MSc Agriculture and Development

Title:

Rethinking Agricultural Development (including Horticulture): Implementing Solutions

Code:

APMA103

Convenor:

DR Andrew Ainslie

Summary:

You will learn what’s right and what’s wrong with twenty-first century agriculture in different parts of the world. You will carefully consider whether further and deeper applications of technology will reduce hunger (including ‘hidden hunger’ and poor diets), human drudgery and pressure on the earth’s resources, or do the answers lie in adopting ‘regenerative’ forms of production, such as Conservation Agriculture? Through a series of lectures delivered by subject specialists, debates, study visits and collaborative work, you will learn to critically evaluate the issues, role and impact of agriculture (including horticulture and livestock production) for development. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 80%, Oral 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Agriculture in the Tropics

Code:

APMA41

Convenor:

DR Andrew Daymond

Summary:

Learn about the agricultural systems of tropical and sub-tropical regions. Examine the major components of agricultural systems including crops, livestock, soils and climate, and their interactions. Discuss Awareness of current issues for agriculture in developing countries such as the 'Green Revolution' and the use of pesticides.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 80%, Oral 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Research and study skills for independent learning

Code:

IDM071

Convenor:

DR David Rose

Summary:

Identify the standards expected and develop the skills required to study and conduct research at postgraduate level. Through lectures, tutorials and coursework, learn how to demonstrate good academic practice in referencing source material; how to review academic literature; how to synthesise information and develop an argument; how to communicate information with clarity; how to select appropriate research methods and resources; and how to write academically in the context of coursework and dissertation research.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Oral 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Dissertation (International Development & Applied Economics)

Code:

IDM072

Convenor:

DR Sarah Cardey

Summary:

Conduct independent research on a topic of your choice with the support of an academic supervisor. Apply appropriate research and analytical skills and produce a written dissertation on your project.

Assessment Method:

Dissertation 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Theories and Practices of Development

Code:

IDM095

Convenor:

MS Reham Elmorally

Summary:

Explore contemporary theories and practices of international development. You will gain a broad and comprehensive understanding of the key ideas that have influenced efforts to reduce poverty and achieve social justice in low-income countries around the world.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Ecosystem Services

Code:

APMA102

Convenor:

PROF Martin Lukac

Summary:

The planet carries humans on its shoulders, its ecosystems constantly providing a myriad of things and subsidies which we use and often abuse. You will learn the fundamentals of the relationship between the humans and the provision of Ecosystem Services, their consumption, management, and conservation. You will discuss your ideas on how to preserve Ecosystem Services in a range of UK environments with researchers and practitioners, who bring cutting edge information and knowledge to the module. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Report 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Principles of Integrated Pest Management

Code:

APMA104

Convenor:

DR Robbie Girling

Summary:

Learn the core principles of integrated pest management (IPM) and how IPM is being used globally to increase the sustainability of agricultural production. Through lectures and laboratory practical sessions you will discover the major classes of pest organisms in crop and forestry systems and will learn integrated methods for their control. You will develop a framework to help you consider the factors that determine the impacts of pests, disease and weeds. By drawing on a range of case studies from around the world you will develop an understanding of how IPM can be incorporated in a whole system approach.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Practical 20%, Class test 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Horticultural Crop Technology

Code:

APMA118

Convenor:

DR Luke Bell

Summary:

Crop technologists in the horticulture industry are required to be innovative and to design new technologies to improve production efficiency. Learn about specific aspects of crop technology and the development of new horticultural technologies. Build on your previous knowledge by focusing on subjects in greater detail. Examine advanced technical and scientific elements of horticultural production systems in temperate areas, which illustrate the relationship between plant physiology and genetics. Research these technologies and appraise their potential. Through interactive lectures and seminars, gain experience in evaluating scientific research critically. In addition, learn on the ground during a field visits to a local farm and the National Fruit Collection (COVID19 restrictions permitting).

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Agricultural technology: application, adoption, and ethics

Code:

APMA119

Convenor:

DR David Rose

Summary:

Explore different agricultural technologies and their contribution to sustainability (productivity, environment, society), and consider how we can encourage their adoption on farm. Through lectures, seminars, field trips, and industry engagement, examine technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, drones, and gene editing. Discuss the ethics of new agricultural technologies, exploring different visions of future innovation, and various issues associated with the proposed ‘fourth agricultural revolution’, e.g. trust in food production, data ownership, security and privacy, animal welfare, the nature of farm employment, farmer physical and mental health.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Water, Agriculture and Irrigation

Code:

APMA89

Convenor:

DR Gillian Rose

Summary:

Globally agriculture uses approximately 70% of the available freshwater therefore responsible water management is key to global sustainability. In this module you will gain an understanding of the soil and plant processes which contribute to the management of water for crop production and how these are used to schedule irrigation. After learning about the different irrigation methods you will use your knowledge to design an irrigation system and schedule using the Aquacrop simulation model.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 20%, Class test 80%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Climate change and food systems

Code:

APMA90

Convenor:

Summary:

Anybody working in the food system needs to consider climate change. You will learn about the global climate system and how organisms respond to climate factors. You will apply this knowledge to understand how agriculture and the wider food system need to adapt to climate change. You will learn about a range of scientific approaches used in this area of research, how to decipher the methodology sections of scientific papers, and how to critique what you read in scientific journals and in the media. You will also develop transferable skills in literature review and information synthesis.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Class test 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Experimental Agriculture

Code:

APMA93

Convenor:

DR Alexey Mikaberidze

Summary:

Become familiar with crop and animal experimentation, gain experience in experimental design, and carry out an experiment and analyse the results. Visit a range of sites to see experiments, agronomic, livestock and horticultural research in the field as practised in the UK and consider applications to agricultural / horticultural research and extension in developing countries. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Plants, Greenspace and Urban Sustainability

Code:

APMA96

Convenor:

DR Tijana Blanusa

Summary:

Plants in towns and cities deliver a range of benefits. Through a series of lectures you will be learning how interventions such as green roofs and walls, urban gardens and street trees contribute to regulating ecosystem services (microclimate modification, flood and noise mitigation, air quality moderation, biodiversity provision). A visit to a roof garden in central Reading should stimulate thinking about what is possible in practice. We will also be discussing issues around urban food production. The module will provide answers on appropriate urban greening interventions needed to improve environmental quality, as well as human health and quality of life.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Assignment 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Experimental Horticulture

Code:

APMA98

Convenor:

DR Alexey Mikaberidze

Summary:

Become familiar with crop experimentation, gain experience in experimental design, and carry out an experiment and analyse the results. Visit a range of sites to see experiments and horticultural research in the field and consider applications to agricultural / horticultural research and extension in developing countries. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Qualitative Research Methods

Code:

APME40

Convenor:

DR Giacomo Zanello

Summary:

Gain fundamental knowledge of qualitative research methods and evaluate the contribution of such methods to social science research, particularly in relation to economics and as applied in the fields of agriculture and food. Learn through integrated lectures, practical sessions, and applied group work.

Assessment Method:

Oral 60%, Class test 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Appraisal of Agricultural and Rural Development Projects

Code:

APME61

Convenor:

PROF Chittur Srinivasan

Summary:

You will appreciate the role of project appraisal in making informed decisions on the allocation of resources for agricultural and rural development projects in developing countries. You will learn the concepts and techniques of cost-benefit analysis and their application in the presence of market failures, imperfections and distortions. You will develop skills in the appraisal of real world development projects from an economy wide perspective and in environmental and social appraisal. You will understand how macroeconomic policy and management issues affect the outcome of development projects.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Class test 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Food Policy

Code:

APME67

Convenor:

DR Giuseppe Nocella

Summary:

Learn about the regulation of the food industry in the UK, including the rationale for government intervention, how intervention takes place, and the impacts of policy. Critically appraise current and proposed interventions in food markets. Learn through lectures, suggested readings, and class discussions.

Assessment Method:

Report 30%, Class test 70%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Agricultural Project Planning and Management in Developing Countries

Code:

APME72

Convenor:

PROF Chittur Srinivasan

Summary:

You will address the key challenges in the management of agricultural and development projects in developing countries. You will acquire the skills, tools and techniques for effective management of development projects at all stages of the project cycle – from project identification and formulation to implementation and evaluation. You will gain an understanding of management theory perspectives on organisational behaviour, motivation, leadership, conflict management and stakeholder engagement in developing country settings – focusing on the perspectives of the contingency school of management.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Class test 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Energy, Climate Change and Development

Code:

APME75

Convenor:

DR Nick Bardsley

Summary:

Examine the core social and economic processes contributing to climate change and critically assess proposed solutions, drawing on ecological economics and energy economics. Learn through lectures integrated with student-centred learning activities and guided preparatory reading.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Oral 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Gender and Development

Code:

IDM012

Convenor:

DR Sarah Cardey

Summary:

Examine how gendered roles and perspectives influence development outcomes. Explore the specific ways in which underdevelopment and the process of achieving greater social and economic security may be experienced differently by women and men. Evaluate theories and methods of analysing gendered aspects of development and learn how these may be used in policy formulation and project design. Learn through a combination of lectures, guided preparatory readings, and student-led group discussions.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 95%, Oral 5%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Participatory interventions in development

Code:

IDM013

Convenor:

PROF Peter Dorward

Summary:

Learn how participation and participatory approaches can support the processes of development. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of participation and learn how to maximise the benefits in development initiatives. Develop skills in the use of specific participatory methods and how to integrate them into practical work.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 75%, Report 25%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Communication and Innovation in Development

Code:

IDM066

Convenor:

DR Sarah Cardey

Summary:

Explore current ideas about the role of communication in technological and behaviour change in the context of social and economic development. Analyse theories of communication, learning, and behaviour change, and examine how these can be employed to design methods for supporting innovation in livelihoods. Learn through lectures, workshops, individual projects, selected readings, and case studies from around the world.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Food Security and Development

Code:

IDM077

Convenor:

DR Samuel Poskitt

Summary:

Explore the complex, sometimes contentious, yet crucial relationship between food and global development. You will gain a broad but comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with producing, accessing and consuming food in different parts of the world.  

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Personal and Professional Development Programme for International Students

Code:

IDM089

Convenor:

DR Georgia Koromila

Summary:

GIIDAE is home to a large international learning community attracting students from around 40 countries each year – and as such is an outstanding example of a globalised educational experience. This module will provide specific support to international students for whom the masters course will be their first experience of living and studying in the UK. The course is designed primarily to further academic, personal and professional development in a friendly, relaxed and informal setting but also aims to ensure that international students learn about UK culture, develop a sense of ‘place’ by learning about Reading and its environs and provide support with the English language.

The module does not have any formal assessment but is recorded on student transcripts dependent on attendance / participation.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Global Environmental Change, Justice and Development

Code:

IDM099

Convenor:

DR Andrew Ainslie

Summary:

It’s an ever more interconnected world out there with complex, interacting drivers of change. You’ll learn about the trade-offs in environmental change and social justice that are now central to the development–environment nexus at all levels, from local to global. By exploring a range of conceptual framings of this complexity and then applying this learning to a number of exciting case-studies, you will develop the expertise to understand - and the confidence to tackle - socio-environmental challenges. And you will learn this all through reading, interactive small-group learning, film clips, seminars, study visits, and case-studies introduced and led by regional specialists.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 10%, Class test 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Communication Planning and Processes

Code:

IDM100

Convenor:

DR Sarah Cardey

Summary:

Explore the practical implementation of communication strategies and practices for social and behaviour change in social and economic development. You will learn how to design communication strategies and the principles for strategic use of communication in development interventions. Learn through lectures, workshops, individual projects, selected readings, and case studies from around the world.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Environmental and Pollution Microbiology

Code:

GVMEPM

Convenor:

DR Lumbani Mwafulirwa

Summary:

This module provides an understanding of the major groups of microorganisms in soils, their adaptation to soil environments, and their impact on the wider environment. Emphasis is placed on the role of soil microorganisms in global cycling of C, N, P and S and in the degradation and transformation of natural and anthropogenic chemicals in the environment (biogeochemical processes). The course also provides students with examples of the benefits of managing soil microorganisms for environmental sustainability. The associated practical work provides students with practical experience of measuring, isolating and testing examples of soil microorganisms and quantifying microbially-mediated processes.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Report 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.