Sungmin Cheu, AFRE Doctoral Candidate, prepares to start his career as a tenure-track assistant professor
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EmailSungmin Cheu will finish his Docotral program in 2025 and start as an assistant professor at Montana State University.
Sungmin Cheu is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics (AFRE) at Michigan State University (MSU). His journey to receiving his Ph.D. started in Busan, Korea and will now take him to Bozeman, Montana.
Cheu, who hails from Korea, joined AFRE in 2021. Prior to arriving in Michigan, Cheu served in the military and pursued both an undergraduate and master’s degree in agriculture economics from Seoul National University.
Although he ended up in agriculture economics by happenstance, Cheu has relished the opportunities that have come his way in his studies and educational experiences.
“When I went to graduate school for my master’s, I really started to like it,” he shared. “Korea doesn't really have a big ag industry. We are mostly importers; but, because of that, I think there have been lots of issues and discussions on protecting farmers in Korea and how to make, design, or implement these ag policies to support these farmers. Many of the farmers in Korea are very old and very small insights of their lands. So that's how my interest really began to grow.”
After his master’s program, Cheu worked with a research institute in Korea which helped him engage with Korean farmers and deeply engage in learning about their issues. This fueled his passion and led to his pursuit of a Ph.D.
During his time in AFRE, Cheu has been able to participate in many educational opportunities to expand his research.
“I often submitted research to present our work at conferences such as Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) or Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (AERE),” he explained. “What I really loved about AFRE’s doctoral program was that I also had some experience working on some extension articles. So, I was not just working on academic papers; I could work with other extension educators or professors from other departments to work on extension articles more tailored to Michigan agriculture.”
As he prepares to submit his dissertation, the focus for Cheu’s research has remained consistent: environmental policies.
He says “The one theme for me is to see how these ad policies or environmental policies affect farmers' decision-making, whether it is their input news or their conservation adoption, practice adoption.”
In two months, he will be graduating from MSU and heading to Montana State University as tenure track assistant professor in agriculture economics.
In his new role as an assistant professor, Cheu will have a 50/50 split of his time between research and teaching. He is looking forward to hitting the ground running to address agricultural issues facing Montana producers.
“I think I'll keep focusing on ag policy problems like crop insurance and risk management,” Cheu shared. “But as I keep working on those, I also want to expand my research area that includes livestock production because, in Montana, it’s a huge industry. I want to learn more about it, expand my research, but I want to focus more on risk management of livestock production rather than focusing on general livestock production part. Overall, my research will be on risk management and policy analysis.”
As Cheu begins preparing to leave MSU to head to Montana, he has a little bit of advice to share to prospective graduate students considering AFRE.
“Doctoral studies are a long-term - it's a long program,” Cheu shared. “So, it is very important that while you spend your time researching, you also stay mentally and physically healthy throughout the program and be happy about it. You cannot work four or five years under stress. You must be out there meeting people and manage your mental needs and health. So, find your own balance to be successful in the program and even in your life.”
