Study programme - MSc Resilient Farming and Food Systems
The programme has a strong interdisciplinary character, studying sustainable food systems from both a natural and social science perspective. The courses are diverse in their topics as well as their teaching methods, which includes a.o. excursions, lectures, (field) practicals and group projects.
Year 1
Programme specific courses
Courses of the programme cover topics such as:
- Masterclass Organic Agriculture
- Functional Agricultural Resource Management
- Social Transformations towards Sustainable Food Systems
- Exploring the Future of Food and Farming
- Introduction to Organic Production Systems
- Future Livestock Systems
- Agroecology
- Analysis and Design of Organic Farming Systems
- Agroforestry
- Analysing Sustainability of Farming Systems
- Economics of Agribusiness
- Environmental Education and Learning for Sustainability
- Globalization and Sustainability of Food Production and Consumption
- Political Ecologies of Natural Resource Distribution
More courses and detailed information can be found in the online study handbook.
Academic Master Cluster
In the Academic Consultancy Training (ACT), teams of 5 to 7 students from different disciplines are assigned to execute a transdisciplinary-oriented academic consultancy project for an external commissioner.
Students who are interested in pursuing a PhD after their master’s can choose Research Master Cluster (RMC) instead. Here students learn to write a proposal for a personal PhD project that can be submitted to the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
Electives
Year 2
Thesis (36 ECTS)
Internship (24 ECTS) or Research Practice (24
ECTS)
ECTS)
The internship consists of 16 weeks of project work in an institution outside of Wageningen University. The internship may either be undertaken in the Netherlands or abroad. The purpose of the internship is to provide students with a unique learning opportunity to apply acquired knowledge and skills in a professional setting.
Students with sufficient professional experience may also choose to do a research project at Wageningen University instead, the Research Practice. While the Research Practice is partially similar to a thesis, it also challenges the student to think about his/her professional development and personal learning goals.
Academic Year
The programme starts each year in September; has a duration of two years and comprises a total of 120 ECTS. The academic year consists of 6 periods. Period 1,2,5 and 6 comprise seven weeks of classes, time for self-study and the exam week. In these periods students often follow two courses worth 6 credits each. Period 3 and 4 entail of four weeks in which both the lectures and the exams take place. In these periods students usually follow one course worth 6 credits. The expected workload is 40 hours per week.