Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons) in Dairy Business
| Duration | 4 years |
|---|---|
| Code | DN252 |
| Location | Kildalton |
Awarding Body: University College Dublin
Location: UCD and Teagasc Moorepark and Kildalton
Application: CAO
Maintenance Grant: Application through SUSI (Means Tested)
Entry Requirements and Application Procedures
Applicants must have passes in six subjects in the Leaving Certificate. These subjects must include Irish, English, Mathematics and a Laboratory Science subject. Two of the six subjects must be a minimum HC3. The standard points system will be used to rank applicants.
Course Aims
This programme is designed to provide students entering the dairy industry (dairy farming or supporting industries) with a high level of scientific, technical and business skills and has been developed following extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders.
Location
Stages 1, 2 and 4 of the programme will be delivered at UCD while stage 3 will take place at the Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Teagasc, Moorepark Research Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork and at Kildalton Agricultural College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, while also comprising of six months professional work experience (PWE), preferably overseas.
Course Structure and Content
Stage 1 combines a range of business, science, mathematics and technology related modules. Introductory Chemistry, Animal Biology and Evolution and Cell and Plant Biology modules will be combined with business related modules offered by the UCD School of Business.
Stage 2 will build on Stage 1 by including a wide range of applied modules including Animal Reproduction, Animal Breeding, Dairy Production and Animal Nutrition. Also included are Communications, Managing Employee Relations, Business Management and Agri- Environmental Issues and Policy.
In Stage 3 students will undertake ‘Technical Management of a Dairy Farm’ at Kildalton Agricultural College prior to commencing Professional Work Experience. This will be followed by a semester at Moorepark Research Centre studying Grassland Management, Applied Dairy Cow Nutrition, Applied Animal Breeding and Reproduction, Dairy Systems and Herd Health.
Finally, Stage 4 aims to pull it all together and includes Food and Agribusiness Strategy, Leadership and Change Management, Advanced Dairy Production, Grass and Forage Production and Entrepreneurial Management.
Professional Work Experience
Professional Work Experience (PWE) is a unique selling point of the programme and provides exciting opportunities for students to travel to New Zealand to experience cutting edge technologies in the busy July to September period.
Career Opportunities
In addition to the highly skilled role of dairy farm management, opportunities exist in a wide variety of areas including: advisory, research, animal feed industry, banking, teaching and consultancy services. Research opportunities to masters and PhD level will also be available. Further information is available from UCD.