Course summary

With agriculture accounting for 38% of the global land surface, there is increasing interest in finding sustainable solutions for future agricultural development. Different agricultural production models contribute to a variety of environmental, social and economic goals and aim to limit the trade-offs between productivity and sustainability of land use. This postgraduate qualification will provide a grounding in sustainable agricultural systems, natural capital and enterprise, examining and critiquing different models of production. The programme will provide students with opportunities to develop both production relevant skills in soil, crop and livestock management, and business, communication and entrepreneurship skills, immersing them in real world applications relevant to future employment. The programme taps into the need for sustainable management of land and water resources, supporting biodiversity and working to address societal challenges and will typically be based on one to three years part time online distance learning in a format that offers flexible progression routes from PGCert to PGDip and MSc, thus enabling students in employment and with different life circumstances to achieve their optimum level of award. SRUC’s postgraduate programme Sustainability in Agriculture and Business aims to provide a context for graduates to develop skills which will enable them to critique agricultural systems within the evolving contemporary political and regulatory framework. The programme will future proof learning, using authentic real world applications to equip graduates with technical and professional knowledge relevant to sustainable agricultural systems and businesses, and the skills to utilise this knowledge to adapt to changing environments, solve problems and propose solutions to contemporary and future issues faced by agriculture.