We are one of the longest established universities for agriculture-related research and advanced teaching in the world. We appointed our first Chair of Agriculture in 1891 and in 1896 established Cockle Park Farm as a research facility.
Today, our research and teaching activities extend from ‘farm to fork’ and cover a broad range of issues affecting food security, farming and rural development such as crop production systems, animal production systems, food quality and safety, the rural environment, rural society, agricultural economics and agri-business.
Staff and students are part of the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and contribute to the interdisciplinary research networks within this grouping. The Centre for Rural Economy conducts academic and applied research in the area of rural economy and rural society and hosts the £25 million Rural Economy and Land Use research programme. The Nafferton Ecological Farming group provides a focus for strategic and applied field research and technology transfer, aimed at improvement of organic and low-input food production systems. The group is based at the University’s Nafferton Farm, which hosts a long-term, farm-scale comparison between conventional and organic agriculture. The Centre for Renewable Energy from Land (based at Cockle Park Farm), promotes and researches existing and emerging bio-energy technologies, helping to translate them into viable commercial applications for business, the community and public sector.
Our career-focused MSc programmes reflect the diverse professions in the sector and enable you to study modules and undertake projects that are informed by the latest research.
Agricultural and Environmental Science focuses on issues around this critical interface and the impacts it has on sustainable agriculture and environmental management. Organic Farming and Food Production Systems covers food production, standards and quality assurance systems, economics and marketing issues of organic and other ‘low-input’ systems. Food and Rural Development Research provides a solid grounding in research methods and techniques and enables you to undertake a project on a rural, environmental or agri-food issue of your choice. Many students who take this MSc then progress on to PhD study. Fees bursaries for international, UK and EU students are available for all of our MSc programmes.