Master's Degree Programme
| About the programme Language: English (See language requirements) | Place of study: Aarhus | Commencement: August / September (no winter intake) |
Climate change and population growth pose a huge, multifaceted, worldwide challenge to agricultural production. Food production needs to be increased in scale and efficiency, while at the same time animal welfare, the environment and natural resources need to be protected. A degree in agrobiology will equip you to play a part in finding solutions to these problems.
Students must choose one of four tracks...
... and tailor their degree with elective courses on top of the mandatory courses of their track. Finally the master’s thesis can be completed either in a university research context or a company R&D environment. The MSc in Agrobiology builds on solid, biological knowledge of sustainable animal and plant production, set in the perspectives of health, welfare, product quality, and environmental impact. Graduates will be well equipped to work with both producers and end-users in agricultural production, and to communicate effectively about their field in the public arena.
The international character of the challenges facing agricultural production and the science underpinning the MSc in Agrobiology make the international perspective an intrinsic part of this degree and its learning environment. The programme hosts international students from all over the world, and many students take advantage of the opportunity to study outside Denmark for a semester at one of our partner universities.
Students on the programme have a strong basis within their track, combined with an individual profile through choice elective subjects. This creates very flexible career opportunities in the agricultural and food sector, both nationally and internationally. Typical job opportunities will be in consulting services for primary production, in agriculture and food-related industries, in teaching and research or in public administration and bodies such as the EU.
The field of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University belongs to the elite among agricultural science institutions worldwide and carries out cutting edge research. The core areas of research 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 environmentally and economically sustainable development of the agricultural and food industries.
Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University ranks 9. in the 2021 US News Best Global Universities Ranking and 2. in the 2020 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, in which Food Science and Technology ranks 2. and Agriculture and Forestry at AU ranks 37. in the 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
In this section you can learn more about the admission requirements relevant to the master's degree programme in Agrobiology. Depending on your educational background and your qualifications, there are different ways to meet the admission requirements:
This section is relevant for you, if you have:
The two sections listed below are relevant only for students with a bachelor's degree from a Danish institution:
Below you will also be able to learn more about language requirements and find out whether or not this master's degree programme has a limited intake.
If you have an international educational background, you must meet both the general admission requirement and the specific admission requirements:
You must have a bachelor's degree or equivalent that is comparable to a Danish bachelor's degree in both level and duration (180 ECTS).
For more information about how your bachelor's degree is assessed, please see the national database.
If you meet the general admission requirement, the university will continue on to assess whether or not you meet the specific admission requirements.
You can be admitted to the master's programme if the university assesses that your education has a level, scope, and content that corresponds to the academic requirements specified below.
| You can meet the admission requirement with Bachelor’s degree programme (BSc) or professional Bachelor's degree programme (BEng) if you have the following subject areas: | Number of ECTS |
| Components in Agrobiology* | 60 |
Basic subject components in:
| 30 |
| Total | 90 |
* Hereof 40 ECTS in the relevant specialisation (respectively crop science and animal science) for applicants with a professional bachelor’s degree
We cannot assess in advance whether your specific degree will meet the above requirements. Therefore, we recommend that you apply for the programme if you believe that you meet the academic requirements. In this regard, it is a good idea to compare your degree with the programmes that provide direct admission.
The following Bachelor's degree programme(s) from Aarhus University entitles you to an offer of admission to the Master's degree programme in Agrobiology:
Bachelor’s degree programme in Agrobiology from Aarhus University
Please note that you must apply for admission to the Master's degree programme within three years of completing your Bachelor's degree programme.
Learn more about Legal right of admission.
Certain Bachelor's degree programmes from Aarhus University and various other Danish Universities have been determined to meet the admission requirements to this Master's degree programme in Agrobiology:
Bachelor’s degree programme in Agrobiology from Aarhus University
Bachelor’s degree programme in Biology from Aarhus University, Aalborg University, Copenhagen University and University of Southern Denmark
Bachelor’s degree programme in Natural Resources from University of Copenhagen
Bachelor’s degree programme in Animal Science or Veterinary Science from University of Copenhagen
This master's degree programme has a limited intake.
Because of the limited intake all qualified applicants will be prioritised according to a set of selection critieria (see below).
Meeting the admission requirements does not automatically ensure your offer of admission. Only if you have a specific bachelor's degree from Aarhus University with a so-called 'legal right of admission' will you be guarenteed an offer of admission to this master's degree programme.
If there are more qualified applicants than available student places, the selection will be based on the following criteria (each criterion counts for 1/3):
Grades from the qualifying degree
Grades achieved in relevant subject fields:
Agrobiology
Chemistry
Biochemistry
Mathematics
Please note that grades achieved after the application deadline are not included in the grade point average (GPA).
Relevant subject fields (measured in ECTS). In this assessment, ECTS credits that are a part of the admission requirements described under ‘Other qualifying degrees’ are not included.
Agrobiology
Chemistry
Biochemistry
Mathematics
In criterion three, the score is based on the proportion of subjects on the bachelor’s degree diploma that fall within the relevant subject fields. In this assessment, ECTS credits that are a part of the admission requirements described under ‘Other qualifying degrees’ are not included.
In order to be admitted to this programme you must meet the university's english language requirements.
Students with bachelor's degree from Aarhus University with a so-called 'Legal right of admission' are exempt from the English language requirement.
Unfortunately, Aarhus University is not able to assess your qualifications beforehand. In order for your qualifications to be assessed you must apply for admission. To learn more, please go to Assessment of your qualifications.
In the academic regulations for the programme, you can read more about the content of the individual subjects, how the programme is structured, and the demands that will be made of you as a student. You can also read about the types of exams and the exam requirements.
On the Master's degree programme in Agrobiology you will have to choose one of the following specialisation tracks:
Students following Animal Science will specialise within topics such as animal breeding, applied behavioural biology, animal diseases or food science. You will obtain basic insight into the basis for an animal-based food production. On completion of the degree programme you will be able to assess the energy and nutrient requirements of livestock for growth purposes, milk production and reproduction and assess the interaction between management, production, health and animal welfare in typical livestock production systems.
The specialisation is targeted at careers in which knowledge of primary animal production plays a central role (for example as production advisors, teachers in agricultural colleges or in jobs in public administration or research).
If choosing Agronomy and Environment, you will have compulsory courses the first and some of the second semester. Hereafter you can specialise within topics such as sustainability, environment, and agriculture. The core of this specialisation is to work towards solutions that combine the increasing demand for food with sustainable management of nature, the climate, and the environment. You will acquire a holistic understanding of agro-ecosystem processes and the interaction between agricultural production, nature, and environmental management.
The specialisation aims at careers in which knowledge of agriculture, nature, the environment, and climate interactions plays a central role. There are job opportunities in regional environment agencies, municipal nature conservation offices, agricultural advisory services, firms of consulting engineers, educational institutions, NGOs concerned with nature and the environment, engineering firms, and EU institutions, ministries, and other public authorities. Research is also an obvious career path.
If choosing Crop Nutrition and Health, you will specialise within topics such as foods, feed and bioenergy, cropping systems and plant biotechnology. The goal of this specialisation track is to give students a basic insight into the elements of plant growth that are common for all crops.
The degree programme is aimed at careers in which knowledge about primary plant production is a prerequisite, for example as production advisors, in commercial plant breeding, as teachers at agricultural and technical colleges and in research, but the line will also form a good basis for jobs in public administration where expertise in plant production will be an advantage in, for example, local administration and governmental organisations.
This specialisation track is divided into two: Animal Science or Plant Science, combined with a focus on organic agriculture. The approach is characterised by a high degree of interdisciplinarity with emphasis on project work and on contact to farms and research.
Graduating from this specialisation track can lead to employment opportunities in areas supporting the development of organic farming and food production. This includes advisory work, teaching, research and management.
Below you can see the structure of the programme - please notice that there is a study programme diagram for each of the specialisation tracks.
-experienced, photographed and filmed by the students themselves.
With thousands of pictures #AUInternational, #AarhusUni gives insight into the everyday life as a student at AU; the parties, procrastination, exams and all the other ways you’ll spend your time at university.
Carmina Falcato Cabral, MSc in Agrobiology, PhD student at the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University
On a normal day, you can find me either working in a flow bench inside the lab, under strict sterile conditions, or in the middle of a field somewhere in Denmark sampling roots and soil for my PhD project. That kind of flexibility and know how in a myriad of subjects was something I achieved during my MSc in Agrobiology, where besides the mandatory ground courses on crop nutrition, pest management and plant health, I then had the freedom to choose what to focus on and build up my multidisciplinary expertise.
I really enjoyed the sturdiness of the teaching programme’s ground subjects, such as crop physiology and nutrition, where competences were built from the base with top of the line, actual real world research examples. The discussion based teaching approach of most of the courses was something that I really appreciated, where problems were debated, not only between peers, but also among teachers, giving rise to critical thinking and elevating the scientific level of each course. These discussions were one of the most rewarding points of the programme, and were only enriched by how varied and international the MSc programme is, as the multitude of different cultures allowed an amazing number of approaches to the same problem to come up and to be thoroughly debated.
Nowadays, I strongly rely on the competences and critical thinking that were encouraged during my MSc and apply them in my daily routines, either when planning or executing experiments, supervising and teaching students, or finding answers to problems posed by farmers or peers.
The chart shows the five most common types of work for graduates 1-2 years after finishing their degree. The data is derived from a survey made by Epinion for the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and Aarhus University in 2020.
