study abroad programmes

Study AbroAd progrAmmeS 2011-2012Agriculture, Food, environment And technology

Faculty oF agricultural sciences2 aarhus

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study abroad at the Faculty of agricultural sciences, aarhus university, Denmark.

Widen your horizonS with A semester in denmArk

tAble of contentSWelcome to the Faculty of agricultural sciences at aarhus university . . . . . . . . . 3What is the study abroad Msc semester Programme?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4individual study abroad packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Practical details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14contact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Faculty oF agricultural sciences 3aarhus

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welcome to the FAculty oF AgriculturAl sciences – the nAturAl choice

healthy food and energy for a healthy planet: Does that sound appealing to you? Whether you approach sustainable agricul-ture and food production from the angle of food quality, climate change, land and resource management, animal health, bioen-ergy or other directions, you can find a study abroad semester package that suits your interests at the Faculty of agricultural sciences, aarhus university, Denmark.

the Faculty of agricultural sciences offers courses in a wide range of subjects taught by scientists who are leading in their fields. you will be ensured cutting edge and up-to-date research-based teaching at the university’s campus in the lovely

and vibrant town of aarhus in Denmark combined with hands-on learning activities at the faculty’s extensive and modern research facilities.

aarhus university ranks among the top 100 universities in the world and the Faculty of agricultural sciences ranks as number 11 among the world’s leading research institutes in agricultural sciences.

come and spend a semester at the Faculty of agricultural sciences in aarhus and widen your horizons in a friendly, supportive and international atmosphere.


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WhAt iS the Study AbroAd msc semester progrAmme?the study abroad programme at the Faculty of agricultural sciences offers semester course packages taught in english that give you 30 ects/15 us credits. this provides you with the possibility of earning credits in Denmark in the company of students from around the world – including Danish students – towards your degree at home. if you are enrolled in one of aarhus university’s partner universities and apply as an exchange student, there is no tuition fee.

you can choose from a range of nine different programmes at the Master’s level in either the Fall or the spring semester. the study abroad programme comprises a comprehensive choice of top-quality research-based courses gathered in thematic subject packages.

each semester package is organised around current and central research themes and consists of 2-4 courses and the option of an individual research project.

Study AbroAd SemeSter pAckAgeS• Agroecology under global change

• ecosystem Analysis and management

• bioenergy technologies

• biosystems engineering – Automation

• Animal health and Welfare

• Sustainable Animal nutrition

• molecular nutrition and food Quality

• crop health

• organic fruit and Vegetable production and decision making

read more at www.agrsci.au.dk/en/education


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individuAl Study AbroAd pAckAgesAgroecology under globAl chAngemain subject areas: agriculture, agroecology, agroecosystems analysis, climate change, environmental management, carbon cycling, nutrient cycling, agricultural policy, environmental regu-lations, geographical information systems, gis

courses1) nutrient cycling and environmental Management2) carbon cycling and climate change3) agricultural Policy and agroenvironmental regulations4) agroecology and environment or5) geographical information systems (Master-gis)

period: Fall semester 2011

4) Agroecology and environment (25550)the course introduces the student to the fundamental con-ditions for agricultural production (use of resources and cli-mate conditions) and the complexity and dynamics of the agroecological system. Furthermore, the course focuses on the interactions between the managed agroecosystem (soil, plant, animals) and the natural terrestrial and aquatic (fresh water) ecosystems.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits

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5) geographical information Systems (master-giS) (28130)the objective of the course is to equip students with the basic skills needed to understand and utilize the princi-ples and concepts that modern geographic information science and technology are based on. students will learn the techniques that enable them to solve actual biological constructs. the course will give a conceptual and practical introduction to gis with particular focus on gis as a tool to be used in data management and analysis. the software platform is arcgis with associated extensions.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits

courSe deScriptionS1) nutrient cycling and environmental management (25548)nutrient losses from agroecosystems and the effects of such losses on natural ecosystems are a main focus for environmental management. the student will achieve an in-depth background in nitrogen and phosphorous func-tion and cycling in and between agroecosystems (farm and field) and natural ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic). the student will be able to find sustainable solutions for the production and the environment.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

2) carbon cycling and climate change (25549)the course aims to give the students an interdisciplinary un-derstanding of carbon flows in ecosystems and the effects of climate on ecosystem processes. this will allow the students to evaluate and quantify effects of measures for reducing greenhouse gases from agriculture and to assess effects of climate change on managed and natural ecosystems.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

3) Agricultural policy and Agroenvironmental regulations (25552)the aim of the course is to give an introduction to the de-velopment in eu agricultural policies and the environmen-tal regulation of agriculture. Denmark is one of the most progressive countries in europe with regard to agroenviron-mental regulation. Based on more than 30 years of experi-ence in regulating agriculture and the rural environment, the course will give the students a basic knowledge in the agroenvironmental policies at the european and national level and the principles of regulation, illustrated by a num-ber of Danish examples.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits


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ecoSyStem AnAlySiS And mAnAgementmain subject areas: agriculture, agroecology, agroecosystems, environmental management, sustainability, biodiversity, ecol-ogy, ecosystems analysis, landscape ecology, river basins, wet-lands restoration, geographical information systems, gis

courses1) agroecosystem analysis and Management at Farm scale 2) river Basin analysis and Management: linking agriculture and aquatic environment 3) landscape ecology and Biodiversity or4) restoration of Wetlands, streams and lakes

period: spring semester 2012

courSe deScriptionS1) Agroecosystem Analysis and management at farm Scale (25535)the aim of the course is to give you an in depth knowl-edge of farm dynamics and how the impact on nature and the environment can be influenced by the management and organisation of the farm. you will be able to use sci-entific methods to investigate and assess such issues. this includes a critical assessment of methods and tools used to give insight in and handle interaction and feedback processes between soil, plants and livestock in a farming system context.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

2) river basin Analysis and management: linking Agricul-ture and Aquatic environment (25536)the objective of the course is to give the students a theo-retical and practical insight into themes and data stored in geographical information systems (gis) and national monitoring databases as used for conducting a pressure impact analysis of the pollution of groundwater and sur-face waters at catchment or regional scale. this includes learning about the use of different model and impact as-sessment tools for the analysis and assessment of land-scape level interactions between agricultural production, nutrient losses, ecological effects and mitigation measures including restoration.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

3) landscape ecology and biodiversity (25547)the aim of the course is to give the students comprehen-sive knowledge of the ecology, natural geography and biodiversity of agricultural landscapes, and an introduction to the european and american schools of agroecology and landscape ecology. you will be able to use scientific methods for biodiversity and landscape assessment, both in theory and in practice (study trips and excursions), to identify the multiple functions of landscapes, and effects of changes in the landscape pattern.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

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4) restoration of Wetlands, Streams and lakes (25545)the course aims to give the students an interdisciplinary understanding of the restoration of wetlands, streams and lakes. this will include a basic understanding of the bioge-ochemical, hydrological and ecological processes in wet-lands and aquatic systems.credits: 10 ects /5 us credits


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bioenergy technologieSmain subject areas: Biomass conversion technologies, bioetha-nol, biodiesel, power and heat production, biogas, energy crop production, harvest and storage technologies

courses1) Biomass conversion to energy and fuel 2) Biogas technology 3) energy crop production 4) harvest and handling technologies for energy crops and straw


courSe deScriptionS1) biomass conversion to energy and fuel (24661)the course will give students a thorough knowledge of the different types of biomass that can be utilised for energy purposes and the conversion processes involved. energy and co2 balances for the individual biomasses and their conversion processes will also be assessed. estimates of plant and operation economy will be calculated for cer-tain processes.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

2) biogas technology (24663)the course will give the student a thorough insight into the production of biogas, including:• processes for the pre-treatment and bioconversion with

a view to producing biogas from waste products, animal manure and agricultural crops

• the degradation potential and energy yields of waste products and animal manure

• a basic understanding of anaerobic processes, process kinetics, inhibition, models, etc.

• pre-treatment technologies including physical/me-chanical (maceration, thermic), chemical (alkaline or acid hydrolysis), biological (silaging, addition of bacte-rial cultures or enzymes)

• various reactor types, such as batch, cstr, uasB, etc.• environmental balances using different biomassescredits: 10 ects/5 us credits

3) energy crop production (24660)the aim of the course is to equip the student with the inter-disciplinary skills required to be able to list the advantages and disadvantages of specific crops for energy production and to account for the impact of energy crop production on the environment, climate and landscape.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits

4) harvest and handling technologies for energy crops and Straw (24662)the aim of the course is to give the student basic knowl-edge concerning harvest technology and handling, stor-age and transportation methods for energy crops and straw. the main objective is to enable the student to un-derstand the working principle and functionality of differ-ent harvest machines, and thereby be able to set up and analyse crop specific harvest and handling chains.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits


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bioSyStemS engineering – AutomAtionmain subject areas: Biosystems engineering, sensor technology, intelligent technologies, bioproduction

courses1) supply chain Management 2) sensor technology and automatic control 3) information and communication technology 4) sensor and Measuring technique


courSe deScriptionS1) Supply chain management (23946)the aim is to provide students with the necessary knowl-edge and understanding for being able to describe and analyse the supply chain network and the logistical pro-cesses within a bioproduction. Processes within the supply chain are to be understood as a coordinated system of employees, operations, products, information, and resourc-es. the course is directed toward students who engage in a vocational profile including intelligent technologies and planning and control of these technologies as regard the employees and the biological production.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits

2) Sensor technology and Automatic control (23943)the aim of the course is to provide the students with in-depth knowledge on relevant sensor technologies and develop minor automatic controls including system analy-sis to be used for automation solutions within the area of biosystems engineering. the students should understand the physical and technical principles of selected types of sensors, actuators and automatic control systems.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

3) information and communication technology (23975)the course introduces the student to the different aspects of information and communication technologies in auto-mated and semi-automated systems in agriculture with a problem-oriented approach. the student will learn to es-tablish online monitoring of a biologically important phe-nomenon on the internet. this comprises a series of steps from implementation of a suitable sensor to sensible stor-age of data in a database to the final presentation of data on an interactive web page.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits

4) Sensor and measuring technique (23976)students will be presented to a specific sensor problem, set up a hypothesis, describe a solution, test and validate the setup, document choices and present the process as a small scientific paper. the course focuses on sensor solu-tions to be built into automation units and how these units may become useful for control, measurement or docu-mentation.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits


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SuStAinAble AnimAl nutritionmain subject areas: animal science, animal nutrition, feedstuffs, environmental science, ecosystems


courSe deScriptionS1) Quantitative Animal nutrition and physiology (25568)the aim of this advanced course is to give the students a sufficient background to be able to describe and quantify digestion of individual nutrients both in the gastrointestinal tract and the organism as a whole in domestic animals. this will take place on the basis of a solid knowledge of nutrient composition of feedstuffs and domestic animal anatomy and physiology. credits: 15 ects/7.5 us credits

2) nutrient cycling and environmental management (25548)the focus will be on the biological and physical/chemi-cal processes and transport of importance for the loss of nutrients from agroecosystems and their effect on the sur-rounding natural ecosystems. the course will take its start-ing point in environmental problems and their solution concerning the use of nutrients in agricultural production. credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

3) open project within Animal Science and environment (25554)Project content is defined in cooperation between the student and the tutor within animal sciences/environmen-tal science. the content is to be set down in the “project agreement”.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits

AnimAl heAlth And WelfAremain subject areas: animal science, including physiology of nu-trition, production, health and welfare of farm animals

courses1) Quantitative animal nutrition and Physiology2) animal Production, health and Welfare


courSe deScriptionS1) Quantitative Animal nutrition and physiology (25568)the aim of this advanced course is to give the students a sufficient background to be able to describe and quantify digestion of individual nutrients both in the gastrointestinal tract and the organism as a whole in domestic animals. this will take place on the basis of a solid knowledge of nutrient composition of feedstuffs and domestic animal anatomy and physiology. credits: 15 ects/7.5 us credits

2) Animal production, health and Welfare (25572)the course aims at qualifying the student to assess the relationship between farm animal management, health, welfare and production. after the course the student will be able to analyse problems in a specific animal production unit independently and critically and to suggest relevant solutions to the problems.credits: 15 ects/7.5 us credits


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courSe deScriptionS1) Advanced molecular nutrition (25539)the course aims to give the student a detailed introduction to the significance of food for human health at the molecu-lar level. this includes the effect of food on development of lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

2) Special nutrition (25538)nutritional requirements and optimal nutrition depend on a number of factors, such as age, energy requirements, physical activity and general state of health. this course includes a description of the special nutritional conditions and problems that apply for groups such as babies, expectant mothers, children, elderly people and athletes. the course includes a presentation of the different strategies and treatments within clinical nutrition of, for example, surgically or sepsis-treated patients.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits

3) Structure and functionality (25537)the aim of the course is to elucidate the relations between the structure and functional characteristics of food products, including the function of various molecules as structure agents in foods.credits: 5 ects/3.5 us credits

4) raw material Quality and food technology (25541)the course includes an introduction to the concept raw material quality of vegetables, meat, milk and eggs and to how this concept is understood and defined by the various links in the chain from primary producer to the consumer.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

moleculAr nutrition And food QuAlity main subject areas: nutrition, food science, molecular biology, food technology

courses1) advanced Molecular nutrition 2) special nutrition 3) structure and Functionality 4) raw Material Quality and Food technology

prerequisites• Biochemistry (5 ects)• Basic human nutrition (5 ects)• Food technology (5 ects)



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crop heAlthmain subject areas: crop protection, crop nutrition, crop physio-logy, crop health, integrated pest management, crop quality

courses1) introduction to crop health 2) crop Pests – Biology and control 3) crop nutrition and Physiology 4) open Project in crop health


courSe deScriptionS1) introduction to crop health (course number to be an-nounced)an introductory course introducing the student to the topics covered by the courses “crop Pests – Biology and control” and “crop nutrition and Physiology” and to the principles of modelling in plant science. the course will also intro-duce the student to the web-based literature databases and will include a lecture on how to present scientific data.credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits

2) crop pests – biology and control (25567)the course aims to teach the relationship between pest biology, crop/host plant properties and possibilities for preventive actions. students should be able to assess the requirement for crop protection measures and should acquire knowledge of the economic and environmental impact of the wide range of preventive and direct control methods available to the farmers.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

3) crop nutrition and physiology (25570)the objective of the course is to enable the student to apply the obtained knowledge of nutritional physiology to evaluate the influences of environmental constraints and agronomic management on nutrient use, yield and quality. the course deals with the following subjects: plant soil relationships, crop nutrition and physiology, and crop growth and development.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

4) open project in crop health (25554)the objective of the open Project is to give the student the possibility to specialise within a subject area and to pur-sue an interdisciplinary project based on the study abroad course package. this includes problem-oriented pro-ject work through which the student gets the opportunity to independently use part of the already acquired basic knowledge and, on the student’s own initiative, to collect and acquire new knowledge. course content should be defined in cooperation between the student and the tutor. the content is to be set down in the “project agreement”. credits: 5 ects/2.5 us credits


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orgAnic fruit And VegetAble pro-duction And deciSion mAkingmain subject areas: organic food plant production, food quality, environmental risks, bioproduction, food technology, communi-cation, management

courses1) organic Fruit, Berry and vegetable Production in a temperate climate 2) communication, extension and Decision Making 3) open Project in organic agriculture and/or elective courses

period: Spring semester 2012

courSeS1) organic fruit, berry and Vegetable production in a temperate climate (25529)using the latest scientific literature you will be able to analyse the organic production of plants for food (vegetables, fruit, berries), and relate this knowledge to the inner and outer quality of the product. Focus is on the effects of field and greenhouse production on quality, use of resources, environment and society.credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

2) communication, extension and decision making (25546)the aim is to enable the student to apply basic knowledge and theories of communication, decision making and science to develop their skills in communication of knowledge and insight across borders of scientific fields and across different fields of practice, and to help the student acquire the tools and skills to manage and supervise individual and group dynamic learning processes. credits: 10 ects/5 us credits

3) open project in organic Agriculture and/or elective courses (25554)the objective of the open Project is to give the student the possibility to specialise within a subject area. this includes problem-oriented project work, if possible in connection with a project in a business or organisation, through which the student gets the opportunity to independently use part of the already acquired basic knowledge and, on the student’s own initiative, to collect and acquire new knowledge. course content should be defined in cooperation between the student and the tutor. the content is to be set down in the “project agreement”. credits: 5 or 10 ects/2.5 or 5 us credits

elective courses: choose among 5 ects point courses within the Faculty of agricultural science, Faculty of science or the aarhus school of Business


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deadline for applicationautumn semester: 1 Mayspring semester: 1 september

Applying for admissionPlease use the online application forms at au international centre: www.au.dk/en/exchange/admissiontoau

in the application you must list the individual course numbers given in the study abroad programme package

detailed course descriptions: mit.au.dk/coursecatalogue/

prActicAl detAilS

tuition feesForeign students coming as exchange students from aarhus university partner universities are not charged tuition fees. stu-dents from non-eu/eua countries who are not enrolled in an aarhus university partner university must apply as independ-ent guest students and are charged a tuition fee per semester.

read more about tuition fees:www.kandidat.au.dk/en/admission/applyasagueststudent

read about scholarships:www.ic.au.dk

you can find more information about the Faculty of agricul-tural sciences and aarhus university on the university website.

About the faculty of Agricultural Sciences:www.agrsci.au.dk/en/

About studying at Aarhus university:www.au.dk/en/exchange/studies/studyingatau

About studying in denmark:www.studyindenmark.dk

contact For more information on the study abroad programmes: student counsellor rasmus Pedersen, email: [email protected] coordinator Marianne aarø-hansen, email: [email protected]

there is more to life than work! at aarhus university you are guaranteed opportunities to stimulate your mind and body. Music, movies, sports, debates, clubs, choirs, societies…you name it, aarhus has it – if not at the university itself, then in the vibrant and historical town of aarhus.

With its unique art, architecture and landscape, aarhus uni-versity is a pleasure to the senses while at the same time pro-viding food for thought. see and hear more at www.au.dk/en/about/profile/architecture/soundslide.

Faculty of agricultural sciencesaarhus universityWillemoesgade 15, building 2117DK-8200 aarhus nDenmark

e-mail: [email protected]

editorsMarianne aarø-hansen, Faculty secretariatJanne hansen, communication unit

photos lars Kruse, au communicationJesper rais, au communcationFlemming nielsen, story2MediaJanne hansen, communication unitKarin Majland

layoutesben skougaard, Digisource

printed byDigisource

January 2011

london

Aarhus university

berlin

Stockholm

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