Department Chair's Welcome Statement
Welcome to the Department of Applied Economics and Statistics at the University of Delaware. We are an interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to developing and applying analytical tools for a diverse set of topics and societal challenges with a special focus on agriculture, the environment, and natural resources.
We offer undergraduate and graduate programs in agricultural, environmental, and resource economics; food and agribusiness marketing and management; and statistics — both online and in-person. Our Center for Experimental and Applied Economics offers students an opportunity to engage with cutting edge experimental and statistical methods to better understand human behavior in a wide range of settings.
We invite you to explore our website for more information about all that our department has to offer. If you have additional questions, please contact me at mheintze@udel.edu. Our campus in Newark, Delaware is conveniently located in the center of the U.S. East Coast within a two-hour drive of four major cities (New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC) as well as beautiful landscapes and popular beaches.
Martin D. Heintzelman, Department Chair
We emphasize the mastery of conceptual principles and applied skills in agribusiness marketing, applied economics, public policy, and statistical research methods. We offer three Bachelors of Science (B.S.) degree programs: Environmental and Resource Economics, Food and Agribusiness Marketing and Management and Statistics. Also, minors in most of our majors are offered to majors in other degree programs. Students in the University’s Environmental Studies major with a concentration in Environmental Economics and Resource Policy are considered part of our college and department and are advised by our faculty. We have a diverse group of students from various parts of the U.S. and abroad. Generous financial aid and scholarships exist for qualified students. Our university offers many opportunities for students to participate in various extra-curricular activities, student clubs and job internships programs.
APEC offers two Masters of Science (M.S.) degree programs (with thesis and non-thesis options) in Applied Economics and Statistics, an online M.S. in Applied Statistics, and a joint Ph.D. degree arrangement with UD’s Department of Economics. More than 50 percent of our students have some form of financial support and scholarships. Our faculty also serve as advisors to graduate students in the Water Science and Policy M.S. and Ph.D. program. We emphasize applied economics and the mastery of quantitative and statistical skills in data analysis, mathematical modeling, econometrics, experimental economics, research and survey methodology, and statistics. These skills are in-demand in many fields, which gives our graduates an advantage in the job market and strong preparation for doctoral degrees. As a result, we have extremely high rates of employment by our graduates. Many of our students are increasingly publishing their thesis research in peer-reviewed journals and our students have won awards for their outstanding research. We also have innovative and paid internship programs for students with local businesses.
APEC has very engaging and excellent faculty members who have been recognized with various awards for their cutting-edge research, innovative teaching, student advising and public service. The faculty areas of expertise include agricultural policy; environmental and resource economics; food and agribusiness marketing; international trade and development; natural resource management; decision analysis; experimental and behavioral economics; health economics, community development; and statistical modeling and analysis. Within statistical analysis, core areas include nonparametric regression; survival analysis; functional data analysis; multivariate analysis, and statistical consulting. APEC has 14 tenure-track faculty in applied economics and statistics, five clinical/service faculty and three extension professionals. We currently have 149 undergraduate majors and 69 graduate students.