Master of Food and Resource Economics
University of British Columbia
Congratulations and welcome to the 2025 cohort of the MFRE program at UBC. We are excited to have you join us and look forward to meeting you in person during the summer boot camp in August.
The MFRE program is an intensive and applied graduate program that combines economics, business, and policy with a focus on food and resource systems. Students come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, and this welcome package is designed to help you establish a common foundation in basic programming and data analysis before the program begins.
This repository contains essential resources for reviewing Python and R fundamentals, which will be covered more deeply in the summer boot camp and MFRE workshops.
During the summer boot camp, you will first cover basic microeconomic concepts, followed by an introduction to programming and data analysis using Python and R. This welcome package helps you get started on the coding portion so that you feel more confident and prepared.
If you are new to coding, do not worry. We recommend you begin reviewing these materials early and work through the exercises gradually.
As an optional but highly recommended resource, consider enrolling in CS50: Introduction to Computer Science. This is Harvard University's introductory programming course, freely available online. It provides a helpful foundation in core computing concepts.
We also encourage you to explore R for Applied Economics: A Beginner’s Guide, a student-friendly resource for learning R in an economics context.
This welcome package summarizes the most relevant topics for your MFRE studies. While it is not a replacement for CS50 or other external tutorials, it offers targeted practice in Python and R focused on data handling and analysis.
This repository includes materials in both Python (Jupyter notebooks) and R (RMarkdown files). You will find introductory lessons, sample code, exercises, and small assignments.
welcome_package/ ├── python/ │ ├── 01_variables.ipynb │ ├── 02_control_flow.ipynb │ └── ... ├── r/ │ ├── 01_data_types.Rmd │ ├── 02_control_structures.Rmd │ └── ... ├── setup_guide/ │ └── README.md └── README.md We suggest starting with the Python notebooks before moving to the RMarkdown files. Each notebook or script includes exercises to reinforce your understanding. Try to solve them on your own and note any questions to discuss during the summer program.
There will be a placement quiz on the first day of the summer boot camp based on these materials. Completing the notebooks and exercises in advance will help you feel prepared and confident.
If you already have experience with Git and GitHub, you can fork or clone this repository and use any development environment you prefer.
If you are new to GitHub, follow the steps below.
- Go to https://github.com and create a free account using your UBC email address.
- (Optional) After account creation, visit https://education.github.com and apply for the Student Developer Pack. This gives access to free tools and credits.
Note: You may need to wait until your UBC student ID is issued before accessing the developer pack.
To help you get started, we have created three short tutorials:
-
Setting up your IDE
Link: https://youtu.be/1Cr37YSdIrw -
Running a Jupyter Notebook
Link: https://youtu.be/ssTfIuBLwE0 -
Knitting an RMarkdown File
Link: https://youtu.be/n6Y_n2c1T8s
If you have trouble accessing the files or setting up your environment, make a note of your questions. We will review common issues during the first week of the program.
We look forward to seeing you soon and wish you a smooth start to your MFRE journey.