This English-taught master's prepares you to tackle the major tensions in the global agricultural and food system: preserving biodiversity under climate change, improving resource use and regional production, securing food for a growing population, and promoting fair, resilient supply chains. The course focuses on how international market integration and multinational policymaking shape the environment for producers, processors and other stakeholders, and it trains you to understand and navigate those interdependencies.
The curriculum is interdisciplinary, combining agricultural policy with ecological, socio-economic and technological perspectives. You will study interactions among biological, technical, economic, social and legal systems, and explore topical questions such as the role of digital technologies in agriculture, sustainable resource management, and models for regional production and marketing. The programme lets students with technical agricultural backgrounds build on empirical research methods and professional knowledge from business and politics, while students from economics or political science deepen their understanding of ecological and technological aspects of agriculture.
Graduates gain the analytical and leadership skills to work across disciplines and cultures. You will be able to interpret scientific evidence for agrifood systems, communicate and lead multidisciplinary teams, mediate between conflicting stakeholder interests, and design innovative solutions—ranging from consumer initiatives and business models to cooperative approaches and regulatory reform. The programme is explicitly designed to equip analysts and problem-solvers who can reconcile economic and ecological objectives in modern food systems.
This master's blends agricultural and food sciences with social sciences—economics, political science, governance and management—so you learn to assess agricultural production and food systems from technical, economic and regulatory perspectives. In the first semester you take a core set of compulsory modules that establish the programme’s interdisciplinary foundation and research methods.
The compulsory courses cover economics, sustainability and policy, environmental issues in agriculture and food, relevant technologies, and both quantitative and qualitative research methods. These modules aim to give you a solid grasp of how modern agricultural and food systems operate and how socioeconomic and regulatory forces shape them. In later semesters you personalise your studies by choosing electives across economics, governance and sociology, climate and resources, or technological innovation.
You can also use the second or third semester as a mobility window to study at other German or international institutions and transfer credits back to the programme. The degree concludes in the fourth semester with a research-based master’s thesis.
You must have completed a relevant undergraduate degree before applying. The program requires a qualified Bachelor's degree (or an equivalent qualification) that spans at least six semesters. Eligible subject areas include agricultural and horticultural sciences, political science, economics and business administration, or a closely related field.
This requirement accepts degrees awarded by German universities as well as degrees from institutions outside Germany. Note that six semesters typically corresponds to a three-year Bachelor's program in many higher-education systems; if your degree structure differs, you should be prepared to document its equivalence.
Winter Semester (International)
31 March 2026
Winter Semester (EU/EEA)
31 May 2026
Graduates are prepared for roles that require both sector-specific technical knowledge and policy/economic expertise. Typical career paths include policy analyst or advisor in government agencies and international organisations, regulatory or compliance roles in the food and agricultural industries, consultant positions with NGOs and think tanks, and specialist roles in sustainability and supply-chain management.
With strong training in quantitative and qualitative methods and interdisciplinary communication, alumni can also pursue research or doctoral studies or take leadership positions in multi-stakeholder projects that bridge science, business and public policy.