Graduate Certificate Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
| Duration: 1 Year |
•Applications welcome from a wide range of academic backgrounds Please click here to watch a video on the programme |
| Schedule: Part Time | |
| Starting: September 2013 | |
| Contact Name: Deirdre O'Connor | |
| Contact Number: +353 1 716 7706 | |
| Fees: Fees Information |
Who is the UCD Graduate Certificate Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development for?
The UCD Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development programme aims to provide those with experience and / or relevant qualifications in the Agri-Food sector with skills in rural entrepreneurship and communications. It is geared towards the pursuit of a more competitive, innovative and sustainable sector focused on the market place and modern consumer needs.
This course is particularly suited to graduates with an agriculture or science degree who have work experience in the Agri-Food, agriculture or rural development sectors. Applicants should ideally hold an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, but those with other relevant qualifications and / or significant relevant experience within the sector will be considered for entry.
What will I learn from the UCD Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development programme?
The UCD Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development programmecomprises three 10-credit modules delivered via a combination of lectures, small group work, field visits and computer laboratory activities. Project oriented, self-directed learning in individual and group contexts is an inherent part of the course.
Students take one 10-credit module per semester, and complete a third 10-credit module over the course of the academic year, and should allow an average of approximately 20-25 hours per week, to include lectures, practical work individual study, assignments and any exam preparation.
How will I benefit from the UCD Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development programme?
The UCD Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development programme provides students with the knowledge-base required to develop a career in the broad area of sustainable agriculture and rural development and to respond to the emerging societal demands for safe and ethically produced food, a healthier environment and sustainable and affordable energy.
What is the UCD Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development programme about?
‘Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development involves education, use of economic incentives and the development of new technologies to ensure stable supplies of nutritionally adequate food. It also involves employment and income generation as well as natural resource management and environmental protection’ (United Nations, Agenda 21).
The UCD Graduate Certificate programme in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development is offered by UCD in response to the new agenda for agriculture and rural area development. It represents a return to core values in the development of rural areas which are rooted in agricultural change as well as responding to new societal demands such as safe and ethically produced food, a healthier environment and sustainable and affordable energy. These issues are relevant not just in Ireland, the EU and other industrialised countries, but also in poorer countries in the developing world.
Programme Contacts
Dr Deirdre O Connor