Crop agriculture provides mankind’s increasing population with foods, fibres and fuel and this course provides you with knowledge and practical skills in crop management and crop improvement. You will gain a combination of practical expertise and academic understanding to develop key skills. You will learn the principles of crop production, including the latest advances in plant pathology, integrated pest management and soil health.

Core Modules

• Crop Physiology and Production
• Advances in Crop Protection
• Soil, Sustainability and the Environment
• Project/Work Placement/Dissertation
• Climate Change
• Organic and Low Input Systems
• Cereal, Oilseed and Root Crop Agronomy
• Introduction to BASIS
• Plant Breeding and Trial Design for Registration

Optional Modules

Previously, a selection of the following options have been offered:

• Biodiversity, Conservation and Ecosystem Services
• Biological Invasions in Changing Environments
• Microbiomics and Metagenomics
• Challenges in Global Food Security
• Marketing Management
• Business Strategy

Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date. You can find the most up to date list on the Life Sciences website.

Teaching

You will be taught by a multidisciplinary teaching faculty including staff from Life Sciences and Warwick Business School, joined by lecturers with internationally acknowledged academic, industrial and government expertise.

Teaching is typically via facilitated session, including interactive lectures, short question and answer sessions, field trips and interactive workshops/tutorials. Individual and team learning will be used for case study analysis.

Contact hours and class sizes

Depending on the module contact hours vary between 15-25 per week and class sizes vary between 5 to 90 students.

Assessment

Assessment is continuous and varies between modules. It typically includes essays, seminar presentations, practical reports, oral evaluation and assessed group work. You will undertake an individual project during the third term and there is an option for you to undertake a work-based placement as part of your project. Your project will be assessed by a seminar presentation and a 15,000 word thesis or 6,000 word journal article.

Skills from this degree

You will gain:

• An understanding of how crops are grown and the factors affecting crop production
• The knowledge to identify and understand the causes of crop disorders and make decisions on appropriate management/control measures
• The skills to critically evaluate how constraints on crop production can change due to biotic and societal pressures
• Transferable skills including team working, communicating with peers and sector specialists, organising, planning and oral presentation
• Research skills including scientific report writing, conducting surveys, problem solving, data analysis and project work

Minimum requirements 2:ii undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject

English language requirements Band A
IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0

International Students
We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications. For more information please visit the international entry requirements page.

For up-to-date information concerning fees, funding and scholarships for Home, EU and Overseas students please visit Warwick's Fees and Funding webpage.

Warwick alumni are also eligible for an additional School of Life Sciences 10% tuition fee discount.

Additional Course Costs

All students in Life Sciences are strongly encouraged to buy a computer, at an approximate cost of £600.

Students are expected to have suitable clothing for field trips, including waterproof coats/jackets and footwear.

Scholarships

Up to two SLS Excellence Scholarships may be awarded as a 50% reduction of course fees, across all Masters courses. Awards will be based on past academic achievement and experience, motivation for study, extracurricular activities and vision for the future.

Graduates from the School of Life Sciences taught Masters courses have gone on to work for employers including: Pfizer; Severn Trent Water; Eurofins Agroscience Services; Novartis; Philips Healthcare; Rothamstead Research; NGO Client Earth and Public Health England. They have pursued roles such as: research associate, science editor, regulatory affairs officer, marketing manager, business and financial project management professionals, environmental health professionals, agronomist, and climate change consultant.

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

• Careers in Life Sciences Networking Event
• Careers in Science
• Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
• Mock Interviews for Life Sciences students
• Interested in Careers in Scientific Publishing

There are a number of different ways to visit the University of Warwick throughout the year. We host bespoke PG visits, where you can talk directly with your chosen department and explore our campus through a personalised tour. Some departments also host their own events and open days, where you can learn more about your department or course of study. To find out more about all of these opportunities, visit our Postgraduate Visits page.