PGCert in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security

Location

Royal Agricultural University Campus

Duration

1 year (full time) or 2+ years (part time)

Academic Year

Commences either 20 January 2025 or 29 September 2025

This course will equip you with the specialist knowledge and skills needed by governments, NGOs, commercial companies, and farms as they respond to some of today's biggest challenges within the agriculture and food sectors.

Course overview

You will delve into critical issues such as the human exploitation of the Earth’s resources, poverty alleviation and food security, and the ethical and cultural implications of policy development. You will study five core modules covering understanding and improving agricultural and food supply systems. You can then select three electives to enable further specialisation including crops, livestock, management, and different system approaches.

If you are interested in studying Agriculture but cannot commit to the full MSc programme then studying for a Certificate (PGCert) may be the route for you. It is designed to give learners a broad and thorough grounding in the sector to pursue a variety of careers. 

What is a Postgraduate Certificate?

The PGCert - or Postgraduate Certificate – is the shortest of our Postgraduate level offerings, which is completed by studying four modules (60 credits). It allows you to study business skills in depth but takes less time to complete than the MSc or Postgraduate Diploma.

The PGCert is a great way of fitting postgraduate study around a busy life. Full-time students can complete the course in as little as one year. Part-time students can choose to spread the course up to two years, giving you lots of time for thinking and writing between modules. It is ideal if you want to study a specific subject but would rather not commit to a full MSc with its attendant time and financial costs.

It can be a great way to boost your career or enter a new industry, but if you desire to continue your studies PGCert credits can be used to contribute towards a PGDip or even an MSc qualification later down the line. Completing studies using this route is often likened to building blocks – one step at a time – the first step being a PGCert.

*Please note, Visa students must be full-time (a min of 15 hours per week) and will need to attend all sessions in person due to UKVI visa requirements.

Course content

This programme has specifically been designed to meet the needs of postgraduate learners many of whom may be combining study with work and/or caring or other responsibilities. Teaching is designed to be fully flexible, to allow full participation for both part-time and full-time students.

Course structure

Our PGCert is designed to be ultra-accessible. All classes are offered both in person and synchronously online, with session recordings available for students unable to attend a particular session.

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration.

Modules

  • 4201 Poverty and Food Security: Examine the inter-relationships between poverty and food security
  • 4250 International Rural Development: Critically engage with normative and historical concepts of development theory and practice
  • 4409 Facing the global challenges in food and agriculture: Discuss challenges affecting food production, including the global population increase and the energy crisis
  • 4727 Managing Global Soils in a Changing Climate: Understand the fundamentals of soil processes key to protecting this precious resource

* Optional additions to the course will incur additional charges

Disclaimer information

The University has established various rules and regulations that you must agree to and follow if you accept an offer to study with us. View our full disclaimer notice.

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Careers and graduate destinations

Our graduates have gone on to enter production, policy, and research and consultancy careers in the agricultural and food quality sector, within:
  • International organisations - United Nations (UN), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) etc
  • Government departments in various countries
  • NGOs internationally - Envrionment Agency, National Farmers' Union (NFU), Country Landowners Association (CLA) etc
  • Research institutes​

It also provides an excellent grounding for further academic study, for example at Diploma or MSc level.

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Entry requirements

An Undergraduate Honours Degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or overseas equivalent, or a professional qualification and/or experience considered to be equivalent to the above. For information on international qualifications, please, see our country specific pages. For countries not listed please contact admissions@rau.ac.uk.

We welcome applications from applicants with non-standard qualifications who are able to demonstrate knowledge, experience and skills developed in the workplace or elsewhere and which are relevant to the programme of study. Applicants will need to use their personal statement to provide further details supported by a CV. All non-standard applications will be considered by the Programme Manager on a case-by-case basis and applicants can expect that an interview may be required as part of the admissions process.

If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our English language requirements for the level of study. For postgraduate taught programmes this is IELTS Academic min. overall 6.5 with no element below 5.5 (or equivalent). English language tests usually have a validity of 2 years from the date the test is taken.

Offers will typically be made in line with the academic requirements set out above. Offers can be conditional or unconditional. An unconditional offer will be made to applicants who have already met the conditions and provided evidence that conditions have been met. Where academic or language requirements have not yet been fulfilled, applicants will receive a conditional offer stating the requirements that must be met. 

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Fees

Tuition fees cover the cost of a student’s academic studies. This usually includes teaching costs, registration and examination fees (not repeat or trailing module fees, or dissertation extensions).

2024-25 Applicants (including January 2025)

For the academic year 2024-25 the tuition fees for this course are:  

  UK *Overseas/EU
Full-time £3,650 per year £6,017 per year
Part-time Fees are calculated on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of modules taken. Please refer to Tuition Fees webpage N/A

2025-26 Applicants

For the academic year 2025-26 the tuition fees for this course are:  

  UK *Overseas/EU
Full-time £3,800 per year £7,350 per year
Part-time Fees are calculated on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of modules taken. Please refer to Tuition Fees webpage N/A

*Please note: International students can study on a part-time basis only if they are in the UK with a different type of visa (other than Student Visa/Tier 4 General) that allows them to undertake part-time study and their visa does not expire prior to the end date of the proposed course of study. Please check your Visa eligibility before applying.

Please contact admissions@rau.ac.uk before you apply to confirm your eligibility.

Tuition fees may be subject to an inflationary increase each year as set out in our Access and Participation Plan 2019/20.

For full details, please visit the fees and funding webpage.

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