The Ph.D. program is offered through the Agricultural Economics graduate program in cooperation with the Department of Economics. 

A Ph.D. program of study must have at least 60 credit hours of graduate course work (the credit received for writing an M. S. thesis or report may be used to help meet the 60 credit hour requirements), and 30 hours of research credits are required for the Ph.D. dissertation. A minimum of 24 credit hours of course work on the program of study must be taken at Kansas State University.

The program of study in agricultural economics shall include course work in four branches: economic theory, research methodology, general agricultural economics, and a specialty branch in agricultural economics. The student may choose to list a minor field in addition.

After completing 12 hours of microeconomics and macroeconomics, the student takes qualifying examinations in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. After successfully completing the qualifying examinations and the required courses in agricultural economics, the student takes the preliminary examination in general agricultural economics. After passing the preliminary examination the student is admitted to candidacy.

The candidate prepares a written dissertation proposal including an identification of the problem, a review of relevant literature, and an outline of proposed research procedures to be used. The candidate must satisfactorily defend the proposal in a seminar at least six months before the final Ph.D. oral in which the candidate defends the dissertation.