My RAU experience

I am embarking on a career change and the Graduate Diploma in Agriculture is the perfect immersion into agriculture. GDA provides an intensive one year programme aimed at those interested in embarking on a career in the agricultural sector. I have also been impressed by the RAU’s shift of focus towards sustainable food and farming systems as this is crucial both for the UK and globally.

My RAU experience

I chose to study at the RAU because of the mix of modules on the course, the small class sizes, and the expertise of the lecturers. A highlight for me was the Ecological Consultancy module where I learned about the role of an ecological consultancy, the key legislation and approaches in wildlife protection and how to carry out surveys such as bat roost surveys and biodiversity net gain assessments, which is a really topical skill that I have drawn on in my current studies.  

My RAU experience

Looking at the job description of my aspirational job to be an agricultural journalist for the Farmers Weekly, they wanted the candidate to have a degree in Agriculture over one in literature or other courses. The RAU was close to my family farm and as I was choosing a university during Covid in 2020, a close-knit community style and smaller university sounded good as that meant more opportunity for face-to-face lectures and one to one discussion with lecturers if needed, which was appealing to me.

My RAU experience

I enjoyed studying the historical and heritage-based aspects of Countryside Management during my undergraduate course. I was thrilled to continue exploring these topics through the Cultural Heritage Institute's MSC Archaeology program, which I received an alumni discount on.

I chose the RAU because it's full of very like-minded people. I've always wanted to run my own business, I didn't know what I wanted to do until I came here, but the enterprise programs helped me sort that out.

To undertake this process without the RAU backing would have made it a lot harder. Their wealth of experience, their contacts, all the things they've helped with has really made this experience a lot easier.

The wonderful thing about where we are right now is that we are experiencing the unfolding of the fourth industrial revolution.  So when the students come and enrol in our programme with the university and our modules, they get to learn more about these technologies and they are equipped to go into various industries in agriculture and apply these technologies.

Be a part of an exciting chapter in the history of the Royal Agricultural University.

RAU Swindon is situated in a purpose converted workshop in the railway heritage quarter of Swindon. This £1.35m investment provides modern and fully accessible facilities in an innovative learning space calculated to encourage collaboration and interdisciplinary studies. Designed by award winning architects Metropolitan Workshop and with the generous support of Swindon Borough Council the project is a case study in sustainable, heritage-led, regeneration.