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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.
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 online program offers short presentations and lectures that often are followed up with relevant assignments and readings. You will participate in discussion board conversations with professors and fellow students. Also, you will have contact with professors and students through email and online office hours.
This undergraduate degree completion program utilizes Adobe Connect for many of the courses. Adobe Connect is a great way to learn online. It allows you to watch videos of your professors and gives you the ability to participate more in class.
The program permits you to take the required courses in the order that best suits your needs. Although this degree offers flexibility, it still requires the same amount of work and time as an on-campus program. It is recommended to spend nine to twelve hours per week on a three-credit course. This will vary depending on your learning and studying style.
The Master's of Agribusiness and Food Innovation Management Degree requires applicants to have the following:
Note that meeting the minimum department standards does not ensure admission to the program. Admission to Colorado State University graduate programs is based on several factors, including prior academic and professional experience and the personal statement.
Prepare the materials below and upload when you apply online.
Complete the online graduate application 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. When choosing program of study, please indicate your specialization of choice:
CSU's Graduate School offers several application fee waiver opportunities. Visit their website to determine if you are eligible for a waiver.
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.
Once your complete application, including supporting materials, is received, the department admission committee will review your application and notify you of their decision.
Proof of English language proficiency is required for applicants from countries or United States territories where there are official languages other than (or in addition to) English. This includes the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Questions? Call (970) 491-5678 or email moparsl1@colostate.edu.
| Early Decision | December 1 |
| Final - International students encouraged to apply early | May 1 |
Start your application online and upload materials directly into the online system. You can save your progress and return any time.
Apply NowCapacity in this master’s program is limited. Applicants who complete the application process on or before the priority deadline will receive priority placement into the program for that term.
