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Agriculture: Plant Science, Production and Environment – (M.Sc.)
University of Copenhagen
Faculty of Life Sciences
- Programme website Agriculture
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| Application Deadline: | EU/EEA: 1 April; Non-EU/EEA: January 1 | ||
| Annual Tuition Fee: | Free ≈ € 14,000 (non-EEA) | ||
| Location: | Copenhagen / Denmark / View location on map ▾ Hide location on map ▴ | ||
| Duration: | 24 months | Start Date: | September |
| Educational Form: |
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| Education Variants: |
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| Languages: | English | ||
Location of University of Copenhagen
The MSc in Agriculture enables you to identify, describe, analyse and suggest improvements to complex problem situations, related to our use of natural resources. You learn to apply your biological knowledge to find solutions which secures animal welfare and performance and environmentally sound production of food, feed and fibres.
As a student in Agriculture, you will apply basic biological knowledge when working with problems and challenges linked to food production as a human activity. Some of the questions you may work with are:
- How can we develop more sustainable production systems, e.g. can the impact of global meat production on the global climate be reduced, and how can individual farmers act to satisfy environmental demands?
- How may basic biological and ecological knowledge be applied in improvement of plant and animal performance, e.g. how important is good nutrition for keeping animals healthy, how do soil conditions affect plant growth and quality, can crop pests and diseases be controlled without pesticides or can new crop plants contribute to human welfare?
- Which potentials and risks are connected to new technologies in food production, e.g. GMOs?
- How may animal welfare of both production animals and companion animals be improved?
- How can we evaluate sustainability of farming systems, e.g. is organic agriculture better for biodiversity than conventional farming system?
Career opportunities
The many specialisations open up to a large range of careers:- Advisory services within crop and animal production, training and performance, farm management, nature and environment, economy and financing
- Research, product development and marketing in companies specialising in food, animal feed, seeds, plant protection, plant breeding, etc.
- Sector organisations related to food production, processing or consumption or to sports and companion animals
- Public administration and management related to production, environment, GMO, animal welfare, etc.
- Teaching and communication
- International organisations, e.g. developing projects,
- Developing own enterprise
Contents
The programme offers two main specializations:
1) Animal Science
2) Plants and Environment
Within the specialization Plants and Environment you may choose between four profiles:
a) General specialization Plants and Environment
This is a highly flexible programme with no mandatory courses, but a requirement of 45 or 30 ECTS completed within the core courses listed under the other three profiles.
b) Biological Processes and Crop Quality
This specialisation is for students who have their main interest on processes in the soil-plant-environment, e.g. soil and water dynamics, genetics and biotechnology, plant physiology or nutrition, plant diseases and pest interactions and plant quality. No mandatory courses are required, but 15 ECTS courses within each of the groups methodological and disciplinary core courses must be completed.
c) Crop Production and Management
This specialisation is for students with a focus on production of crops, impacts of different cropping and farming systems on environment and nature, crop nutrition and quality, improved management methods and development of technology within crop production, manure handling and decision support. Two mandatory courses within Farming Systems, Crop Poduction and Environmental Impact must be completed. In addition, 15 ECTS courses within each of the groups disciplinary and applied core courses must be completed.
d) Specialization Systems and Sustainability
This specialization is for you if your focus is the understanding of the environmental impacts and sustainability of agricultural production at local to global scales, how regulatory measures for reducing environmental impact are made, and what methodologies and tools may be applied to assess environmental impact. There are two mandatory courses within the area of Environment and Sustainability. In addition 22.5 ECTS must be completed within each of the groups methodological and applied core courses.
EnvEuro - a joint programme in Environmental Sciences, Soil, Water and Biodiversity offered by LIFE and three European partner universities, can be chosen as a specialisation as well.
Study programmeOne block is equal to 15 ECTS and 9 weeks.
The programme is set at a total of 120 credits, equivalent to two full years of study.
The programme must include the following elements:
- A thesis of 30 or 45 credits
- Core and compulsory courses of 45 or 60 credits, depending on the thesis
- Elective courses of 30 credits
Elective courses
The elective courses are your opportunity to create you own academic profile. You can choose courses which either elaborate on or expand your professional competency. You can follow the courses either at LIFE, at one of the other faculties at the University of Copenhagen or at other Danish and international universities. The elective courses are equal to two blocks or 30 ECTS.
Thesis
The thesis is the final part of your degree. It is your opportunity to work for 6 or 9 months on an issue or a scientific problem within your core area of interest (30 - 45 ECTS). The thesis may be both theoretical and practical and often it will contain independent experimental work or collection and analysis of data.
You are normally required to take an English Proficiency Test if you come from a non-English speaking country.
Most European Universities recognise the IELTS test.
More informationRequirements
Applicants must hold a BSc in Natural Resources with focus on Plant Science, Environmental Science, Nature Management, Animal Science or Veterinary Medicine or similar disciplines. Applicants from international universities will be assessed on an individual basis.
Language requirementsApplicants with English as a second language must pass one of the following English tests:
1) IELTS Test
International English Language Testing System, with a minimum score of 6.0.
2) TOEFL® Test
Test of English as a Foreign LanguageTM, passed with a minimum score of 83 in the internetbased test (IBT) or minimum 560 in the paper based test. The computer based TOEFL test is not accepted at LIFE
Additional Requirements
| Minimal degree required: | Bachelor's degree |
| Minimal amount of work experience | Not specified |
Language Proficiency
| IELTS Band: | 6.0 |
| TOEFL Paper-based: | 560 |
| TOEFL Internet-based: | 83 |
Accreditation
The programmes of University of Copenhagen are being accredited by national accreditation agency ACE Denmark.
THE-QS ranking: University of Copenhagen is the highest ranked Nordic university on the list of the world´s best universities according to the 2009 edition of Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. This year, University of Copenhagen is ranked number 51 worldwide and number 15 in Europe.
Funding details
EU/EEA-citizens do not pay tuition fees in Denmark. However, all students applying for an MSc programme with citizenship outside EU/EEA must pay an annual tuition fee of Euro 14,000. All non-EU/EUA applicants applying for admission to an MSc degree programme are automatically considered for a limited number of scholarships and tuition fee waivers. Priority is given to students who demonstrate exceptional academic performance.
Non-EU/EEA students can also find funding opportunities in Denmark through the PLOTEUS portal: http://ec.europa.eu/ploteus/resultdisplay.jsp?docType=14&type=EG&language=en&mode=&ors=375&lc=196&r=389
Non-EU/EEA students from Danida (Danish International Development Assistance) programme countries can apply for a fellowship through Danida's fellowship programme. Applications must be submitted to Danida through the Danish embassy in your home country. For more information, please see www.dfcentre.comInterested? Request information!
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