MSc in Agriculture
When you study Agriculture you work with problems and challenges linked to agricultural production as a human activity. The focus is on applied biology, but when developing new and more sustainable production systems and finding solutions to specific problems related to food, fibre and energy production you may include also environmental, social and economic aspects in your curriculum. The MSc degree in Agriculture is taught in English and gives you the optimal possibilities to get an education with a strong international profile and to create your own academic profile.
Content
Academic focus
About the programme
Study programme
In touch with real life
Career opportunities
Admission criteria and admission
Application
I want to know more
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?
The programme offers two main specializations:
1) Domestic Animal Science (for a detailed description, please click here.)
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. Read more about EnvEuro here.
One 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
Core and Compulsory courses
See the different courses in the curriculum for MSc in Agriculture.
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.
The structure of your degree depends on the specialisation you choose:
Crop production and Management
Year 1 |
Block 1 |
Farming Systems: Production and Sustainability |
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| Block 2 |
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| Block 3 |
Crop Production, decision support and management*) |
Land Use, Element Balances and Environmental Impact*) |
| Block 4 |
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Year 2 |
Block 1 |
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| Block 2 |
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| Block 3 |
MSc thesis (30 or 45 credits) |
| Block 4 |
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The dark fields are compulsory courses. When marked with *) only one of two courses must be completed (total 15 ECTS) |
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The medium fields are MSc thesis and core courses (total 75 ECTS) |
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The light fields are elective courses (total 30 ECTS) |
Systems and Sustainability
Year 1
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Block 1 |
Environmental Management in Europe |
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| Block 2 |
Environmental Management in Europe |
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| Block 3 |
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| Block 4 |
Environment and Sustainable Food Systems |
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Year 2 |
Block 1 |
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| Block 2 |
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| Block 3 |
MSc thesis (30 or 45 credits) |
| Block 4 |
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The dark fields are compulsory courses. |
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The medium fields are MSc thesis and core courses (total 75 ECTS) |
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The light fields are elective courses (total 30 ECTS) |
There are plenty of opportunities to achieve an international profile by taking courses at some of the partner universities which LIFE has in e.g. Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. You also have good opportunities to make your thesis in collaboration with a private company. If you work on a concrete development project this often leads to a job after your graduation.
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
Admission criteria and admission
For more information about admission please see the admission pages.
Read more about application requirements, tuition fees and scholarships.
You are always welcome to contact our Student Services if you have any questions about the programme, student life etc. You can contact the Student Services by e-mail at or by calling +45 3533 3533.
Michael Guldager, - last update:2 September 2009