Soil Management

Duration:

1 year full-time
2-5 years part-time 

Overview:

Soil is a key natural resource that needs to be managed successfully to support sustainable development. It is growing in economic importance because of a broader environmental agenda and new legislation. Poor soil management in many parts of the world, including Europe, has progressively degraded productive soils. This is putting global food security at risk in the context of a growing and increasingly wealthy global population.

The course is accredited by the Institute of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) and the Landscape Institute. It contributes to professional assessment towards chartered status through the Society for the Environment and the Engineering Council.

It provides students with expertise in the management of soil in agricultural and rural land systems, enabling them to develop, evaluate and implement soil management solutions that provide optimum economic productivity whilst protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity.

Students benefit from dedicated laboratories for the study of soil engineering, soil plant and water interactions, soil physics and mechanics, soil dynamics, soil erosion, GIS and remote sensing.

Course Structure:

The MSc course comprises eight assessed modules, a group project module, an integrated group project and an individual project. Students undertaking the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) complete the eight modules and the two group projects. Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) students complete five modules, a project and a personal development portfolio.

The modules include lectures and tutorials, and are assessed through written examinations and assignments. These provide the tools required for the group and individual projects.

• Agricultural and Environmental Soil Engineering
• Ecosystem Services - Living with Environmental Limits
• GIS Fundamentals
• Land Engineering and Water Management
• Soil and Watershed Management
• Soil Carbon, Nutrients and Contamination
• Soil Plant Environmental Science
• Soil Policy and Legislation

Group project:

• Improving Land-based Ecosystem Service Delivery

Entry requirements:

Candidates must possess, or be expected to achieve, a 1st or 2nd class UK Honours degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline such as agriculture, engineering, environmental sciences, forestry, geography or geology. Other relevant qualifications, together with significant experience, may be considered.

English language requirements - our normal minimum requirement is a TOEFL score of 580 (paper test) or 237 (computer test), essay rating 4.5 or 92 (Internet test), all skills 19 or an IELTS 6.5 with 6.0 for writing, a TOEIC overall score of 830, or a Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English grade C or Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English grade C, although a number of our programmes require higher scores.

Funding:

Funding opportunities exist, including industrial sponsorship, School bursaries and a number of general external schemes.  For the majority of part-time students sponsorship is organised by their employers. We recommend you discuss this with your company in the first instance.

Please note that a formal offer of a place on this course must have been received before consideration can be given for funding. For further details please visit our website or contact our Enquiries Office on the details provided below.

Want to find out more?

Contact our Enquiries Office for further details on all the courses we offer by either email: appliedsciences@cranfield.ac.uk or phone +44 (0)1234 758008. You can also visit our website.

Additional content

• Specialist Energy MSc opportunities