Introduction
This Master in Agriculture and Bio-industries focuses on policy analysis related to agricultural, food and environmental issues to excellent students from all over the world. This Master’s programme responds to the increasing need to better understand and anticipate the various and often complex socio-economic and environmental effects of these policies either in a functioning market economy as in the European Union or in economies in a development or transition phase world-wide.
By the end of this Master’s programme, the graduate student should be able to design and perform Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis (AFEPA) in various agro-climatic and technological situations and socio-economic and institutional contexts.
Your profile
This Master’s programme is for you if you are interested in:
· the relevance, diversity and career opportunities contained in this Master’s programme,
· the international feature of the programme, attracting students with diverse backgrounds from all over the world and preparing professionals for a future global job market,
· the opportunity to study in two different partner universities in two European countries and acquire a double or joint Master’s degree.
Your future job
Graduates from this Master’s programme are well qualified to take responsibilities in international, national and regional agencies, non-governmental organisations, consultancy firms, professional organisations and private companies with a focus in policy design, analysis and implementation. Because of the research orientation of this Master’s programme, they are also well prepared for doctoral studies.
Your programme
This Master’s programme is structured in four blocks of teaching and learning activities totalling 120 ECTS credits:
1. A core set of compulsory learning activities for 40 ECTS credits (Master’s thesis, two summer schools)
2. A professional focus of compulsory courses for 30 ECTS credits (microeconomic theory, agricultural and trade policy, quantitative methods)
3. An option with optional courses for 30 ECTS credits that can be grouped into five subject areas:
i. agri-food and trade policy (at UCL and partner universities)
ii. development policy at UCL (at UCL and partner universities)
iii. environmental and natural resource policy (at partner universities)
iv. agribusiness and market analysis (at partner universities)
v. market and consumer research (at partner universities)
4. A set of supplementary courses, including a language course, for 20 ECTS credits.
This Master’s progamme is also jointly organised with three other European main partner universities: the Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn (UBonn) in Germany, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Sweden, and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) in Milano, Italy. The partnership also includes three associated partners: the Pontifica Universidad Catolica (PUC) in Chile, the University of Alberta (UAlberta) in Canada and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Spain where some ECTS credits can also be earned. These seven partner universities are recognised worldwide for the quality of their educational programme and scientific achievements in the AFEPA field. They together organise the inter-university AFEPA programme (see www.afepa.eu).
If selected, your participation in this inter-university AFEPA programme can lead to the Master’s degree in Agriculture and Bio-industries of UCL jointly to the equivalent Master’s degree of one of the other three main partner universities if a minimum of 48 ECTS credits are earned at that main partner university. To know more about it, see the admission, mobility and Master’s degree tabs at www.afepa.eu.
The language of instruction and examination is English for all the courses at SLU, UAlberta, UBonn and UCSC, and for most of the courses at UCL and UPC, but in Spanish for most of the courses at PUC. Examination can be organized in English at all partners.