Master's in Agricultural Sciences

Objectives of the Programme:

The objective of the programme is to prepare master with high qualification, who will possess deep and systematic knowledge in agricultural science and concrete its specific fields (agronomy, forestry, food processing technology). This knowledge will enable graduates to elaborate new and original ideas. He or she will be able to conduct research independently by using modern methods and approaches. Graduates will also be able to pursue scientific-practical work or continue studying on the Ph.D. level as in Georgia as abroad.

Objective of Agronomy specialization:

Prepare a master who will have deep and systematic knowledge in the field of agronomy; ability to manage soil fertility and plant nutrition; knowledge of integrated pests management; agro-ecosystems and its main directions, achievements of agro-biotechnologies and options of use; modern scientific methods and approaches of production-certification of seed and planting materials based.

Objective of Food Processing Technology specialization

Prepare a master who will have deep and systematic knowledge in food processing technology field; will know different physical-chemical properties of food components, methods to define and identify them and their impact on the human organism; understand the importance of microbiological and chemical parameters of product quality and safety.

Master students will learn methods of food storage, physiological, biochemical, microbiological and physical processes occurring in the product during the storage; how to define quality parameters and the ways to manage the factors affecting it.

Objective of Forestry specialization

Prepare a master who will have deep and systematic knowledge in forestry; graduate will know forest maintenance – principles of protection, restoration and use of the forest; will be able to develop new, original ideas for the sustainable management and problem-solving of the forest resources, rational use of nature and its reproduction; acknowledge the ways to solve different problems.

Career Options:

Upon completion of the programme graduate will have the opportunity to get employed in various industries such as: 

• Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, National Forestry Agency and its all regional divisions;
• Agency of Protected Areas and its regional divisions;
• State and non-state organizations monitoring food safety;
• Scientific-research centres, institutes and laboratories of relevant field;
• Educational organization;
• Agricultural raw material processing companies;
• Governmental and non-governmental organizations of agricultural profile;
• Municipal greenery offices;
• Botanical gardens and nursery farms;
• Create own farm and become employer;
• State/private consultation organizations.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon completion graduate will develop following competences:

General Competences:

The graduates will be able to:

• act in a multidisciplinary environment, find creative solutions to the complex problems and make adequate decisions;
• define practical problems, search for the ways and methods to solve them;
• use cognitive and practical skills for creative solution of abstract problems;
• carry an entrepreneurial activity in engineering field;
• evaluate effectiveness of new tools, test and use them; select proper technologies;
• evaluate concrete profession’s competitiveness and its role in sustainable development of the country;
• use reliable source of information and modern informational technologies in the process of planning and performing the work;
• prepare seperate parts of the design documentation and reveal all the risks associated with the management of the project;
• analyze relevant information and assess the risks associated with management of a concrete project before engineering work is organized and technologies for use are planned;
• assess and range expected risks and make optimal decisions to act in accordance;
• diagnose equipment, plan and conduct scheduled-alerting current and fundamental repairs;
• act independently during the planning and performing the tasks;
• create schemes of technical specification, projects, functions, principles and installation.

General Competences:

Graduates will be able to:

• carry out research independently by using latest methods and approaches;
• make argumentative conclusion based on critical analyses and synthesis;
• communicate his or her conclusions and research methods to the academic and professional audience in Georgian and foreign languages;
• use modern information and communication technologies;
• proceed scientific literature, organize the work and present it publicly;
• plan study strategy independently;
• acknowledge specifics of study process;
• evaluate own and other’s attitude to the values and take part in the establishment of new values.

Specific competences:

Agronomy Specialization:

Graduates will:

• be able to assess and manage soil fertility, determine the dosage of organic and mineral fertilizers and establish their influence on the quality of agricultural crops and environment pollution;
• understand the harm caused by harmful organisms and its management theory, methodology and plant protection laboratory methods;
• know functioning of natural and artificial ecosystems, principles of natural selection and adaptation of plants, modern agro, nano and biotechnological research methods of development of new varieties and hybrids.

Food Possessing Technology Specialization

Graduates will:

• know calculation and optimization methods of agricultural raw materials and storage processes
• be able to organize food factories and apply biotechnological and physical-chemical methods
• be able implement modern mechanisms of food quality control 

Forestry Specialization

Graduates will:

• know modern approaches, principles of sustainable development and theoretical and practical topics of forestry policy
• be able plan and carry out forest management and inventory independently for multipurpose use of forests
• understand the harm caused by the harmful organisms and their management theory, methodology and plant protection laboratory methods

Full description of the programme

Curriculum