Specialization in „International Agribusiness and Rural Development Economics“

The profile “International Agribusiness and Rural Development Economics” within the MSc program “Sustainable International Agriculture” trains students to analyse socio-economic interactions between individuals, resources and markets in agriculture using up-to-date quantitative and qualitative methods. Students acquire the tools they need to contribute to the provision of answers to vital questions ranging from the macro-level (e.g. global hunger, the world trade system) to the meso-level (e.g. the structure and performance of national and international food chains; food safety and quality issues) and the micro-level (e.g. the efficiency of agricultural production, participation and poverty at the household level) in agricultural systems.

You are taught by staff from Göttingen and Kassel-Witzenhausen who are representing the largest group of internationally recognised and internationally active agricultural economists in Germany (14 professors and many post-docs and lecturers). This enables us to provide you with specialised, cutting-edge teaching and supervision, and thus prepare you for exciting careers in research, business, national and regional governments and administration, and international organisations.

Please note that this specialisation does not require that you have a background in economic theory and quantitative methods as a prerequisite. However, the compulsory courses do include several modules that emphasize theory and methods (e.g. World Agricultural Markets and Econometrics) at an advanced MSc level.

Study Plan

Compulsory modules

The following four compulsory modules must be taken:

For a detailed module description, please refer to the current module catalogue.

Winter Term (WiSe)

• M.SIA E11 Socioeconomics of rural development and food security
  (Göttingen, Prof. L. Colen)
• M.SIA. I12 Sustainable International Agriculture: basic principles and approaches
  (Witzenhausen, Prof. Dr. Eva Schlecht )

Summer Term (SoSe)

• M.Agr.0086 World agricultural markets and trade
  (Göttingen, Prof. Dr. B. Brümmer)

Winter or Summer Term (WiSe/SoSe)

• M.WIWI-QMW.0004 Econometrics I
  (Göttingen, Prof. Dr. H. Herwartz)


Elective Compulsory Modules

Five elective compulsory modules must be chosen (among these, at least one methodological module). In the Study Guide you can find a list of the elective compulsory modules for this specialization track on page 32.


Elective modules

Six elective modules are to be chosen. You can also chose elective modules from the list of so far not attended elective compulsory modules. Language courses at level B1 or B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) or comparable totaling 6 C may be considered once as electives, provided that the course is not English or the student's native language. Click here for the list of elective modules.


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