Specialisations at BOKU
If you choose BOKU as your HOST for your second year (the host university for the 3rd and the 4th semester), you are rather free to specialise in the topic you are interested in, but you only have to pursue the structure of courses as following:
- One compulsory course (master seminar) with an extent of 2 ECTS credits
- Elective courses with an extent of 16 ECTS credits and
- Free elective courses with an extent of 12 ECTS credits
(For details, please have a look at this slides or the BOKU Curriculum)
However, we made it easier for you in pre-selecting some course-pools for you, which might be your specialisation (for details - scroll down):
- Soil Fertility, Water Management and Ecology
- Organic Agricultural Production
- Local Knowledge and Ethnobiology
- Systems Scenarios, Sociology and Ethics
- Organic Agriculture in Subtopical and Tropical Environments
One compulsory course
WINTER AND/OR SUMMER SEMESTER
| Course | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Master seminar | 2 |
Elective courses
For students who choose BOKU as their host university, a total amount of 16 elective ECTS credits from the list of elective courses within the SPP (respectively W5-courses in the BOKU EUR-Organic Curriculum) must be completed.
Note: Courses from different specialisations can be combined.
Soil Fertility, Water Management and Ecology
| Code | Course | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| Soil fertility and soil ecology in organic agriculture | 3 | |
| Soil Physics and Chemistry | 3 | |
| Rhizosphere processes and application to agriculture and soil protection | 3 | |
| Lecture series in soil, water and atmosphere | 3 | |
| Soil water management | 3 | |
| Soil conservation | 3 | |
| Vegetation dynamics and fire ecology | 3 | |
| Soil ecology | 3 |
Total ECTS credits (winter and summer term): 24
Organic Agricultural Production
| Code | Course | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| Crop Production Systems in Organic Agriculture | 3 | |
| Procedures of plant production in organic agriculture I | 1 | |
| Procedures of plant production in organic agriculture II | 1 | |
| Animal Production in Organic Agriculture | 4 | |
| Case Studies in Organic Grassland Management | 2 | |
| Protection of Natural Resources by Organic Farming | 3 | |
| Organic Fruit Production and Organic Viticulture | 3 | |
| Organic Horticulture (Vegetables and Ornamentals) | 3 | |
| Research Project in Viticulture and Fruit Science | 4 | |
| Ecological Plant Protection | 3 | |
| Phytomedizin im Obstbau (in Engl.) | 3 | |
| Laboratory diagnosis of plant damages | 3 | |
| Global change and pest management | 3 | |
| Methoden zur Untersuchung der Stressresistenz von Pflanzen (in Engl.) | 3 | |
| Technology in Organic Agriculture | 3 | |
| Agricultural engineering in plant production - seminar | 4 | |
| Post-harvest technology | 3 | |
| Production systems and atmospheric pollution | 3 | |
| European Regulatory Framework for Organic Production | 3 | |
| Interdisciplinary Excursion on Organic Agriculture | 2 |
Total ECTS credits (winter and summer term): 57
Local Knowledge and Ethnobiology
| Code | Course | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| Local Knowledge and Ethnobiology in Organic Farming - Introduction | 3 | |
| Local Knowledge and Ethnobiology in Organic Farming - Methods Seminar | 3 | |
| Agroecology, Cultural Ecology and Ethnoecology - the interdisciplinary discourse in atural resource management | 3 | |
| Biocultural Diversity in Rural Landscapes | 3 | |
| Ethnobotany - introduction | 2 | |
| Ethnobotany - research and application | 3 | |
| Ethnopedology, ethnometeorology and ethnoclimatology: Local knowledge about soil, weather and climate change | 3 |
Total ECTS credits (winter and summer semester): 20
Systems, Scenarios, Sociology and Ethics
| Code | Course | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| System Analysis and Scenario Technique - methods and practices | 5 | |
| Ethics in Organic Agriculture | 3 | |
| Principles of Empirical Research Methods in the Social Sciences | 3 | |
| Foresights - what future to expect? (Late lessons from early warnings) | 3 | |
| Organic Farming and Regional Development | 6 | |
| Global Networking | 6 | |
| Decision Support Systems | 3 | |
| Organisational Behaviour and Gender Issues | 3 | |
| Organic Farming in the Public Debate | 3 | |
| Applied Theory of Sciences | 2 | |
| Gender, Nutrition and Right to Food | 6 | |
| Gender, Food Systems and Natural Resources | 6 |
Total ECTS credits (winter and summer semester): 49
Organic Agriculture in Subtropical and Tropical Environments
Winter semester
| Code | Course | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| Global Case Studies on Organic Agriculture | 1,5 | |
| The Global Organic Control and Certification System | 3 | |
| Development Processes of Organic Agriculture in Tropical and Subtropical Regions | 3 | |
| Project: Organic Farming in Tropical and Subtropical Regions | 6 | |
| Soil Management in Tropical and Subtropical Developing Regions | 3 | |
| Animal Husbandry in Tropical and Subtropical Regions | 3 | |
| Mehcanization of Agriculture in Developing Countries | 4 | |
| Participatory Methods in Development Research and Practice | 3 |
Total ECTS credits (winter and summer terms): 26,5
Free electives
For students who choose BOKU as their host university, at least 12 ECTS credits of free elective courses must be completed. The ELLS joint summer school can be chosen as a free elective course.
Note: Free electives may be selected from all courses offered by all recognized universities in Austria and abroad. Free electives are intended to impart knowledge and skills in the student’s own academic subject as well as in fields of general interest.
Please also - as it is the most recent source of information - refer to the current BOKU EUR-Organic Curriculum for more detailed information about the specialisations.