Course summary

The BSc (Hons) Agriculture degree is designed to develop the professional agriculturalists and farm managers of the future. This wide-reaching, industry-recognised programme is built on the latest applied research, informed by the RAU’s extensive industry networks and delivered by world-renowned experts in their fields. It will develop your skills so that you will make a difference and stand out in the agriculture sector. This is done through the applied understanding of science, practice, policy and innovation that underpins agricultural production, sustainability and resilient farm management. The aim of this flagship programme is to inform, inspire and enable you to gain a fundamental understanding and critical awareness of the problems facing agriculture, particularly issues pertaining to the challenges of food production and its global impact. We have worked with our industry stakeholders, current and past students, and within our own research teams to ensure our programmes are inspiring, forward-looking, and linked to the needs of the industry and employers. The design of this degree is centred around four cornerstones: 1. Technology and Innovation 2. Environmental Sustainability 3. Business and Enterprise 4. Employability and Leadership. Within each of these cornerstones, there are modules that will enable you to achieve the technological knowledge and employability skills to help you thrive in workplace. You do not need to have an agricultural or farming background; you simply need the passion and drive to make a difference in a rapidly evolving industry. You will learn how to build a sustainable, profitable and resilient agricultural business which contributes to a thriving sector - whether as a farmer, land manager, rural entrepreneur, agronomist, economist, policymaker, researcher, scientist or consultant – career opportunities are diverse and eclectic. Our programmes provide practical skills and training opportunities, insights into global challenges and perspectives, a focus on innovation, personal development, and the prioritisation and integration of research-informed teaching. Throughout the Agriculture degree programme, you will learn about a wide variety of farm and land-based enterprises, a spectrum of farming approaches, the role of technology and data and how to address the challenges and realities of sustainable commercial farming, whilst prioritising environmental protection, the highest standards of livestock welfare and farm business resilience. The programme focuses on the role of the professional agriculturalist of the future, equipping you with the knowledge and skills you need to understand and then address major challenges in our food systems, from food security, climate change and land use to the imbalances in our food supply chains and environmental degradation from producing food. At the same time, the degree will develop your understanding of the impact of a rapidly changing economic and political landscape on agriculture. This curriculum is a clear response to the global current and future issues within our food system facing everyone. Our extensive contacts and external visits to livestock and crop enterprises and agribusinesses will provide you with invaluable insights into industry. Farm491 will give you unparalleled access to on-farm/applied product development initiatives and nearby farms will provide research trials. This will help you to understand what it takes to bridge the gap between the laboratory, the field, the commercial market and the farm. Students have gone on to work for organisations including Agrii, NIAB TAG and AGCO. In your second year, you will apply your learning on a 15-week work placement. Not only could you find yourself working for prestigious companies in the UK or across the world, you will develop confidence and industry contacts for when you graduate.