BSc (Hons) Agriculture with Mechanisation

If you are interested in agricultural machinery and technology and see your career focusing on the management and application of farm machinery, rather than engineering , this is the route for you.

The first part of the course provides a general introduction to agriculture in terms of animal and crop production, underpinning biological and environmental science, an introduction to farm business management and marketing and agricultural mechanisation.

In the second part of the course you start to specialise in the area of mechanisation studying areas such as farm machinery technology, hydraulics and electrics, and mechanisation aspects of soil and farm infrastructure. The mechanisation aspects are studied alongside more general aspects of agriculture such as waste management, crop production and science and farm business management.

In the final year the specialisation in mechanisation is developed further, studying areas such as science technology and information systems, measurement and control systems, applied mechanisation projects in association with industry, and a research project with a mechanisation focus. The mechanisation modules are studied alongside crop production and crop protection modules.

The principles of mechanisation are developed in an applied way without the use of complex mathematics.

Work placement

BSc (Hons) students undertake placement in their third year. You will enjoy a year of paid employment in a business related to your career aspirations and experience. Recent placement employers have included machinery dealerships or manufacturers such as John Deere, Claas, CNH, Kubota and Burden Brothers, in roles as machinery demonstrators, dealer technicians, machinery testing or sales. You will have a dedicated Placement Manager, support officer, and tutor to visit you whilst on placement.

You will usually undertake paid employment for at least 12 months on modern progressive farms or in the agricultural support industries. Agriculture students wishing to undertake a farm placement are required to work at least 50 miles away from home and are not normally permitted to return to previous employers.

Students also have the opportunity to access a range of overseas placements, with the support of supporting agents, where possible. Students may undertake placement in the USA, Australia or New Zealand, for example. Several commercial scholarship opportunities, linked to placement, are available to apply for, with sponsoring companies paying a significant amount towards the tuition fees of successful applicants.