Specialization in „Tropical Agricultural and Agroecosystems Sciences“
The profile “Tropical Agriculture” within the MSc program “Sustainable International Agriculture” aims at qualifying students to become open minded, well trained professionals in sustainable agricultural land use of integrated tropical and subtropical agro-ecosystems. A wide range of modules in soil, plant, animal and socio-economic sciences as well as method-oriented classes confer skills for in-depth analysis, understanding and possible modification of existing farming systems in the wake of need for a resource efficient production of agricultural goods that responds to the challenges of population growth, globalisation and climate change in a site-specific way. A bi-annual two-week excursion to a tropical country (e.g. Oman, Mexico, Kenya, and Thailand), and participation in on-going long-term field research projects of different faculty members allow you to test-apply your skills under real conditions while collecting credits.
The agricultural faculties of Göttingen and Kassel-Witzenhausen have a long-standing history of research in (sub)tropical countries, and their internationally recognised staff provide you with up-to-date teaching and mentoring as well as scientific guidance. In this way you will be well-prepared for challenging jobs in research and development organisations, input-, production and output sectors of agricultural commodities, and at the level of national and regional governments and administration in an international context.
Study Plan
Compulsory modules
The following bridging module and four compulsory modules must be taken:
For a detailed module description, please refer to the current module catalogue.
- Winter Term (WiSe)
- M.SIA.A11 Tropical animal husbandry systems
(Göttingen, Prof. Dr. E. Schlecht) - M.SIA.I12 Sustainable International Agriculture: basic principles and approaches
(Witzenhausen, Prof. Dr. E. Schlecht) - M.SIA.P07 Soil and plant science (Bridge module)
(Witzenhausen, Dr. H. Saucke) - M.SIA.P22 Managment of tropical plant production systems
(Göttingen, Prof. Dr. Reimund P. Rötter) - M.SIA.I10M Applied statistical modelling
(Witzenhausen, Prof. Bernard Ludwig)
Summer Term (SoSe)
Elective compulsory modules
Four elective compulsory modules modules must be chosen (among these, at least one methodological module coded with M). In the Study Guide you can find a list of the elective compulsory modules for this specialization track on page 43.
Elective modules
Six electives must be completed. It is also possible to choose the elective compulsory modules of the degree programme that have not already been chosen. Language courses at level B1 or B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) or comparable totaling 6 C may be considered once as electives, provided that the course is not English or the student's native language. Click here for the list of elective modules.
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