by the University Add/Drop date (approximately two weeks after classes begin).
SHIP can be used in Denver:
It is important to note that SHIP is an Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO health plan with access at medical providers across the state of Colorado and the country, as well as at the CSU Health Network in Fort Collins.
This unique master’s program offers an intensive, immersive experience that strengthens both the creative and business skills needed to drive innovation and development of new enterprises in today’s highly competitive agricultural and food industries.
Engage in a combination of coursework, collaborative development, active networking, and practical experience, pursuing either a Venture Creation or Corporate Partnership track. During that time, CSU’s program will provide the in-depth training and hands-on experience you need to develop and launch new products, technologies, and businesses. Build practical knowledge and start moving forward in your career with valuable skills that make you a highly competitive innovator, entrepreneur, and leader.
After reviewing the curriculum, be sure to explore the details of this program’s unique, in-person learning experience, including details about practicum projects and learning tracks.
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| Fall semester | June 15 |
| International students encouraged to apply early |
Start your application online and upload materials directly into the online system. You can save your progress and return any time.
Apply NowApplicants to the Agribusiness and Food Innovation Management program must meet or exceed the following criteria:
Prepare the materials below and upload when you apply online.
Complete the online graduate application form and pay the nonrefundable application processing fee (payable online). As soon as you have completed the required information, please submit your application. Your application will not be reviewed until it is complete and all required materials have been received.
Request one official transcript of all collegiate work completed from all institutions attended. Transcripts from Colorado State University are not required. Transcripts must be received directly from the originating institution to be considered official.
Please Note: Students may be unconditionally admitted and registered in their first semester of courses with an unofficial transcript. Official transcripts must be submitted, prior to or during your first semester, before you can register for your second semester of graduate work. Failure to meet this condition will result in your dismissal from the Graduate School.
Electronic (preferred): Digital Transcripts must be submitted by the originating institution using a secure service such as parchment, eScrip-Safe, the National Student Clearinghouse, or e-Quals. Transcripts received via emails are considered unofficial. Use institution code 4075 for Colorado State University or gradadmissions@colostate.edu if the secure service requires an email address.
Mail (if necessary) Graduate Admissions Colorado State University – Office of Admissions 1062 Campus Delivery Fort Collins, CO 80523-1062
View your application status at any time to ensure your application checklist is complete or to check on updates.
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