Agriculture with Policy and Environment

Agriculture with policy and environment is a degree that engages with one of the most important sets of questions facing societies in the twenty-first century: how to produce enough food to feed a growing world population while managing the environmental impacts of farming, adapting to climate change, and maintaining the ecosystem services on which agricultural production ultimately depends. At Harper Adams University, the BSc Agriculture with Policy and Environment is a four-year full-time programme that integrates the practical science of farming with a serious engagement in the policy and environmental dimensions of the food and agricultural system.

As the current programme description notes, agriculture plays a vital role in global food production and security, climate change mitigation, environmental protection, water management, and renewable energy creation. The degree develops your understanding of crop and livestock production systems alongside the ecological and environmental processes that farming depends on and affects: soil science, water management, biodiversity, and the carbon cycle are all part of the curriculum. The policy and environment dimension introduces you to the agricultural policy frameworks, including post-Brexit UK agricultural policy, international trade agreements, and the environmental regulations that govern what farmers can and cannot do, alongside the tools for evaluating environmental impacts and designing more sustainable farming systems.

Graduates of agriculture with policy and environment programmes work in farming and land management, agricultural consultancy, environmental agency roles, rural land management, conservation organisations, food and supply chain businesses, and government departments responsible for food, farming, and rural affairs. The combination of practical agricultural knowledge and policy and environmental awareness is particularly valuable in roles that sit at the boundary between the farming sector and the regulatory, advisory, and policy environment in which it operates. Some graduates go on to postgraduate study in agricultural science, environmental management, or rural policy.

Harper Adams is one of the UK's leading specialist land-based universities, and its graduates are consistently well regarded by employers in the food and farming sectors.