MSc in Organic Agriculture and Food Systems

The MSc programme in Organic Agriculture and Food Systems (EUR-Organic) is a unique degree combining high-ranking research environments with state-of-the-art knowledge from industry leaders in organic food production. It prepares students to develop the solutions of tomorrow, focusing on goals such as high crop yields, high animal welfare, and low environmental impact. Students also learn how agriculture systems and current methods of food production work. At Aarhus University organic agriculture is an integrated part of all courses, and therefore the programme for students specialising in organic agriculture also includes courses focused on farming in an organic setting.

The EUR-Organic double degree programme in Organic Agriculture and Food Systems offers a comprehensive and integrative education in all areas of organic farming, including the processing and commercialisation of organic food. The core of EUR-Organic comprises areas of specialisation that enable the students to profit from the particular and complementary strengths in teaching and research of the partner universities.

In offering the programme jointly, the partner universities can offer a wide range of elective and compulsory modules on organic agriculture and food systems and create added value for students in teaching and research, for example in the wide range of topics for the Master’s thesis. Students are challenged by different thematic approaches throughout the course of their studies: while the University of Hohenheim (Germany) focuses primarily on the food chain, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Austria) emphasises the system approach of organic farming. Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Poland) offers a specialised study profile on organic food processing and marketing; while ISARA-Lyon (France) specialises in agroecology. At Aarhus University (Denmark), EUR-Organic is a distinct line under the MSc in Agrobiology, where students can focus on either animal health and welfare or plant nutrition and health.

In order to benefit from this complementary expertise and to get the most out of the programme, it is required that students spend one year at their chosen home university and one year at their chosen host university.

Detailed information about the programme is available online at the EUR-organic homepage, including information about the specialisations offered by the partner universities and the corresponding semester packages. This information is essential to registration by students for courses at both their home and their chosen host university.

The full MSc study programme comprises 120 ECTS: two basic semester packages (2 x 30 ECTS), one specialisation semester package (30 ECTS), and the thesis (30 ECTS). The programme begins with a joint start-up module that is compulsory for all students enrolled in the double degree programme.

Study at two different partner universities

All students will study at two different EUR-Organic partner universities. The university at which the student is accepted in the first year of the EUROrganic is referred to as the home university; the university chosen as the second university is referred to as the host university.

You are allowed to choose the University of Hohenheim, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Vienna, Austria) or Aarhus University as your home university, but you may choose between all five institutions as host universities.
You can apply for an Erasmus+ scholarship for the second year. Please be aware that ISARA-Lyon is charging a tuition fee of 3000 € per year. This means that you must pay 3000 € to ISARA if you choose this university as your host university for the second year. In addition, according to Erasmus+ regulations, applying for an Erasmus+ scholarship is impossible when paying tuition fees at a partner university.

Work on the student thesis is assigned to the host university, though the thesis may be jointly supervised.

An Ideal Study Environment

Denmark is a world leader in organic food production, which provides the ideal setting for specialising in this field. The Danish government was one of the first to prioritise organic production, and an increasingly high percentage of food produced in Denmark today is organic. This programme gives students an international profile, network and perspective. Students will be exposed to differing parameters in different countries and agriculture systems worldwide, and they will learn from their peers’ different ways of approaching a problem – a perfect preparation for a future career in an increasingly globalised industry.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the double degree programme in Agrobiology at Aarhus University requires a relevant bachelor’s degree in life science such as plant, animal, or veterinary science. Detailed admissions requirements and more information about the programme are available at www.eur-organic.eu.

Selection criteria

As the Master’s programme admits only a limited number of students each year, meeting the admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the programme. Student places are allocated on the basis of an overall assessment. In evaluating qualified applicants, the admissions committee assesses applicants according to the following criteria: academic background; overall grade level of bachelor’s degree; grades achieved on relevant courses; and relevant courses (measured in credit units) included in the bachelor’s degree.

Relevant courses include core courses in agrobiology, chemistry, biochemistry, cytology, zoology, botany, mathematics, statistics, and probability calculus.

Career Profile

Graduates can choose from a wide range of careers in supporting organic farming development. Recent graduates have worked in research, with authorities and advisory services in primary production, and even in teaching.

Programme Overview

EUR-Organic is joint Master Programme of five partner universities:

• UHOH - Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
• BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
• WULS-SGGW - University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
• AU - Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
• ISARA-Lyon - Institut supérieur d'agriculture et d'agroalimentaire Rhône-Alpes, Lyon, France

The full Master's program consists of four semesters and the semester packages at the partner universities are structured accordingly:

• 1st Semester (Home University): Basic Semester Package
• 2nd Semester (Home University): Basic Semester Package
• 3rd Semester (Host University): Specialisation
• 4th Semester (Host University): Thesis

A World Research Leader

Aarhus University’s research in agricultural sciences is cutting-edge and ranks it at the top of agricultural science institutions worldwide. The core research areas are climate and natural resources, environment and bioenergy, organic farming, food quality, farm animal production, and plant production.

Sustainability is a fundamental principle. The goal is to seek solutions that contribute to the environmentally and economically sustainable development of the agricultural and food industries.

In the rankings

Agricultural sciences by subject at Aarhus University ranks twenty-second in the world in the 2020 US News Best Global Universities ranking, and in the 2019 National Taiwan University ranking nineteenth in Agricultural Sciences by subject. Agriculture and Forestry at AU is ranked thirty-fifth in the 2020 QS World University Rankings by subject.

Meet our Students

Julia Gajo, the first student at Aarhus University to complete a double degree in Organic Agriculture and Food Systems (EUR-Organic) - I have really enjoyed the program (….). I think Aarhus and Denmark are fantastic so I hope that I can find a job or a PhD position here in Denmark - preferably in the area of organics and animals, especially organic piglets -

Denmark is a world leader in organic food production, which provides the ideal setting for specializing in this field. The Danish government was one of the first to prioritize organic production, and an increasingly high percentage of food produced in Denmark today is organic.

This Program gives students an international profile, network, and perspective. Students will be exposed to differing parameters in different countries and agriculture systems around the world, and they will learn from their peers’ different ways of approaching a problem – a perfect preparation for a future career in an increasingly globalized industry.

Graduates can choose from a wide range of careers in supporting organic farming development. Recent graduates have worked in research and in primary production with national, regional and local authorities, and advisory services.