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eCampus Course Studierende Agrar&ELW
We would like to remind you of the eCampus course
"Studierende Agrar&ELW" for general but also course specific
information. The course is divided into six categories and
includes important information on all areas of your studies.
In the "FAQ" category you will find a collection of
information on organizational topics of your studies such as
study administration, courses and exams. Many of your
questions will be answered. If any uncertainties remain or
you have other questions regarding your studies, you will
find information on contacts who can help you in the
Contacts category ("Kontakte"). In addition, the category
"Forum" offers the possibility to ask further questions on
specific topics to the study program management or to give
comments and feedback to optimize the course. Furthermore,
students can also exchange information with each other in
the forum. The Jobs & Scholarships category ("Jobs &
Stipendien") includes collections of job offers, internship
announcements, and trainee programs, as well as information
on continuing education opportunities such as seminars and
trade fairs. It is worth taking a regular look at this
category; the entries are updated on an ongoing basis. You
can currently register for the month of May for the online
workshops "Promovieren? Ja oder Nein?", "Wie erstelle ich
ein Promotionsexposé?" and "Promotionsfinanzierung". You
can find more information in the eCampus information course
under the category "Jobs & Stipendien" in the folder
"Seminare". The Scientific Thesis category
("Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten") contains a selection of
internal and external bachelor's and master's thesis topics,
as well as general information on literature research and
thesis formalities. Information specific to the study
program is collected in corresponding groups under the
category Study Groups ("Studiumsgruppen"). There you will
find, for example, various guides on how to use BASIS,
information on free elective courses, or information on
advanced master's programs and possible future careers.
Free student tickets for the Night of Agriculture in Berlin
For the eleventh time, the CERES AWARD honors farmers who
live innovation on a daily basis and stand out for their
responsible actions towards people, animals and the
environment. The CERES AWARD is a unique award in the
agricultural sector in German-speaking countries and enjoys
great media attention.
Once again this year, the winners and a Farmer of the Year
will be chosen from a large number of applications at the
Night of Agriculture.
Further information can be found at www.ceresaward.de
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
17:00 Admission and champagne reception
18:00 Award ceremony
Buffet and networking after the award ceremony
Students from farming and agricultural science degree
programs are offered the opportunity to attend the CERES
AWARD Gala of the Night of Agriculture with award ceremony
free of charge. Register now by sending an e-mail to
info@ceresaward.de with your first and last name, your
current course of study and an e-mail address and receive
free admission to the CERES AWARD Gala 2024. Please register
by October 15, 2024. Tickets will be allocated on a
first-come-first-served basis. Dress code festively elegant.
“Gender Studies” and ‘Prevention of Sexualized
Violence’ certificates
The Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Bonn
is offering two certificate programs from the winter
semester 2024/25: “Gender Studies” is aimed at students
from all faculties and focuses on individual gender
competence for research, teaching and professional,
political and private contexts. The “Prevention,
Intervention and Processing of Sexualized Violence”
certificate is aimed at students of the Faculty of Catholic
Theology, provides basic knowledge about sexualized violence
and raises awareness of all manifestations of sexual abuse.
Both certificates include basic and in-depth courses and can
be completed in two (or more) semesters, depending on the
course schedule. Detailed information can be found here:
Gender Studies” certificate
Website:
https://www.ktf.uni-bonn.de/zertifikat-gender-studies
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Gisela Muschiol
Center for Theological Gender Studies | Faculty of Catholic
Theology University of Bonn
+49 228 73-82019
theologische.genderforschung@uni-bonn.de
https://www.ktf.uni-bonn.de/faecher/genderforschung
Certificate “Prevention, intervention and processing of
sexualized violence”:
Website: https://www.ktf.uni-bonn.de/zertifikat-praevention
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Dr. Jochen Sautermeister
Department of Moral Theology | Faculty of Catholic Theology
University of Bonn
+49 228 73-3972
zertpsg@uni-bonn.de
https://www.ktf.uni-bonn.de/faecher/moraltheologie
Information Event on Study and Internship Options Abroad on
October 30th at 5 PM (conducted in German)
Have you ever considered going abroad for a few months to
study there for one or two semesters or to do an internship
there? If so, our information event for stays abroad
(study/internships) on October 30 is the right place for
you!
Getting to know a new country, a different culture and
people from all over the world, broadening your personal and
professional horizons, and improving your foreign language
skills at the same time - there are many reasons to venture
a semester abroad. Together with the International Office,
we would like to inform you about the many opportunities to
go abroad for an internship or a study visit. Programs such
as Erasmus+, Global Exchange, PROMOS and much more will be
covered.
You can also look forward to hearing about personal
experiences from Hungary and Italy.
When? On Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
Where? Lecture hall I, Nussallee 1
Translation
Unofficial version of the
Examination Regulations for the Consecutive Master’s Degree Program
“Agricultural and Food Economics” (AFECO)
of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn
Version: August 22, 2022
This unofficial version takes into account:
1. The Examination Regulations for the Consecutive Master’s Degree Program “Agricultural and Food
Economics” (AFECO) of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn dated October 16, 2020 (Official
Announcements of the University of Bonn, 50th year, no. 62, dated October 20, 2020)
2. The Amendment to the Examination Regulations for the Consecutive Master’s Degree Program
“Agricultural and Food Economics” (AFECO) of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn dated
August 22, 2022 (Official Announcements of the University of Bonn, 52nd year, no. 43, dated August 30, 2022)
Note: This unofficial version is only provided for informational purposes. Only the regulations published in
the Official Announcements of the University of Bonn shall be legally binding.
- 2 -
Content
(Note: The page numbers indicated refer to this unofficial version.)
Part 1 Scope ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
§ 1 Scope ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Part 2 Academic degree..................................................................................................................................... 3
§ 2 Academic degree .................................................................................................................................... 4
Part 3 Admission requirements, program structure and module examinations (registration/withdrawal) .... 4
§ 3 Degree program admission requirements ............................................................................................. 4
§ 4 Standard period of study, ECTS credit point system, range of courses, program structure and
language of instruction/examinations .................................................................................................... 5
§ 5 Module examinations—registration and withdrawal ............................................................................ 5
Part 4 Resitting examinations and pass requirements for the master’s examination ...................................... 5
§ 6 Resitting examinations ........................................................................................................................... 5
§ 7 Pass requirements for the master’s examination .................................................................................. 6
Part 5 Entry into force ....................................................................................................................................... 6
§ 8 Entry into force and publication ............................................................................................................. 6
Annex 1: Module structure for the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics
(AFECO) ............................................................................................................................................ 7
- 3 -
Part 1
Scope
§ 1
Scope
(1) Students who commence their studies in the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and
Food Economics at the University of Bonn after entry into force of these Examination Regulations are subject
to these Examination Regulations.
(2) The Examination Regulations for the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food
Economics (AFECO) of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn dated September 5, 2016 (Official
Announcement of the University of Bonn, 46th year, no. 58, dated September 15, 2016) as last amended by
the Third Amendment to the Examination Regulations for the Consecutive Master’s Degree Program
Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO) of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn dated
October 16, 2020 (Official Announcement of the University of Bonn, 50th year, no. 61, dated October 20,
2020), hereinafter referred to as MPO AFECO 2016 will be repealed as of March 31, 2024. Examinations in
accordance with MPO AFECO 2016 will be admissible until March 31, 2023. The examination board may
extend this period by six months upon valid request.
(3) Students who, having commenced their studies prior to the coming into force of these Examination
Regulations, are subject to MPO AFECO 2016 and have not yet completed all necessary examinations, may
a. continue their studies under MPO AFECO 2016 until the deadline stated in para. 2; or
b. irrevocably adopt these Examination Regulations by written request.
Students who continue their studies under MPO AFECO 2016 and do not graduate by March 31, 2023 shall
adopt these Examination Regulations ex officio on April 1, 2023. Credit for prior academic achievements shall
be granted. Para. 2 sentence 3 shall remain unaffected; these Examination Regulations shall then be adopted
ex officio on October 1, 2023.
(4) The Examination Organization Regulations of the Faculty of Agriculture (POO-LWF), as amended,
govern the subject-specific and administrative organization of examination procedures in this degree
program.
(5) Students who enroll in the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics
(AFECO) at the University of Bonn in winter semester 2022/2023 or later are subject to these Examination
Regulations as amended by the amendment to these Examination Regulations (First Amendment to the
Examination Regulations). Students who commenced their studies in the consecutive master’s degree
program Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO) at the University of Bonn prior to winter semester
2022/2023 and have not yet completed the master’s examination can complete elective modules they have
already registered in and that were modified or dropped by the First Amendment to the Examination
Regulations by September 30, 2023 in their original version in accordance with the Examination Regulations
of October 16, 2020. The examination board will handle the completion of previously started examination
procedures and the recognition of modules that are no longer included in the curriculum.
(6) If the Rectorate has made use of the authority to issue provisions concerning academic studies that it
was granted under an ordinance issued based on § 82a HG , the provisions issued by the Rectorate shall
supersede the corresponding provisions in these Examination Regulations for the period of validity stipulated
in the ordinance.
Part 2
Academic degree
- 4 -
§ 2
Academic degree
Candidates who successfully complete the master’s examination for the Agricultural and Food Economics
degree program shall be awarded a Master of Science (MSc) degree by the Faculty of Agriculture of the
University of Bonn. Students participating in student exchanges under partnership agreements are subject
to the conditions stipulated in the agreements. The credit points for the master’s thesis supervised by both
partner universities can therefore also be recognized by the partner university where primary supervision of
the master’s thesis takes place. Both partner universities award their respective academic degrees.
Part 3
Admission requirements, program structure and module examinations (registration/withdrawal)
§ 3
Degree program admission requirements
(1) The consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics is open to applications
from graduates from a university undergraduate degree program in the field of agricultural sciences,
agribusiness, agricultural management, agricultural economics, nutrition and food sciences, economics or a
related field.
(2) The university degree in para. 1 must provide proof of an average grade of at least 2.5 or a comparable
classification in another grading system. In addition, proof must be provided that at minimum of 42 ECTS CP
have been earned from modules focusing on economics (including the bachelor’s thesis), including at least
5 ECTS CP earned in the area of microeconomics and at least 5 ECTS CP earned in the area of statistics.
(3) English skills at level B2 or higher according to the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR) are a prerequisite for admission to the degree program and to be proved by submitting a
recognized language certificate (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS) or equivalent proof.
(4) Foreign students who are not given equivalent status to Germans by or based on international treaties
must provide proof that they have passed the aptitude test for university studies (in accordance with
Annex 2).
(5) This does not affect admission restrictions due to capacity limits (numerus clausus).
(6) The selection of successful applicants is subject to the Regulations on Selection Procedures for Degree
Programs with Admission Restrictions of the University of Bonn.
(7) Students who do not meet the admission requirements stated in paras. 1 and 2, may already enroll for
a master’s degree program if there is sufficient proof of their aptitude for that degree program, which is
determined with special regard to the average grade for all examinations taken to that point. Enrollment is
revoked with effect for the future if necessary proof of meeting the admission requirements is not submitted
to the admission office within six months after the date of enrollment.
- 5 -
§ 4
Standard period of study, ECTS credit point system, range of courses, program structure and language of
instruction/examinations
(1) The standard period of study, including the master’s thesis, is four semesters (120 ECTS CP) when
pursuing the degree program full-time.
(2) The degree program includes 30 ECTS CP for general compulsory modules for all students and in:
- Option a. with a possible major track:
- 60 ECTS CP for subject-specific and/or free elective modules (including 6 ECTS CP for a research
seminar)
- 30 ECTS CP for the master’s thesis
- Option b. with a practical orientation:
- 42 ECTS CP for practice-oriented compulsory modules in the chosen major track (mandatory
internship (6 ECTS CP), practice-oriented research seminar (6 ECTS CP) and practice-oriented
master’s thesis (30 ECTS CP))
- 30 ECTS CP for subject-specific elective modules in the chosen major track
- 18 ECTS CP for subject-specific and/or free elective modules
A maximum of 12 ECTS CP may be earned for free elective modules. Details on modules, admission to courses
and the amount of ECTS credit points per module are set forth in the module structure (Annex 1).
(3) Specializations in the form of a “major specification” or “minor specification” can be chosen if the
requirements specified in the module structure are satisfied. Notwithstanding sentence 1, for a practice-
oriented program, one of the four major tracks (Agribusiness, Agricultural and Development Policy, Resource
and Environmental Economics or Market and Consumer Research) must be indicated as a “practice-oriented
major specification” no later than the end of the second program-related semester.
(4) The language of instruction and examinations is English. The examination board may make exceptions
for individual elective modules and shall announce them in due time before the beginning of the semester,
pursuant to § 8, para. 8 of the POO-LWF.
(5) A vocational internship is recommended to complement the academic training.
(6) The degree program starts in both the summer and winter semesters of each year.
§ 5
Module examinations—registration and withdrawal
(1) Students who have withdrawn from a module examination in accordance with § 12, para. 3 of the
POO-LWF must register electronically again with the examination board for the module examination. Where
justified, registrations may be submitted in writing.
(2) Students should register to resit a failed module examination on the next scheduled examination date
themselves.
(3) In all other respects, the provisions of § 12 of the POO-LWF shall apply.
Part 4
Resitting examinations and pass requirements for the master’s examination
§ 6
Resitting examinations
- 6 -
(1) Examinations that have been failed may only be repeated twice. Resits shall be conducted in
accordance with § 5, para. 2. Rules for repetition of the master’s thesis are defined in § 23, para. 7 of the
POO-LWF.
(2) Students who fail the same compulsory module three times lose their right to examination and are
deregistered from the degree program by the Student Registry once the examination board’s decision that
the final attempt at the master’s examination has been failed has come into force.
(3) If an elective module has been failed, or the final attempt at an elective module has been failed, the
candidate can choose another, previously unchosen elective module as compensation. Such compensation
is only possible twice. Students who use the compensation option without success shall lose their right to
examination and are deregistered from the degree program by the Student Registry once the examination
board’s decision that the final attempt at the master’s examination has been failed has come into force.
(4) Module examinations graded “sufficient” or higher cannot be repeated.
(5) For modules with examinations that are taken during the semester or that are part of a course, the
examination cannot be repeated in the same semester. The module examination in such modules can only
be repeated by retaking the entire module or corresponding course. The examination board shall announce
the respective examinations and course work to be repeated before the beginning of the semester, pursuant
to § 8, para. 8 of the POO-LWF.
§ 7
Pass requirements for the master’s examination
(1) Candidates shall have passed the master’s examination when they have passed all necessary modules
as per § 4, para. 2 as well as the master’s thesis and have thus been awarded a total of 120 ECTS CP.
(2) The final attempt at the master’s examination shall be deemed failed when
- the candidate has failed to pass a compulsory module three times, as specified in § 6, para. 2;
- the compensation option for electives has been used without success as specified in § 6, para. 3; or
- the master’s thesis has been graded “insufficient” in the second attempt in accordance with § 23,
para. 7 of the POO-LWF.
Part 5
Entry into force
§ 8
Entry into force and publication
These Examination Regulations shall enter into force on the day after their publication among the Official
Announcements of the University of Bonn.
January 8, 2024
Annex 1: Module structure for the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO)
Module structure key:
- Abbreviations of course types: F = field trip, extI = external internship, I = internship, Proj = project, PS = proseminar, S = seminar, E = scientific exercise,
L = lecture.
- Marked with asterisk (*): courses that require compulsory attendance as a prerequisite for participation in the module examination in accordance with
§ 13, para. 6 of the POO-LWF. In these cases, compulsory attendance is an additional requirement to the other coursework listed.
- The “Course Type” column shows the type of a course within the module.
- The “Duration/Program-Related Semester” column shows the duration (D) of the module (in semesters) and assigns it to a specific program-related semester
(PRS).
- The “Coursework” column shows requirements that must be met for admission to certain examinations pursuant to § 13, para. 4 of the POO-LWF or, respectively,
to acquire ECTS credit points in modules without an examination.
Further details on individual modules, especially regarding the courses offered within or required for completion of a module, are described in the module guide,
which the examination board will make available before the beginning of the respective semester, pursuant to § 8, para. 8 of the POO-LWF.
- 8 -
General compulsory modules (30 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
BAS-110 Extended Methods
of Empirical
Research
L, E* None D: 2
PRS: 1st+2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe ethical codes in empirical research;
- explain the concepts of statistical distribution
theory and understand Bayes’ theorem;
- understand the theoretical basics of linear
regression and logistic regression;
- prepare data for analysis and perform empirical
research using OLS;
- generate and test hypotheses (t-test, F-test and
Anova) and interpret p-values;
- perform a trend analysis for typical time series
data along the agri-food chain;
- interpret statistical software output;
- explain major epistemological approaches in the
social sciences, different types of scientific
thinking, the basic assumptions of critical
rationalism and the positivism dispute;
- describe the key aspects and quality criteria of
qualitative research and how it differs from
quantitative research;
- summarize different methods of qualitative
research;
- discuss a research topic in a group, develop a
qualitative survey and use a grounded theory
approach to analyze interview data;
- interpret, reflect on and present study results.
Contributions to group
and team work, e.g.
research questions,
interview guides,
reports or term
papers, presentations.
Contributions will be
verified using a
common group work
report.
Written
examination
[67%]
Assignment
[33%]
9
- 9 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
BAS-120 Excursion in
Agricultural and
Food Economics
(field trip)
F*, S* None D: 2
PRS: 1st+2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify the main sector-relevant issues;
- present sector-relevant information in
condensed form;
- discuss future sector-relevant challenges;
- combine information from different
perspectives and modules in order to explain real
situations in agriculture, the food chain and rural
areas and discuss future challenges;
- put knowledge into practice.
- Proof of field trips
lasting a total of
5 days
- Two presentations
before the field trip:
one poster
presentation and
one free-format
presentation
None 6
BAS-130 Microeconomics L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- explain the neoclassical theory of supply,
demand and markets at a formal mathematical
level;
- formulate and solve unconstrained and
constrained optimization problems and use
optimization tools to solve quantitative economic
problems;
- analyze the description of economic decision-
making problems and choose and apply a suitable
tool from a number of possibilities;
- apply calculus and spreadsheet tools to
economic decision-making problems.
None Written
examination
[50%]
Assignment
[50%]
6
- 10 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
BAS-140 Organizational
Management
L None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall and describe the main theories forming
the pillars of management and organization;
- compare various theoretical approaches and
viewpoints and recognize differences and
similarities among them;
- extract relevant information from scientific
literature and relate practical industrial cases to
the theory;
- summarize and discuss scientific management
literature;
- illustrate the areas of application of various
theories and give examples;
- identify management problems, find possible
solutions and formulate an action strategy;
- illustrate case studies and relate management
theories to examples from the real world;
- choose and apply the most appropriate strategic
tools for practical management cases;
- summarize scientific articles and present them
in class;
- compare different theoretical management
approaches.
None Presentation
[33%]
Assignment
[67%]
6
- 11 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
BAS-150 Risk Management
in the Agribusiness
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify different risk types affecting the
agricultural and food sector, discuss various risk
measures and explain appropriate risk
management instruments;
- identify the most important risk management
instruments in agriculture and the food value
chain;
- apply quantitative techniques to handle risk
management tasks;
- calculate risk measures using data from example
farms, identify risk factors and choose
appropriate risk management instruments;
- assess a farm’s risk based on the risk measures
introduced and identified risk factors and develop
appropriate risk management strategies for the
operation;
- use risk modeling instruments to integrate risk
management strategies into a farm production
program based on identified risk factors;
- critically discuss sources of error and challenges
in the understanding of risk and applicable
strategies along the food value chain.
None Written
examination
[75%]
Presentation
[25%]
3
- 12 -
Practice-oriented compulsory modules in the Agribusiness major track (42 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ILR-02 Mandatory
Internship
I None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will
- be able to apply theoretical knowledge in a
professional work environment;
- have acquired knowledge and skills in the
working world;
- be able to present their experiences to others;
- be able to better reflect on their own
expectations and experiences;
- be able to incorporate practical experience into
scientific research.
Presentation and
report
None 6
ABS-331 Practice-Oriented
Research Seminar
in Agribusiness
S* 48 ECTS CP (incl.
internship
module ILR-02)
D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the problem background for a chosen
practice-oriented topic after conducting a
literature review;
- derive a practice-oriented research question or
testable hypothesis from a problem description;
- assess, select and compare current research
articles in a relevant field;
- determine an appropriate methodology relevant
to the practice-oriented research question(s);
- develop the concept for their practice-oriented
master’s thesis, including the work plan and
expected results.
None Seminar talk 6
- 13 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
M-402 Practice-Oriented
Master’s Thesis
Students must
be registered in
module ABS-331
and have
completed at
least 60 ECTS CP
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a practice-oriented research question;
- build a sound theoretical and methodological
framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and concise
practice-oriented thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two and a
maximum of six months for completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 14 -
Practice-oriented compulsory modules in the Agricultural and Development Policy major track (42 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ILR-02 Mandatory
Internship
I None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will
- be able to apply theoretical knowledge in a
professional work environment;
- have acquired knowledge and skills in the
working world;
- be able to present their experiences to others;
- be able to better reflect on their own
expectations and experiences;
- be able to incorporate practical experience into
scientific research.
Presentation and
report
None 6
APO-331 Practice-Oriented
Research Seminar
in Agricultural and
Development
Policy
S* 48 ECTS CP (incl.
internship
module ILR-02)
D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the problem background for a chosen
practice-oriented topic after conducting a
literature review;
- derive a practice-oriented research question or
testable hypothesis from a problem description;
- assess, select and compare current research
articles in a relevant field;
- after evaluating alternative approaches,
determine an appropriate methodology for the
practice-oriented research question(s);
- develop the concept for their practice-oriented
master’s thesis, including the work plan and
expected results.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
- 15 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
M-402 Practice-Oriented
Master’s Thesis
Students must
be registered in
module APO-
331 and have
completed at
least 60 ECTS CP
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a practice-oriented research question;
- build a sound theoretical and methodological
framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and concise
practice-oriented thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two and a
maximum of six months for completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 16 -
Practice-oriented compulsory modules in the Resource and Environmental Economics major track (42 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ILR-02 Mandatory
Internship
I None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will
- be able to apply theoretical knowledge in a
professional work environment;
- have acquired knowledge and skills in the
working world;
- be able to present their experiences to others;
- be able to better reflect on their own
expectations and experiences;
- be able to incorporate practical experience into
scientific research.
Presentation and
report
None 6
ENV-331 Practice-Oriented
Research Seminar in
Resource and
Environmental
Economics
S* 48 ECTS CP (incl.
internship
module ILR-02)
D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- summarize the scientific state of the art in a self-
selected practice-oriented field of research;
- build a conceptual framework for the social
sciences/environmental economics;
- prepare and present a practice-oriented
research proposal;
- participate in scientific debates.
None Term paper
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
M-402 Practice-Oriented
Master’s Thesis
Students must
be registered in
module ENV-
331 and have
completed at
least
60 ECTS CP.
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a practice-oriented research question;
- build a sound theoretical and methodological
framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and concise
practice-oriented thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two and a
maximum of six months for completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 17 -
Practice-oriented compulsory modules in the Market and Consumer Research major track (42 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ILR-02 Mandatory
Internship
I None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will
- be able to apply theoretical knowledge in a
professional work environment;
- have acquired knowledge and skills in the
working world;
- be able to present their experiences to others;
- be able to better reflect on their own
expectations and experiences;
- be able to incorporate practical experience into
scientific research.
Presentation and
report
None 6
MAC-331 Practice-Oriented
Research Seminar in
Market and
Consumer Research
S* 48 ECTS CP (incl.
internship
module ILR-02)
D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- prepare a synthesis of the current state of
research in the field of their practice-oriented
research project;
- select and understand appropriate theories for
their practice-oriented research project;
- know how to derive testable hypotheses or
research questions from relevant theoretical
models and a review of the relevant literature;
- use an appropriate methodology for their
practice-oriented research project;
- plan a practice-oriented research project;
- lead and moderate a scientific discussion;
- provide examples for a number of research
topics in the field and explain the results.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
- 18 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
M-402 Practice-Oriented
Master’s Thesis
Students must
be registered in
module MAC-
331 and have
completed at
least
60 ECTS CP.
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a practice-oriented research question;
- build a sound theoretical and methodological
framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and concise
practice-oriented thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two and a
maximum of six months for completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 19 -
Subject-specific electives
(Modules worth 48 to 60 ECTS CP or, for a practice-oriented program, 36 to 48 ECTS CP must be completed.)
Due to the diversity of career opportunities along the food chain for agricultural and food economists, the subject-specific electives are grouped into four major
tracks:
− Agribusiness (ABS)
− Agricultural and Development Policy (APO)
− Resource and Environmental Economics (ENV)
− Market and Consumer Research (MAC)
Major specification:
Students who select modules worth at least 30 ECTS CP from one of the major tracks indicated above, take the associated research seminar (6 ECTS CP) and write
their master’s thesis (30 ECTS CP) in this major track can, upon request, have the major track indicated as a “major specification” on their degree certificate. This
does not apply to students who have chosen a practice-oriented program in accordance with § 4, para. 2, sentence 1, lit. b, with practice-oriented compulsory
modules in their chosen major track; for these students, the major track they chose is automatically indicated as the “practice-oriented major specification” on their
degree certificate.
Minor specification:
Students who select modules worth at least 18 ECTS CP from one of these four major tracks can, upon request, have a “minor specification” indicated on their degree
certificate. The same applies to additional minor specifications in
− Development Economics (DEV) with 18 ECTS CP from the following modules: APO-260, APO-240 and ENV-130
− Agroeconomic Modeling (MOD) with 18 ECTS CP from the following modules: APO-250, APO-220, APO-230 and ENV-240
Each course can only be used once, i.e. either for a major specification or a minor specification.
The examination board may approve further subject-specific and free elective modules and shall announce them before the beginning of the semester pursuant to
§ 8, para. 8 of the POO-LWF.
Free elective modules worth a maximum of 12 ECTS CP can be chosen.
- 20 -
Major or minor in Agribusiness (ABS)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-100 Financial Accounting L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- solve accounting tasks;
- refer to the legal framework for accounting;
- analyze annual financial statements;
- determine key figures (financial ratios) using
annual financial statements;
- assess the economic situation of a company.
Presentation Written
examination
[75%]
Seminar talk
[25%]
6
ABS-120 Methods in
Management
Research
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify and typify relevant research problems
for various contexts in the agribusiness sector;
- independently compare and distinguish
between different types of research methods;
- implement research problems and methods to
obtain accurate and informative results;
- analyze (qualitative or quantitative) data and
discuss important findings of their research;
- assess and justify their choice of research
methods for answering research questions;
- independently conduct studies, from
formulation of their research questions to
discussion of the results.
None Assignment
[50%]
Written
examination
[50%]
6
- 21 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-130 Investment and
Financing
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- structure investment and financing projects for
evaluation of their profitability;
- evaluate investment projects with respect to
profitability and financing;
- identify risks in investment projects;
- quantify risks in investment projects;
- assess the risk of investment projects using
standard spreadsheet software;
- apply the concepts to realistic complex
examples, evaluate the results and prepare
decision-making support for a potential investor;
- discuss critical assumptions in models for
preparing decision-making support for
investments.
None Written
examination
6
- 22 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-150 Process Based
Management
L, Proj None D: 1
PRS: 1st/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define objectives for process optimization;
- assess the impact of objectives on process
design;
- outline the phases of process management;
- describe the rules and functions of various
process modeling techniques;
- use different modeling techniques to model
business processes;
- understand enterprise architecture
management;
- outline the reasoning, construction and
functioning of business process models;
- demonstrate the concept of business process
maturity models;
- recognize the link between enterprise
architecture and business processes;
- prepare, analyze and optimize process
simulation models;
- apply techniques to measure process
performance;
- describe process management concepts (re-
design, continuous improvement).
None Written
examination
6
ABS-210 Agricultural
Production
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall relevant theories and methods of
production;
- identify core farm management tasks and
production-related problems in agricultural
production;
- apply relevant theories and associated farm
management and planning tools;
- apply various methods for productivity analysis
and farm optimization;
- use appropriate management tools to develop
optimal solutions for typical farm management
tasks;
- discuss the solutions provided by the tools.
None Written
examination
6
- 23 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-230 Strategic Technology
and Innovation
Management
L BAS-140
Organizational
Management
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- interpret, explain and summarize relevant issues
and stages of new product management and
development;
- characterize and classify different forms and
types of innovations in the agribusiness context;
- execute and apply company and technology
forecasting tools, such as patent analysis;
- differentiate and attribute types of innovation
strategies and their fit within specific
organizational structures;
- summarize and organize the challenges and
opportunities of open innovation in the
agribusiness context, including with regard to the
management of intellectual property;
- summarize, provide examples of and compare
and contrast the various ways to structure
innovation processes;
- classify and differentiate the various sources of
innovative ideas as well as their relative suitability
for different types of projects and within different
organizations;
- critically apply and evaluate conceptual tools
and frameworks to analyze relevant cases from
the agricultural industry;
- generate and evaluate potential business
models and use design-thinking approaches to
evaluate the needs of customers in the
agribusiness context.
Project report Report [30%]
Oral
examination
[70%]
6
- 24 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-300 Seminar Production
Economics and Farm
Management
S Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110 and one of
the modules
BAS-130 or ABS-
210
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- apply relevant theories and methods in the field
of production economics, productivity and
efficiency analysis to agricultural production and
food processing problems;
- apply research techniques, such as structuring a
planning problem, data acquisition and data
management;
- develop and assess research designs in order to
answer specific research questions using
appropriate quantitative methods;
- set up and implement an empirical evaluation
framework, e.g. an efficiency analysis, to answer a
research question;
- discuss empirical results and relate them to
current academic literature and discuss and
derive policy implications.
None Seminar talk 6
ABS-310 Seminar in
Innovation
Management and
Entrepreneurship
S BAS-140
Organizational
Management
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify significant scientific literature and relate
it to a specific topic;
- understand and classify different findings from
the scientific literature;
- collect and organize scientific content to
produce an original contribution both in the form
of a presentation and a paper;
- lead and moderate a discussion about leading
edge topics;
- prepare a scientific review.
None Seminar talk 6
- 25 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-320 Special Project in
Technology and
Innovation
Management
PS BAS-140 or ABS-
230 must be
passed with a
grade of 1.3 or
better.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- acquire knowledge of selected technology and
innovation management issues;
- enhance their understanding of managerial and
strategic concepts;
- acquire skills in literature and data analysis;
- apply theories, tools and methods from the area
of innovation management to current social and
economic debates.
None Project report 6
ABS-340 Special Project in
Production
Economics
PS ABS-210 must
be passed with a
minimum grade
of 1.3 or APO-
230 with a
minimum grade
of 1.7.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define a research question;
- work independently;
- develop an analytical framework;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- discuss results, identify shortcomings of the
approach used and identify potential solutions.
None Project report 6
ABS-350 Evidence-Based
Agricultural Policy
Impact Analysis:
Causal Effects and
Policy Design
S None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- gain an understanding of the cause and effect
paths of agricultural policy instruments;
- explain the quantitative techniques that were
covered for estimating causal impact;
- distinguish between different concepts of
causality when evaluating agricultural policy;
- structure and organize large data sets to
perform an analysis of causal effects with
different methods for causal inference using the
software programming knowledge learned;
- derive research questions based on the current
literature in this area and develop procedures and
research designs to test these hypotheses.
Assignments Written
examination
6
- 26 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-240 Bio-Economic
Modeling at Farm
Scale
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of farm-scale
bioeconomic models and describe the
interactions within and between various sub-
systems in a farm as expressed in a formal
optimization model;
- write simple or more complex farm-scale
bioeconomic models in the software package
GAMS;
- use microeconomic theory to analyze the results
of such a model;
- evaluate the impact of drivers of farm
management decisions, such as changes in
input/output prices or farm-scale policies on
economic and environmental indicators based on
the application of a bioeconomic model;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
ENV-270 Data Wrangling,
Visualization and GIS
Data Analysis with R
L, E Recommended:
Experience with
R
(programming)
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will
- understand the peculiarities of different data
formats and how to use them;
- understand the basics of GIS;
- be able to work with various data in R;
- be able to visualize various data in R;
- be able to perform spatial analyses with data in
various formats;
- be able to apply the packages and methods they
have learned to their own case studies;
- be able to perform their own analyses and
visualize publication-ready maps.
None Report [50%]
Presentation
[50%]
Admission
requirement
for the
presentation:
all reports
submitted
6
- 27 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-100 Food Marketing L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe relevant psychological and sociological
constructs to understand the impact of
marketing;
- survey the competitive conditions in food
markets with a focus on German food markets;
- name the marketing fields of action and
opportunities for applying instruments in the
competitive environment of food markets;
- explain the differences in the impact of
marketing strategies depending on the market
environment (e.g. market structure);
- analyze consumer reactions based on
psychological and sociological constructs;
- analyze developments in food value chains;
- develop and implement marketing strategies at
the company level in a highly competitive
environment;
- analyze and interpret market information based
on research studies;
- present, discuss and defend implemented
marketing strategies.
None Written
examination
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
ABS-330 Research Seminar in
Agribusiness
S* 48 ECTS CP D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the problem background for a chosen
topic after conducting a literature review;
- derive a research question or testable
hypothesis from a problem description;
- assess, select and compare current research
articles in a relevant field;
- determine an appropriate methodology relevant
to the research question(s);
- develop the concept for their master’s thesis,
including the work plan and expected results.
None Seminar talk 6
- 28 -
Major or minor in Agricultural and Development Policy (APO)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-110 European and
International
Agricultural Policy
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall the agricultural policy portfolios of
important global players;
- critically discuss the results of different existing
studies taking into account the assumptions
made;
- use economic theory to analyze example
agricultural policies;
- select and apply relevant economic theories to
real policy issues.
None Assignment
[50%]
Oral
examination
[50%]
6
APO-120 Applied Trade Theory
and Policy
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- explain the principles of classical and new
economic theories of international trade that
determine trade patterns between countries;
- identify the limitations of the theories and apply
them to predefined research problems in the field
of agricultural and food trade;
- independently assess the trade and welfare
impacts of trade policies in the context of
exercises;
- assess the contributions and limitations of
academic literature for trade issues;
- use spreadsheets and formal analytics to solve
economic trade problems.
None Assignment 6
- 29 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-260 Food Security and
Sustainable Food
Systems
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define key terms related to food security and
sustainable diets;
- explain how food systems relate to the different
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
- identify policy needs and analyze the
sustainability implications of specific
interventions;
- evaluate the arguments in the public debate
concerning sustainable agriculture and nutrition;
- prepare and use dietary surveys and nutrition
assessment tools.
None Written
examination
6
APO-220 Applied Modeling of
Agricultural Systems
Proj None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- apply a policy-related equilibrium model;
- analyze a real policy question using quantitative
tools;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their use
in the chosen and expanded equilibrium model;
- summarize these impacts in a presentation for
the client and jointly document and comment on
them in a larger report.
None Seminar talk
[50%]
Report [50%]
6
APO-230 Advanced Applied
Econometrics
L, E Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- correctly interpret excerpts from econometric
textbooks and articles;
- apply matrix algebra in the context of statistics;
- apply econometric methods to estimate
quantitative economic models derived from
economic theory;
- select appropriate econometric methods based
on an analysis of the data situation and research
question;
- correctly use and interpret the output from
econometric software packages.
None Assignment 6
- 30 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-240 Development
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe key concepts and the structure of
economic growth models and drivers of socio-
economic development;
- explain the role of institutions, labor markets,
migration and sustainable natural resource
management for economic development;
- apply the concepts that have been learned to
the analysis of development polices;
- compare methods for researching sustainable
natural resource management topics;
- evaluate empirical examples using case studies;
- generalize lessons learned from case studies to
broader development issues.
None Written
examination
6
APO-250 Partial and General
Equilibrium Modeling
L None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of partial and general
equilibrium models and describe the interactions
within and between these building blocks as
expressed in their equations;
- change equilibrium models in the software
package GAMS and perform counterfactual
analyses;
- use microeconomic theory, their knowledge of
agricultural and food markets and, more
generally, their knowledge of the economic
system to analyze the results of such models;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their use
in equilibrium models;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
- 31 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-300 Seminar Policy
Analysis
S None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify and apply relevant theories and
methods in the field of economic policy analysis
to policy issues related to the agricultural and
food sector;
- correctly apply research techniques such as the
structuring of research papers, literature
searches, referencing and technical writing;
- present research results using appropriate
techniques and efficiently moderate a scientific
discussion;
- develop and assess research designs in order to
answer specific research questions using
appropriate qualitative or quantitative methods;
- discuss research results, relate them to recent
academic literature and derive policy
implications.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
APO-310 Special Project in
Agricultural and
Development Policy
PS Two of the
following
modules:
APO-110,
APO-230,
APO-240,
APO-250
must be passed
with an average
grade of 1.3 or
better.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- explain a selected policy issue correctly and in
detail;
- select and use theories and appropriate
qualitative or quantitative analysis tools to
answer a specific policy-related research
question;
- evaluate alternative options for analyzing
policies or evaluate alternative policies with
respect to economic impacts;
- summarize the academic literature and their
own research work to contribute to a current
policy debate and identify research gaps that still
exist.
None Project report 6
- 32 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-350 Evidence-Based
Agricultural Policy
Impact Analysis:
Causal Effects and
Policy Design
S None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- gain an understanding of the cause and effect
paths of agricultural policy instruments;
- explain the quantitative techniques that were
covered for estimating causal impact;
- distinguish between different concepts of
causality when evaluating agricultural policy;
- structure and organize large data sets to
perform an analysis of causal effects with
different methods for causal inference using the
software programming knowledge learned;
- derive research questions based on the current
literature in this area and develop procedures and
research designs to test these hypotheses.
Assignments Written
examination
6
APO-330 Research Seminar in
Agricultural and
Development Policy
S* 48 ECTS CP D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the problem background for a chosen
topic after conducting a literature review;
- derive a research question or testable
hypothesis from a problem description;
- assess, select and compare current research
articles in a relevant field;
- after evaluating alternative approaches,
determine an appropriate methodology for the
research question(s);
- develop the concept for their master’s thesis,
including the work plan and expected results.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
- 33 -
Major or minor in Resource and Environmental Economics (ENV)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-100 Economics on
Sustainability
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define the basic concepts of sustainability and
ecological and environmental economics;
- translate welfare functions into preferences and
vice versa;
- interpret economic models and their
assumptions;
- apply economic theory to environmental
economics problems (e. g. renewable resources);
- evaluate the pros and cons of different policies;
- apply economic theory to real world problems;
- systematically organize their arguments in the
form of essays;
- extract the core ideas of scientific articles;
- discuss scientific articles.
None Written
examination
6
ENV-110 Environmental
Economics and
Policies
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- use neoclassical and institutional economics to
analyze environmental policy;
- discuss complex issues of economic theory;
- identify the implicit assumptions of certain
economic approaches;
- systematically organize their arguments;
- apply the concepts learned to new policy fields;
- compare different research approaches to
empirical questions.
None Written
examination
6
ENV-130 Impact Evaluation of
Conservation &
Development
Projects and
Environmental
Policies
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will
- know alternative quantitative evaluation
methods and their underlying assumptions;
- understand how different types of selection
effects impact development and conservation
initiatives;
- be able to apply selected evaluation methods to
real world problems;
- be able to critically interpret the findings from
evaluation studies.
None Assignment 6
- 34 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-210 Advanced
Environmental
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify alternative theoretical approaches in
environmental and resource economics;
- understand the effects of assumptions in formal
economic models on real world applications;
- apply theory and numerical techniques to solve
common problems in environmental and resource
economics.
None Oral
examination
6
ENV-220 Agricultural and Agri-
Environmental Law
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the legal system formed by agricultural
and agri-environmental legislation in Europe,
Germany and the German states;
- describe how the above legislation is developed,
adopted and enacted;
- assess the legal bases for the primary production
of food;
- explain how European, German and German
state law work together;
- develop solutions for the above legislation in
practical cases;
- list the civil law that is important for the
agricultural industry;
- list the commercial and corporate law that is
important for the agricultural industry;
- compare the law applicable in agricultural areas
in two different German states.
None Written
examination
6
- 35 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-240 Bio-Economic
Modeling at Farm
Scale
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of farm-scale
bioeconomic models and describe the
interactions within and between various sub-
systems in a farm as expressed in a formal
optimization model;
- write simple or more complex farm-scale
bioeconomic models in the software package
GAMS;
- use microeconomic theory to analyze the results
of such a model;
- evaluate the impact of drivers of farm
management decisions, such as changes in
input/output prices or farm-scale policies on
economic and environmental indicators based on
the application of a bioeconomic model;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
ENV-270 Data Wrangling,
Visualization and GIS
Data Analysis with R
L, E Recommended:
Experience with
R
(programming)
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will
- understand the peculiarities of different data
formats and how to use them;
- understand the basics of GIS;
- be able to work with various data in R;
- be able to visualize various data in R;
- be able to perform spatial analyses with data in
various formats;
- be able to apply the packages and methods they
have learned to their own case studies;
- be able to perform their own analyses and
visualize publication-ready maps.
None Report [50%]
Presentation
[50%]
Admission
requirement
for the
presentation:
all reports
submitted
6
- 36 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-300 Seminar on
Environmental
Economics and Policy
S* None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- deepen their knowledge of selected
environmental policy issues;
- understand advanced concepts for
environmental policy analysis;
- apply environmental and ecological economic
concepts to current policy debates;
- analyze quantitative and qualitative data using
empirical methods from environmental
economics;
- summarize complex debates on environmental
policy design.
None Term paper
[50%]
Presentation
[30%]
Project report
[20%]
6
ENV-310 Special Project in
Environmental
Economics
PS ENV-100 and
ENV-110 and
ENV-130 must
be passed with a
grade better
than 1.7.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- deepen their knowledge of selected
environmental policy issues;
- understand advanced environmental and
ecological economic concepts;
- apply environmental and ecological economic
concepts to current policy debates;
- apply advanced skills in literature and data
analysis;
- summarize complex debates on environmental
policy design.
None Project report 6
ENV-260 Sustainability and
Risk
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- understand and evaluate relevant details, their
interrelationships and the overall interdisciplinary
picture with regard to the concepts of
sustainability and risk;
- identify and assess the drivers of, and barriers
to, sustainable development;
- analyze concrete (or local) issues of
sustainability and risk from the perspective of
various social actors and find solutions by
applying established generic (or global) tools;
- critically reflect on all the models, instruments
etc. discussed during the course.
None Written
examination
6
- 37 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-350 Evidence-Based
Agricultural Policy
Impact Analysis:
Causal Effects and
Policy Design
S None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- gain an understanding of the cause and effect
paths of agricultural policy instruments;
- explain the quantitative techniques that were
covered for estimating causal impact;
- distinguish between different concepts of
causality when evaluating agricultural policy;
- structure and organize large data sets to
perform an analysis of causal effects with
different methods for causal inference using the
software programming knowledge learned;
- derive research questions based on the current
literature in this area and develop procedures and
research designs to test these hypotheses.
Assignments Written
examination
6
APO-230 Advanced Applied
Econometrics
L, E Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- correctly interpret excerpts from econometric
textbooks and articles;
- apply matrix algebra in the context of statistics;
- apply econometric methods to estimate
quantitative economic models derived from
economic theory;
- select appropriate econometric methods based
on an analysis of the data situation and research
question;
- correctly use and interpret the output from
econometric software packages.
None Assignment 6
- 38 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-210 Agricultural
Production
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall relevant theories and methods of
production;
- identify core farm management tasks and
production-related problems in agricultural
production;
- apply relevant theories and associated farm
management and planning tools;
- apply various methods for productivity analysis
and farm optimization;
- use appropriate management tools to develop
optimal solutions for typical farm management
tasks;
- discuss the solutions provided by the tools.
None Written
examination
6
MAC-230 Ethics in Food
Consumption and
Production
L, E, PS None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe ethical theories and theories and
concepts related to responsible business conduct;
- explain ethical arguments and different views on
the role of businesses in society;
- summarize relevant empirical studies of
responsible/ethical conduct;
- apply relevant theories and concepts to ethical
issues in the food sector;
- critically assess ethical cases with relevance to
the food sector;
- perform their own assessment of a specific case
linked to the food sector;
- discuss and reflect on their own findings and
research performed by others;
- prepare a scientific presentation.
None Project report
[60%]
Assignment
[40%]
6
- 39 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-250 Partial and General
Equilibrium Modeling
L None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of partial and general
equilibrium models and describe the interactions
within and between these building blocks as
expressed in their equations;
- change equilibrium models in the software
package GAMS and perform counterfactual
analyses;
- use microeconomic theory, their knowledge of
agricultural and food markets and, more
generally, their knowledge of the economic
system to analyze the results of such models;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their use
in equilibrium models;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
ENV-330 Research Seminar in
Resource and
Environmental
Economics
S* 48 ECTS CP D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- summarize the scientific state of the art in a self-
selected field of research;
- build a conceptual framework for the social
sciences/environmental economics;
- prepare and present a research proposal;
- participate in scientific debates.
None Term paper
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
- 40 -
Major or minor in Market and Consumer Research (MAC)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-130 Global Agricultural
and Food Markets
L, S, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe key European and global agricultural
and food markets;
- explain the impact of interdependencies
between agricultural and food markets;
- use economic theories to analyze developments
in agricultural and food markets;
- describe the basic framework for international
trade provided by the WTO;
- explain the relevance and international
framework of non-tariff trade barriers (NTB) in
agricultural and food markets;
- evaluate the welfare effects of NTB under
various assumptions;
- understand the difference between private and
public standards in world agricultural and food
markets;
- explain and structure relevant actors in
international agricultural and food markets;
- explain the need for coordination within food
value chains depending on product and value
chain characteristics;
- evaluate the results of agricultural models;
- combine insights gained in class with a specific
case and present and discuss in class.
None Written
examination
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
- 41 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-100 Food Marketing L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe relevant psychological and sociological
constructs to understand the impact of
marketing;
- survey the competitive conditions in food
markets with a focus on German food markets;
- name the marketing fields of action and
opportunities for applying instruments in the
competitive environment of food markets;
- explain the differences in the impact of
marketing strategies depending on the market
environment (e.g. market structure);
- analyze consumer reactions based on
psychological and sociological constructs;
- analyze developments in food value chains;
- develop and implement marketing strategies at
the company level in a highly competitive
environment;
- analyze and interpret market information based
on research studies;
- present, discuss and defend implemented
marketing strategies.
None Written
examination
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
- 42 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-110 Food Industrial
Economics
L, E, PS None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the main characteristics of the
European food sector;
- explain the interactions between market
structure, conduct and performance;
- apply concepts used in industrial economics;
- use game theory to analyze interactions
between companies;
- analyze the impact of different market
structures and company strategies;
- critically evaluate the effects of business
strategies on company performance and
consumer and social welfare;
- explain and give examples of the role of
economic policy in imperfect competitive
markets;
- relate theories that were introduced to real
world cases relevant to the food sector, analyze
and evaluate those cases and discuss policy
implications.
None Written
examination
[70%]
Project report
[30%]
6
- 43 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-120 Behavioral
Economics in Agri-
Food markets
L, S None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the concept of rational choice in
neoclassical economics and its shortcomings in
explaining human behavior in the real world;
- explain key concepts in behavioral economics,
such as bounded rationality, framing, anchoring
and endowment effects, status quo bias,
heuristics and cognitive errors, nudging, altruism,
fairness and reciprocity;
- describe how experiments are conducted in
behavioral economics and prepare an
experimental setup for a given research question;
- discuss ethics in behavioral economics, focusing
in particular on nudging and libertarian
paternalism;
- understand, present and discuss experimental
scientific papers;
- explain different methods of cognitive
neuroscience.
None Written
examination
[70%]
Presentation
[30%]
6
MAC-210 Advanced Methods
of Market and
Consumer Research
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- prepare data for subsequent statistical analysis;
- perform hypothesis testing using parametric and
non-parametric tests;
- perform empirical research applying the
method(s) taught in class;
- evaluate the analytic results obtained from
statistical software;
- identify appropriate research methods for a
research problem;
- understand methods from a theoretical point of
view;
- present and reflect on results obtained from
empirical analysis.
None Written
examination
[60%]
Project report
[40%]
6
- 44 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-220 Communication in
the Food Sector
L, S None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define and describe important
conceptualizations of communication research;
- identify and distinguish different models of
communication and give examples;
- explain different approaches and theories
related to (mass) media research;
- identify different marketing and advertising
strategies in the food sector and give examples;
- apply conceptual knowledge of communication
and perception theories and relate them to
marketing issues in the agricultural and food
sector and nutrition education policies;
- plan, organize and present their results.
None Written
examination
[70%]
Presentation
[30%]
6
MAC-230 Ethics in Food
Consumption and
Production
L, E, PS None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe ethical theories and theories and
concepts related to responsible business conduct;
- explain ethical arguments and different views on
the role of businesses in society;
- summarize relevant empirical studies of
responsible/ethical conduct;
- apply relevant theories and concepts to ethical
issues in the food sector;
- critically assess ethical cases with relevance to
the food sector;
- perform their own assessment of a specific case
linked to the food sector;
- discuss and reflect on their own findings and
research performed by others;
- prepare a scientific presentation.
None Project report
[60%]
Assignment
[40%]
6
- 45 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-300 Seminar Markets and
Consumers
S* None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall relevant results from current research on
a selected topic;
- identify and explain theories and methods from
the fields of microeconomics, industrial
economics marketing and/or behavioral
economics relevant to a selected topic;
- autonomously apply theories and methods from
the fields of microeconomics, industrial
economics marketing and/or behavioral
economics relevant to a selected topic;
- derive testable hypotheses or research
questions from relevant theoretical models and
from a review of the relevant literature;
- acquire expertise in the collection of primary
data, identification of appropriate secondary data
and analysis of the data;
- discuss and reflect on their own findings and
research performed by others;
- write a scientific paper;
- prepare a scientific presentation;
- moderate a session.
None Term paper
[70%]
Presentation
[30%]
6
MAC-310 Special Project in
Market and
Consumer Research
PS Two MAC
modules with an
average grade
of 1.3 or better
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- research a topic in the field of market and
consumer research;
- identify and explain theories and methods
relevant to their research project;
- apply appropriate theories and methods for
their research project;
- identify and select appropriate methods for data
analysis;
- select appropriate theories and methods for
their research project and evaluate their research
results;
- reflect on their own research results in relation
to the current state of research.
None Project report 6
- 46 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-230 Advanced Applied
Econometrics
L, E Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- correctly interpret excerpts from econometric
textbooks and articles;
- apply matrix algebra in the context of statistics;
- apply econometric methods to estimate
quantitative economic models derived from
economic theory;
- select appropriate econometric methods based
on an analysis of the data situation and research
question;
- correctly use and interpret the output from
econometric software packages.
None Assignment 6
MAC-330 Research Seminar in
Market and
Consumer Research
S* 48 ECTS CP D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- prepare a synthesis of the current state of
research in the field of their research project;
- select and understand appropriate theories for
their research project;
- know how to derive testable hypotheses or
research questions from relevant theoretical
models and a review of the relevant literature;
- use an appropriate methodology for their
research project;
- plan a research project;
- lead and moderate a scientific discussion;
- provide examples for a number of research
topics in the field and explain the results.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
- 47 -
Minor in Development Economics (DEV)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-240 Development
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe key concepts and the structure of
economic growth models and drivers of socio-
economic development;
- explain the role of institutions, labor
markets, migration and sustainable natural
resource management for economic
development;
- apply the concepts that have been learned
to the analysis of development polices;
- compare methods for researching
sustainable natural resource management
topics;
- evaluate empirical examples using case
studies;
- generalize lessons learned from case studies
to broader development issues.
None Written
examination
6
APO-260 Food Security and
Sustainable Food
Systems
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define key terms related to food security
and sustainable diets;
- explain how food systems relate to the
different Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs);
- identify policy needs and analyze the
sustainability implications of specific
interventions;
- evaluate the arguments in the public debate
concerning sustainable agriculture and
nutrition;
- prepare and use dietary surveys and
nutrition assessment tools.
None Written
examination
6
- 48 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-130 Impact Evaluation of
Conservation &
Development Projects
and Environmental
Policies
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will
- know alternative quantitative evaluation
methods and their underlying assumptions;
- understand how different types of selection
effects impact development and conservation
initiatives;
- be able to apply selected evaluation
methods to real world problems;
- be able to critically interpret the findings
from evaluation studies.
None Assignment 6
- 49 -
Minor in Agroeconomic Modeling (MOD)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-220 Applied Modeling of
Agricultural Systems
Proj None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- apply a policy-related equilibrium model;
- analyze a real policy question using
quantitative tools;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their
use in the chosen and expanded equilibrium
model;
- summarize these impacts in a presentation
for the client and jointly document and
comment on them in a larger report.
None Seminar talk
[50%]
Report [50%]
6
APO-230 Advanced Applied
Econometrics
L, E Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- correctly interpret excerpts from
econometric textbooks and articles;
- apply matrix algebra in the context of
statistics;
- apply econometric methods to estimate
quantitative economic models derived from
economic theory;
- select appropriate econometric methods
based on an analysis of the data situation and
research question;
- correctly use and interpret the output from
econometric software packages.
None Assignment 6
- 50 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-250 Partial and General
Equilibrium Modeling
L None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of partial and
general equilibrium models and describe the
interactions within and between these
building blocks as expressed in their
equations;
- change equilibrium models in the software
package GAMS and perform counterfactual
analyses;
- use microeconomic theory, their knowledge
of agricultural and food markets and, more
generally, their knowledge of the economic
system to analyze the results of such models;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their
use in equilibrium models;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
ENV-240 Bio-Economic Modeling
at Farm Scale
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of farm-scale
bioeconomic models and describe the
interactions within and between various sub-
systems in a farm as expressed in a formal
optimization model;
- write simple or more complex farm-scale
bioeconomic models in the software package
GAMS;
- use microeconomic theory to analyze the
results of such a model;
- evaluate the impact of drivers of farm
management decisions, such as changes in
input/output prices or farm-scale policies on
economic and environmental indicators
based on the application of a bioeconomic
model;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
- 51 -
Free elective modules (Modules worth 0 to 12 ECTS CP can be chosen; modules that have already been completed in another elective area cannot be chosen.)
Up to 12 ECTS CP can be earned for free electives. Modules that can be chosen in this area are shown in the module guide. Modules from other degree programs at
the University of Bonn that have been approved by the examination board can also be chosen in this area (import modules). The examination board shall announce
the approved elective modules before the beginning of the semester. The examination board can approve other elective modules upon request by individual
students. The import modules are governed by the provisions of the examination regulations for the degree programs in which the modules are originally based.
Module
Number
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
fWP4 Free Elective Module(s) According
to the
modules
selected
According to
the modules
selected
According to
the modules
selected
Acquire interdisciplinary academic
competences according to the modules
selected
According to the
modules selected
According to
the modules
selected
Up to 12
ILR-01 Internship in Agricultural
and Food Economics
I None D: 1
PRS: 1st–3rd
Students learn to transfer and apply
theoretical knowledge in a typical
professional work environment for MSc
students and gain professional qualifications
in the form of practical experience.
Internship report,
presentation
None 6
- 52 -
Master’s thesis (30 ECTS CP; in accordance with § 4, para. 2, sentence 1 Option a.)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
M-401 Master’s Thesis Students must
be registered in
one of the
following
modules
depending on
the research
group of the
supervisor:
ABS-330,
ENV-330,
MAC-330 or
APO-330
and must have
completed at
least
60 ECTS CP.
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will
be able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a research question;
- build a sound theoretical and
methodological framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and
concise thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two
and a maximum of six months for
completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 53 -
Annex 2: Procedure in accordance with § 3, para. 4 of these Examination Regulations for the aptitude
test for foreign applicants to the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food
Economics (AFECO) who are not given equivalent status to Germans by or based on
international treaties
I. General principles
(1) The admission requirements in § 3 of the Examination Regulations must be satisfied for admission to
the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO). Under § 3, para. 4 of
the Examination Regulations, foreign applicants who are not given equivalent status to Germans by or based
on international treaties must pass a special aptitude test for university studies.
(2) This annex sets down the provisions governing the aptitude test for university studies specified in
para. 1.
(3) The objective of the procedure is to determine whether applicants have the aptitude necessary to be
expected to successfully graduate from the degree program.
(4) §§ 6 (Recognition of and granting credit for academic achievements), 8 (Examination board and exam
office), 9 (Examiners and assistant examiners), 31 (Access to examination records) and 32 (Invalidity of the
bachelor’s or master’s examination and revocation of the bachelor’s or master’s degree) of these
Examination Regulations shall apply accordingly.
II. Eligibility and application procedure/admission to the examination procedure
(1) Foreign applicants who satisfy the other admission requirements in § 3 of the Examination Regulations
or are expected to satisfy them in accordance with para. 5, sentence 2, can participate in the examination
procedure for the aptitude test for university studies specified in Part I, para. 3.
(2) Applications for admission to the examination procedure must be submitted electronically or in writing
in German or English using the application forms provided by the examination board. Admission takes place
each summer and winter semester. The application deadlines are January 15 and April 30, respectively. The
time of receipt of the electronic or written application by the University of Bonn determines whether the
application deadline has been met. The application deadline and issuing of the notices in Part VI shall be
coordinated with the enrollment deadline.
(3) The following documents shall be included in English in electronic or written form with the application:
1. Proof of formal qualification in accordance with § 3, para. 1 and 2 of the Examination Regulations or a
provisional certificate in accordance with para. 5, sentence 2
2. A completed admission application form
3. A curriculum vitae with a detailed description of prior education
4. Proof of English language proficiency in accordance with § 3, para. 3 of the Examination Regulations
(4) The chairperson of the examination board established in accordance with § 8 of the POO-LWF shall
make the decision on the application for admission to the examination procedure.
(5) Admission shall be rejected if the application is incomplete. If the documents specified in para. 3 are
not yet available at the time the application is submitted, a corresponding certificate from the university
concerned and list of the modules completed and their grades shall be sufficient for the application. The
applicant must submit formal proof immediately upon receipt.
- 54 -
III. Performing the examination procedure
(1) The examination board formed in accordance with § 8 of the POO-LWF is responsible for organizing
and carrying out the examination procedure. The examination board shall hold discussions and make
decisions in closed meetings. It shall appoint a committee consisting of a chairperson and at least two other
members of the group of professors in the Institute for Food and Resource Economics to carry out the
procedure. Decisions shall be made by simple majority. In the event of a tie vote, the chairperson’s vote shall
be the deciding vote.
(2) The examination board appoints the examiners for the examination procedure. § 9 of the POO-LWF
applies accordingly.
IV. Examination procedure
(1) The application documents will be checked to determine the level of education achieved in the fields
of agribusiness management, agricultural economics, food and household economics, economics and
business administration in the first degree. Particular attention will be given to whether the applicant has the
knowledge in the following areas that is required for successfully completing the consecutive master’s degree
program Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO):
- Microeconomics
- Statistics
- Economics
The standard used shall be the level of knowledge reached in the Agricultural Sciences bachelor’s degree
program specializing in the Economics of the Agricultural and Food Sector or Agricultural Economics at the
University of Bonn at the end of the 5th program-related semester. The committee appointed by the
examination board decides whether the aptitude test for university studies must be taken in order to assess
the qualifications of the applicant based on the criteria above.
(2) Applicants who completed their bachelor’s studies in the Agricultural Sciences degree program
specializing in the Economics of the Agricultural and Food Sector or Agricultural Economics or in a related or
comparable degree program at another institution of higher education within the scope of the German Basic
Law or at an institution of higher education in a member state of the European Union or a state that has
ratified the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European
Region (Lisbon Recognition Convention) have already proven their aptitude for university studies and are
exempt from the test.
(3) Written examinations shall be a maximum of three hours in length. Oral examinations shall be a
maximum of one hour in length. Applicants who satisfy the admission requirements for the aptitude test for
university studies in Part II shall be notified in writing of the type of examination and examination date.
Examinations shall take place in English.
(4) § 13, para. 7 of the POO-LWF applies accordingly.
- 55 -
V. Grading of examinations
(1) A point score is assigned for the written or oral examination. The highest possible score is 100 points.
The assessment is considered passed if a score of at least 50 points is achieved.
(2) Applicants who try to influence the outcome of a written examination through deception or the use of
inadmissible auxiliary means shall receive an overall score of “0” (zero) points on the written examination. If
a proctor determines that such deception has taken place, the applicant can request that the examination
board review the decision.
(3) Written examinations shall be graded by two examiners. The two examiners assign separate point
scores for the examination. The overall score for the paper is calculated as the arithmetic average of the
individual scores assigned by the two examiners.
(4) The oral examination shall be conducted by several examiners or a single examiner as an individual or
group interview in the presence of a competent assistant examiner (§ 9, para. 1 of the POO-LWF). If the
examination is only conducted by a single examiner, the examiner shall hear the assistant examiner in private
prior to setting a grade.
(5) Otherwise, § 13, para. 7 of the POO-LWF shall apply accordingly.
VI. Notification of the results and repetition of the examination procedure
(1) Candidates shall be informed of their results on the oral examination immediately following the
examination. The examination board shall also notify the applicant in writing of the results of the
examination. If the notice indicates a negative decision, it must include information on legal remedies. The
reasons for the negative decision must be included.
(2) Applicants who do not pass the examination procedure may repeat the examination on the date in the
following semester at the earliest; a new application is required. A second repetition is not possible.
VII. Students who change the location of their studies
For students who change the location of their studies and were previously enrolled in a master’s degree
program in the field of agricultural economics or a comparable degree program at another institution of
higher education, the examination board shall assess their individual qualifications, including an examination
procedure if one was performed. If the examination board decides that the degree program and examination
procedure are equivalent, the applicant will be exempt from participating in the examination procedure at
the University of Bonn.Translation
Unofficial version of the
Examination Regulations for the Consecutive Master’s Degree Program
“Agricultural and Food Economics” (AFECO)
of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn
Version: August 22, 2022
This unofficial version takes into account:
1. The Examination Regulations for the Consecutive Master’s Degree Program “Agricultural and Food
Economics” (AFECO) of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn dated October 16, 2020 (Official
Announcements of the University of Bonn, 50th year, no. 62, dated October 20, 2020)
2. The Amendment to the Examination Regulations for the Consecutive Master’s Degree Program
“Agricultural and Food Economics” (AFECO) of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn dated
August 22, 2022 (Official Announcements of the University of Bonn, 52nd year, no. 43, dated August 30, 2022)
Note: This unofficial version is only provided for informational purposes. Only the regulations published in
the Official Announcements of the University of Bonn shall be legally binding.
- 2 -
Content
(Note: The page numbers indicated refer to this unofficial version.)
Part 1 Scope ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
§ 1 Scope ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Part 2 Academic degree..................................................................................................................................... 3
§ 2 Academic degree .................................................................................................................................... 4
Part 3 Admission requirements, program structure and module examinations (registration/withdrawal) .... 4
§ 3 Degree program admission requirements ............................................................................................. 4
§ 4 Standard period of study, ECTS credit point system, range of courses, program structure and
language of instruction/examinations .................................................................................................... 5
§ 5 Module examinations—registration and withdrawal ............................................................................ 5
Part 4 Resitting examinations and pass requirements for the master’s examination ...................................... 5
§ 6 Resitting examinations ........................................................................................................................... 5
§ 7 Pass requirements for the master’s examination .................................................................................. 6
Part 5 Entry into force ....................................................................................................................................... 6
§ 8 Entry into force and publication ............................................................................................................. 6
Annex 1: Module structure for the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics
(AFECO) ............................................................................................................................................ 7
- 3 -
Part 1
Scope
§ 1
Scope
(1) Students who commence their studies in the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and
Food Economics at the University of Bonn after entry into force of these Examination Regulations are subject
to these Examination Regulations.
(2) The Examination Regulations for the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food
Economics (AFECO) of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn dated September 5, 2016 (Official
Announcement of the University of Bonn, 46th year, no. 58, dated September 15, 2016) as last amended by
the Third Amendment to the Examination Regulations for the Consecutive Master’s Degree Program
Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO) of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bonn dated
October 16, 2020 (Official Announcement of the University of Bonn, 50th year, no. 61, dated October 20,
2020), hereinafter referred to as MPO AFECO 2016 will be repealed as of March 31, 2024. Examinations in
accordance with MPO AFECO 2016 will be admissible until March 31, 2023. The examination board may
extend this period by six months upon valid request.
(3) Students who, having commenced their studies prior to the coming into force of these Examination
Regulations, are subject to MPO AFECO 2016 and have not yet completed all necessary examinations, may
a. continue their studies under MPO AFECO 2016 until the deadline stated in para. 2; or
b. irrevocably adopt these Examination Regulations by written request.
Students who continue their studies under MPO AFECO 2016 and do not graduate by March 31, 2023 shall
adopt these Examination Regulations ex officio on April 1, 2023. Credit for prior academic achievements shall
be granted. Para. 2 sentence 3 shall remain unaffected; these Examination Regulations shall then be adopted
ex officio on October 1, 2023.
(4) The Examination Organization Regulations of the Faculty of Agriculture (POO-LWF), as amended,
govern the subject-specific and administrative organization of examination procedures in this degree
program.
(5) Students who enroll in the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics
(AFECO) at the University of Bonn in winter semester 2022/2023 or later are subject to these Examination
Regulations as amended by the amendment to these Examination Regulations (First Amendment to the
Examination Regulations). Students who commenced their studies in the consecutive master’s degree
program Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO) at the University of Bonn prior to winter semester
2022/2023 and have not yet completed the master’s examination can complete elective modules they have
already registered in and that were modified or dropped by the First Amendment to the Examination
Regulations by September 30, 2023 in their original version in accordance with the Examination Regulations
of October 16, 2020. The examination board will handle the completion of previously started examination
procedures and the recognition of modules that are no longer included in the curriculum.
(6) If the Rectorate has made use of the authority to issue provisions concerning academic studies that it
was granted under an ordinance issued based on § 82a HG , the provisions issued by the Rectorate shall
supersede the corresponding provisions in these Examination Regulations for the period of validity stipulated
in the ordinance.
Part 2
Academic degree
- 4 -
§ 2
Academic degree
Candidates who successfully complete the master’s examination for the Agricultural and Food Economics
degree program shall be awarded a Master of Science (MSc) degree by the Faculty of Agriculture of the
University of Bonn. Students participating in student exchanges under partnership agreements are subject
to the conditions stipulated in the agreements. The credit points for the master’s thesis supervised by both
partner universities can therefore also be recognized by the partner university where primary supervision of
the master’s thesis takes place. Both partner universities award their respective academic degrees.
Part 3
Admission requirements, program structure and module examinations (registration/withdrawal)
§ 3
Degree program admission requirements
(1) The consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics is open to applications
from graduates from a university undergraduate degree program in the field of agricultural sciences,
agribusiness, agricultural management, agricultural economics, nutrition and food sciences, economics or a
related field.
(2) The university degree in para. 1 must provide proof of an average grade of at least 2.5 or a comparable
classification in another grading system. In addition, proof must be provided that at minimum of 42 ECTS CP
have been earned from modules focusing on economics (including the bachelor’s thesis), including at least
5 ECTS CP earned in the area of microeconomics and at least 5 ECTS CP earned in the area of statistics.
(3) English skills at level B2 or higher according to the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR) are a prerequisite for admission to the degree program and to be proved by submitting a
recognized language certificate (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS) or equivalent proof.
(4) Foreign students who are not given equivalent status to Germans by or based on international treaties
must provide proof that they have passed the aptitude test for university studies (in accordance with
Annex 2).
(5) This does not affect admission restrictions due to capacity limits (numerus clausus).
(6) The selection of successful applicants is subject to the Regulations on Selection Procedures for Degree
Programs with Admission Restrictions of the University of Bonn.
(7) Students who do not meet the admission requirements stated in paras. 1 and 2, may already enroll for
a master’s degree program if there is sufficient proof of their aptitude for that degree program, which is
determined with special regard to the average grade for all examinations taken to that point. Enrollment is
revoked with effect for the future if necessary proof of meeting the admission requirements is not submitted
to the admission office within six months after the date of enrollment.
- 5 -
§ 4
Standard period of study, ECTS credit point system, range of courses, program structure and language of
instruction/examinations
(1) The standard period of study, including the master’s thesis, is four semesters (120 ECTS CP) when
pursuing the degree program full-time.
(2) The degree program includes 30 ECTS CP for general compulsory modules for all students and in:
- Option a. with a possible major track:
- 60 ECTS CP for subject-specific and/or free elective modules (including 6 ECTS CP for a research
seminar)
- 30 ECTS CP for the master’s thesis
- Option b. with a practical orientation:
- 42 ECTS CP for practice-oriented compulsory modules in the chosen major track (mandatory
internship (6 ECTS CP), practice-oriented research seminar (6 ECTS CP) and practice-oriented
master’s thesis (30 ECTS CP))
- 30 ECTS CP for subject-specific elective modules in the chosen major track
- 18 ECTS CP for subject-specific and/or free elective modules
A maximum of 12 ECTS CP may be earned for free elective modules. Details on modules, admission to courses
and the amount of ECTS credit points per module are set forth in the module structure (Annex 1).
(3) Specializations in the form of a “major specification” or “minor specification” can be chosen if the
requirements specified in the module structure are satisfied. Notwithstanding sentence 1, for a practice-
oriented program, one of the four major tracks (Agribusiness, Agricultural and Development Policy, Resource
and Environmental Economics or Market and Consumer Research) must be indicated as a “practice-oriented
major specification” no later than the end of the second program-related semester.
(4) The language of instruction and examinations is English. The examination board may make exceptions
for individual elective modules and shall announce them in due time before the beginning of the semester,
pursuant to § 8, para. 8 of the POO-LWF.
(5) A vocational internship is recommended to complement the academic training.
(6) The degree program starts in both the summer and winter semesters of each year.
§ 5
Module examinations—registration and withdrawal
(1) Students who have withdrawn from a module examination in accordance with § 12, para. 3 of the
POO-LWF must register electronically again with the examination board for the module examination. Where
justified, registrations may be submitted in writing.
(2) Students should register to resit a failed module examination on the next scheduled examination date
themselves.
(3) In all other respects, the provisions of § 12 of the POO-LWF shall apply.
Part 4
Resitting examinations and pass requirements for the master’s examination
§ 6
Resitting examinations
- 6 -
(1) Examinations that have been failed may only be repeated twice. Resits shall be conducted in
accordance with § 5, para. 2. Rules for repetition of the master’s thesis are defined in § 23, para. 7 of the
POO-LWF.
(2) Students who fail the same compulsory module three times lose their right to examination and are
deregistered from the degree program by the Student Registry once the examination board’s decision that
the final attempt at the master’s examination has been failed has come into force.
(3) If an elective module has been failed, or the final attempt at an elective module has been failed, the
candidate can choose another, previously unchosen elective module as compensation. Such compensation
is only possible twice. Students who use the compensation option without success shall lose their right to
examination and are deregistered from the degree program by the Student Registry once the examination
board’s decision that the final attempt at the master’s examination has been failed has come into force.
(4) Module examinations graded “sufficient” or higher cannot be repeated.
(5) For modules with examinations that are taken during the semester or that are part of a course, the
examination cannot be repeated in the same semester. The module examination in such modules can only
be repeated by retaking the entire module or corresponding course. The examination board shall announce
the respective examinations and course work to be repeated before the beginning of the semester, pursuant
to § 8, para. 8 of the POO-LWF.
§ 7
Pass requirements for the master’s examination
(1) Candidates shall have passed the master’s examination when they have passed all necessary modules
as per § 4, para. 2 as well as the master’s thesis and have thus been awarded a total of 120 ECTS CP.
(2) The final attempt at the master’s examination shall be deemed failed when
- the candidate has failed to pass a compulsory module three times, as specified in § 6, para. 2;
- the compensation option for electives has been used without success as specified in § 6, para. 3; or
- the master’s thesis has been graded “insufficient” in the second attempt in accordance with § 23,
para. 7 of the POO-LWF.
Part 5
Entry into force
§ 8
Entry into force and publication
These Examination Regulations shall enter into force on the day after their publication among the Official
Announcements of the University of Bonn.
January 8, 2024
Annex 1: Module structure for the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO)
Module structure key:
- Abbreviations of course types: F = field trip, extI = external internship, I = internship, Proj = project, PS = proseminar, S = seminar, E = scientific exercise,
L = lecture.
- Marked with asterisk (*): courses that require compulsory attendance as a prerequisite for participation in the module examination in accordance with
§ 13, para. 6 of the POO-LWF. In these cases, compulsory attendance is an additional requirement to the other coursework listed.
- The “Course Type” column shows the type of a course within the module.
- The “Duration/Program-Related Semester” column shows the duration (D) of the module (in semesters) and assigns it to a specific program-related semester
(PRS).
- The “Coursework” column shows requirements that must be met for admission to certain examinations pursuant to § 13, para. 4 of the POO-LWF or, respectively,
to acquire ECTS credit points in modules without an examination.
Further details on individual modules, especially regarding the courses offered within or required for completion of a module, are described in the module guide,
which the examination board will make available before the beginning of the respective semester, pursuant to § 8, para. 8 of the POO-LWF.
- 8 -
General compulsory modules (30 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
BAS-110 Extended Methods
of Empirical
Research
L, E* None D: 2
PRS: 1st+2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe ethical codes in empirical research;
- explain the concepts of statistical distribution
theory and understand Bayes’ theorem;
- understand the theoretical basics of linear
regression and logistic regression;
- prepare data for analysis and perform empirical
research using OLS;
- generate and test hypotheses (t-test, F-test and
Anova) and interpret p-values;
- perform a trend analysis for typical time series
data along the agri-food chain;
- interpret statistical software output;
- explain major epistemological approaches in the
social sciences, different types of scientific
thinking, the basic assumptions of critical
rationalism and the positivism dispute;
- describe the key aspects and quality criteria of
qualitative research and how it differs from
quantitative research;
- summarize different methods of qualitative
research;
- discuss a research topic in a group, develop a
qualitative survey and use a grounded theory
approach to analyze interview data;
- interpret, reflect on and present study results.
Contributions to group
and team work, e.g.
research questions,
interview guides,
reports or term
papers, presentations.
Contributions will be
verified using a
common group work
report.
Written
examination
[67%]
Assignment
[33%]
9
- 9 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
BAS-120 Excursion in
Agricultural and
Food Economics
(field trip)
F*, S* None D: 2
PRS: 1st+2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify the main sector-relevant issues;
- present sector-relevant information in
condensed form;
- discuss future sector-relevant challenges;
- combine information from different
perspectives and modules in order to explain real
situations in agriculture, the food chain and rural
areas and discuss future challenges;
- put knowledge into practice.
- Proof of field trips
lasting a total of
5 days
- Two presentations
before the field trip:
one poster
presentation and
one free-format
presentation
None 6
BAS-130 Microeconomics L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- explain the neoclassical theory of supply,
demand and markets at a formal mathematical
level;
- formulate and solve unconstrained and
constrained optimization problems and use
optimization tools to solve quantitative economic
problems;
- analyze the description of economic decision-
making problems and choose and apply a suitable
tool from a number of possibilities;
- apply calculus and spreadsheet tools to
economic decision-making problems.
None Written
examination
[50%]
Assignment
[50%]
6
- 10 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
BAS-140 Organizational
Management
L None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall and describe the main theories forming
the pillars of management and organization;
- compare various theoretical approaches and
viewpoints and recognize differences and
similarities among them;
- extract relevant information from scientific
literature and relate practical industrial cases to
the theory;
- summarize and discuss scientific management
literature;
- illustrate the areas of application of various
theories and give examples;
- identify management problems, find possible
solutions and formulate an action strategy;
- illustrate case studies and relate management
theories to examples from the real world;
- choose and apply the most appropriate strategic
tools for practical management cases;
- summarize scientific articles and present them
in class;
- compare different theoretical management
approaches.
None Presentation
[33%]
Assignment
[67%]
6
- 11 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
BAS-150 Risk Management
in the Agribusiness
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify different risk types affecting the
agricultural and food sector, discuss various risk
measures and explain appropriate risk
management instruments;
- identify the most important risk management
instruments in agriculture and the food value
chain;
- apply quantitative techniques to handle risk
management tasks;
- calculate risk measures using data from example
farms, identify risk factors and choose
appropriate risk management instruments;
- assess a farm’s risk based on the risk measures
introduced and identified risk factors and develop
appropriate risk management strategies for the
operation;
- use risk modeling instruments to integrate risk
management strategies into a farm production
program based on identified risk factors;
- critically discuss sources of error and challenges
in the understanding of risk and applicable
strategies along the food value chain.
None Written
examination
[75%]
Presentation
[25%]
3
- 12 -
Practice-oriented compulsory modules in the Agribusiness major track (42 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ILR-02 Mandatory
Internship
I None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will
- be able to apply theoretical knowledge in a
professional work environment;
- have acquired knowledge and skills in the
working world;
- be able to present their experiences to others;
- be able to better reflect on their own
expectations and experiences;
- be able to incorporate practical experience into
scientific research.
Presentation and
report
None 6
ABS-331 Practice-Oriented
Research Seminar
in Agribusiness
S* 48 ECTS CP (incl.
internship
module ILR-02)
D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the problem background for a chosen
practice-oriented topic after conducting a
literature review;
- derive a practice-oriented research question or
testable hypothesis from a problem description;
- assess, select and compare current research
articles in a relevant field;
- determine an appropriate methodology relevant
to the practice-oriented research question(s);
- develop the concept for their practice-oriented
master’s thesis, including the work plan and
expected results.
None Seminar talk 6
- 13 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
M-402 Practice-Oriented
Master’s Thesis
Students must
be registered in
module ABS-331
and have
completed at
least 60 ECTS CP
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a practice-oriented research question;
- build a sound theoretical and methodological
framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and concise
practice-oriented thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two and a
maximum of six months for completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 14 -
Practice-oriented compulsory modules in the Agricultural and Development Policy major track (42 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ILR-02 Mandatory
Internship
I None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will
- be able to apply theoretical knowledge in a
professional work environment;
- have acquired knowledge and skills in the
working world;
- be able to present their experiences to others;
- be able to better reflect on their own
expectations and experiences;
- be able to incorporate practical experience into
scientific research.
Presentation and
report
None 6
APO-331 Practice-Oriented
Research Seminar
in Agricultural and
Development
Policy
S* 48 ECTS CP (incl.
internship
module ILR-02)
D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the problem background for a chosen
practice-oriented topic after conducting a
literature review;
- derive a practice-oriented research question or
testable hypothesis from a problem description;
- assess, select and compare current research
articles in a relevant field;
- after evaluating alternative approaches,
determine an appropriate methodology for the
practice-oriented research question(s);
- develop the concept for their practice-oriented
master’s thesis, including the work plan and
expected results.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
- 15 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
M-402 Practice-Oriented
Master’s Thesis
Students must
be registered in
module APO-
331 and have
completed at
least 60 ECTS CP
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a practice-oriented research question;
- build a sound theoretical and methodological
framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and concise
practice-oriented thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two and a
maximum of six months for completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 16 -
Practice-oriented compulsory modules in the Resource and Environmental Economics major track (42 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ILR-02 Mandatory
Internship
I None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will
- be able to apply theoretical knowledge in a
professional work environment;
- have acquired knowledge and skills in the
working world;
- be able to present their experiences to others;
- be able to better reflect on their own
expectations and experiences;
- be able to incorporate practical experience into
scientific research.
Presentation and
report
None 6
ENV-331 Practice-Oriented
Research Seminar in
Resource and
Environmental
Economics
S* 48 ECTS CP (incl.
internship
module ILR-02)
D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- summarize the scientific state of the art in a self-
selected practice-oriented field of research;
- build a conceptual framework for the social
sciences/environmental economics;
- prepare and present a practice-oriented
research proposal;
- participate in scientific debates.
None Term paper
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
M-402 Practice-Oriented
Master’s Thesis
Students must
be registered in
module ENV-
331 and have
completed at
least
60 ECTS CP.
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a practice-oriented research question;
- build a sound theoretical and methodological
framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and concise
practice-oriented thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two and a
maximum of six months for completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 17 -
Practice-oriented compulsory modules in the Market and Consumer Research major track (42 ECTS CP)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ILR-02 Mandatory
Internship
I None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will
- be able to apply theoretical knowledge in a
professional work environment;
- have acquired knowledge and skills in the
working world;
- be able to present their experiences to others;
- be able to better reflect on their own
expectations and experiences;
- be able to incorporate practical experience into
scientific research.
Presentation and
report
None 6
MAC-331 Practice-Oriented
Research Seminar in
Market and
Consumer Research
S* 48 ECTS CP (incl.
internship
module ILR-02)
D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- prepare a synthesis of the current state of
research in the field of their practice-oriented
research project;
- select and understand appropriate theories for
their practice-oriented research project;
- know how to derive testable hypotheses or
research questions from relevant theoretical
models and a review of the relevant literature;
- use an appropriate methodology for their
practice-oriented research project;
- plan a practice-oriented research project;
- lead and moderate a scientific discussion;
- provide examples for a number of research
topics in the field and explain the results.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
- 18 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
M-402 Practice-Oriented
Master’s Thesis
Students must
be registered in
module MAC-
331 and have
completed at
least
60 ECTS CP.
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a practice-oriented research question;
- build a sound theoretical and methodological
framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and concise
practice-oriented thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two and a
maximum of six months for completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 19 -
Subject-specific electives
(Modules worth 48 to 60 ECTS CP or, for a practice-oriented program, 36 to 48 ECTS CP must be completed.)
Due to the diversity of career opportunities along the food chain for agricultural and food economists, the subject-specific electives are grouped into four major
tracks:
− Agribusiness (ABS)
− Agricultural and Development Policy (APO)
− Resource and Environmental Economics (ENV)
− Market and Consumer Research (MAC)
Major specification:
Students who select modules worth at least 30 ECTS CP from one of the major tracks indicated above, take the associated research seminar (6 ECTS CP) and write
their master’s thesis (30 ECTS CP) in this major track can, upon request, have the major track indicated as a “major specification” on their degree certificate. This
does not apply to students who have chosen a practice-oriented program in accordance with § 4, para. 2, sentence 1, lit. b, with practice-oriented compulsory
modules in their chosen major track; for these students, the major track they chose is automatically indicated as the “practice-oriented major specification” on their
degree certificate.
Minor specification:
Students who select modules worth at least 18 ECTS CP from one of these four major tracks can, upon request, have a “minor specification” indicated on their degree
certificate. The same applies to additional minor specifications in
− Development Economics (DEV) with 18 ECTS CP from the following modules: APO-260, APO-240 and ENV-130
− Agroeconomic Modeling (MOD) with 18 ECTS CP from the following modules: APO-250, APO-220, APO-230 and ENV-240
Each course can only be used once, i.e. either for a major specification or a minor specification.
The examination board may approve further subject-specific and free elective modules and shall announce them before the beginning of the semester pursuant to
§ 8, para. 8 of the POO-LWF.
Free elective modules worth a maximum of 12 ECTS CP can be chosen.
- 20 -
Major or minor in Agribusiness (ABS)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-100 Financial Accounting L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- solve accounting tasks;
- refer to the legal framework for accounting;
- analyze annual financial statements;
- determine key figures (financial ratios) using
annual financial statements;
- assess the economic situation of a company.
Presentation Written
examination
[75%]
Seminar talk
[25%]
6
ABS-120 Methods in
Management
Research
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify and typify relevant research problems
for various contexts in the agribusiness sector;
- independently compare and distinguish
between different types of research methods;
- implement research problems and methods to
obtain accurate and informative results;
- analyze (qualitative or quantitative) data and
discuss important findings of their research;
- assess and justify their choice of research
methods for answering research questions;
- independently conduct studies, from
formulation of their research questions to
discussion of the results.
None Assignment
[50%]
Written
examination
[50%]
6
- 21 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-130 Investment and
Financing
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- structure investment and financing projects for
evaluation of their profitability;
- evaluate investment projects with respect to
profitability and financing;
- identify risks in investment projects;
- quantify risks in investment projects;
- assess the risk of investment projects using
standard spreadsheet software;
- apply the concepts to realistic complex
examples, evaluate the results and prepare
decision-making support for a potential investor;
- discuss critical assumptions in models for
preparing decision-making support for
investments.
None Written
examination
6
- 22 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-150 Process Based
Management
L, Proj None D: 1
PRS: 1st/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define objectives for process optimization;
- assess the impact of objectives on process
design;
- outline the phases of process management;
- describe the rules and functions of various
process modeling techniques;
- use different modeling techniques to model
business processes;
- understand enterprise architecture
management;
- outline the reasoning, construction and
functioning of business process models;
- demonstrate the concept of business process
maturity models;
- recognize the link between enterprise
architecture and business processes;
- prepare, analyze and optimize process
simulation models;
- apply techniques to measure process
performance;
- describe process management concepts (re-
design, continuous improvement).
None Written
examination
6
ABS-210 Agricultural
Production
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall relevant theories and methods of
production;
- identify core farm management tasks and
production-related problems in agricultural
production;
- apply relevant theories and associated farm
management and planning tools;
- apply various methods for productivity analysis
and farm optimization;
- use appropriate management tools to develop
optimal solutions for typical farm management
tasks;
- discuss the solutions provided by the tools.
None Written
examination
6
- 23 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-230 Strategic Technology
and Innovation
Management
L BAS-140
Organizational
Management
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- interpret, explain and summarize relevant issues
and stages of new product management and
development;
- characterize and classify different forms and
types of innovations in the agribusiness context;
- execute and apply company and technology
forecasting tools, such as patent analysis;
- differentiate and attribute types of innovation
strategies and their fit within specific
organizational structures;
- summarize and organize the challenges and
opportunities of open innovation in the
agribusiness context, including with regard to the
management of intellectual property;
- summarize, provide examples of and compare
and contrast the various ways to structure
innovation processes;
- classify and differentiate the various sources of
innovative ideas as well as their relative suitability
for different types of projects and within different
organizations;
- critically apply and evaluate conceptual tools
and frameworks to analyze relevant cases from
the agricultural industry;
- generate and evaluate potential business
models and use design-thinking approaches to
evaluate the needs of customers in the
agribusiness context.
Project report Report [30%]
Oral
examination
[70%]
6
- 24 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-300 Seminar Production
Economics and Farm
Management
S Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110 and one of
the modules
BAS-130 or ABS-
210
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- apply relevant theories and methods in the field
of production economics, productivity and
efficiency analysis to agricultural production and
food processing problems;
- apply research techniques, such as structuring a
planning problem, data acquisition and data
management;
- develop and assess research designs in order to
answer specific research questions using
appropriate quantitative methods;
- set up and implement an empirical evaluation
framework, e.g. an efficiency analysis, to answer a
research question;
- discuss empirical results and relate them to
current academic literature and discuss and
derive policy implications.
None Seminar talk 6
ABS-310 Seminar in
Innovation
Management and
Entrepreneurship
S BAS-140
Organizational
Management
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify significant scientific literature and relate
it to a specific topic;
- understand and classify different findings from
the scientific literature;
- collect and organize scientific content to
produce an original contribution both in the form
of a presentation and a paper;
- lead and moderate a discussion about leading
edge topics;
- prepare a scientific review.
None Seminar talk 6
- 25 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-320 Special Project in
Technology and
Innovation
Management
PS BAS-140 or ABS-
230 must be
passed with a
grade of 1.3 or
better.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- acquire knowledge of selected technology and
innovation management issues;
- enhance their understanding of managerial and
strategic concepts;
- acquire skills in literature and data analysis;
- apply theories, tools and methods from the area
of innovation management to current social and
economic debates.
None Project report 6
ABS-340 Special Project in
Production
Economics
PS ABS-210 must
be passed with a
minimum grade
of 1.3 or APO-
230 with a
minimum grade
of 1.7.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define a research question;
- work independently;
- develop an analytical framework;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- discuss results, identify shortcomings of the
approach used and identify potential solutions.
None Project report 6
ABS-350 Evidence-Based
Agricultural Policy
Impact Analysis:
Causal Effects and
Policy Design
S None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- gain an understanding of the cause and effect
paths of agricultural policy instruments;
- explain the quantitative techniques that were
covered for estimating causal impact;
- distinguish between different concepts of
causality when evaluating agricultural policy;
- structure and organize large data sets to
perform an analysis of causal effects with
different methods for causal inference using the
software programming knowledge learned;
- derive research questions based on the current
literature in this area and develop procedures and
research designs to test these hypotheses.
Assignments Written
examination
6
- 26 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-240 Bio-Economic
Modeling at Farm
Scale
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of farm-scale
bioeconomic models and describe the
interactions within and between various sub-
systems in a farm as expressed in a formal
optimization model;
- write simple or more complex farm-scale
bioeconomic models in the software package
GAMS;
- use microeconomic theory to analyze the results
of such a model;
- evaluate the impact of drivers of farm
management decisions, such as changes in
input/output prices or farm-scale policies on
economic and environmental indicators based on
the application of a bioeconomic model;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
ENV-270 Data Wrangling,
Visualization and GIS
Data Analysis with R
L, E Recommended:
Experience with
R
(programming)
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will
- understand the peculiarities of different data
formats and how to use them;
- understand the basics of GIS;
- be able to work with various data in R;
- be able to visualize various data in R;
- be able to perform spatial analyses with data in
various formats;
- be able to apply the packages and methods they
have learned to their own case studies;
- be able to perform their own analyses and
visualize publication-ready maps.
None Report [50%]
Presentation
[50%]
Admission
requirement
for the
presentation:
all reports
submitted
6
- 27 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-100 Food Marketing L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe relevant psychological and sociological
constructs to understand the impact of
marketing;
- survey the competitive conditions in food
markets with a focus on German food markets;
- name the marketing fields of action and
opportunities for applying instruments in the
competitive environment of food markets;
- explain the differences in the impact of
marketing strategies depending on the market
environment (e.g. market structure);
- analyze consumer reactions based on
psychological and sociological constructs;
- analyze developments in food value chains;
- develop and implement marketing strategies at
the company level in a highly competitive
environment;
- analyze and interpret market information based
on research studies;
- present, discuss and defend implemented
marketing strategies.
None Written
examination
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
ABS-330 Research Seminar in
Agribusiness
S* 48 ECTS CP D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the problem background for a chosen
topic after conducting a literature review;
- derive a research question or testable
hypothesis from a problem description;
- assess, select and compare current research
articles in a relevant field;
- determine an appropriate methodology relevant
to the research question(s);
- develop the concept for their master’s thesis,
including the work plan and expected results.
None Seminar talk 6
- 28 -
Major or minor in Agricultural and Development Policy (APO)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-110 European and
International
Agricultural Policy
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall the agricultural policy portfolios of
important global players;
- critically discuss the results of different existing
studies taking into account the assumptions
made;
- use economic theory to analyze example
agricultural policies;
- select and apply relevant economic theories to
real policy issues.
None Assignment
[50%]
Oral
examination
[50%]
6
APO-120 Applied Trade Theory
and Policy
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- explain the principles of classical and new
economic theories of international trade that
determine trade patterns between countries;
- identify the limitations of the theories and apply
them to predefined research problems in the field
of agricultural and food trade;
- independently assess the trade and welfare
impacts of trade policies in the context of
exercises;
- assess the contributions and limitations of
academic literature for trade issues;
- use spreadsheets and formal analytics to solve
economic trade problems.
None Assignment 6
- 29 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-260 Food Security and
Sustainable Food
Systems
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define key terms related to food security and
sustainable diets;
- explain how food systems relate to the different
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
- identify policy needs and analyze the
sustainability implications of specific
interventions;
- evaluate the arguments in the public debate
concerning sustainable agriculture and nutrition;
- prepare and use dietary surveys and nutrition
assessment tools.
None Written
examination
6
APO-220 Applied Modeling of
Agricultural Systems
Proj None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- apply a policy-related equilibrium model;
- analyze a real policy question using quantitative
tools;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their use
in the chosen and expanded equilibrium model;
- summarize these impacts in a presentation for
the client and jointly document and comment on
them in a larger report.
None Seminar talk
[50%]
Report [50%]
6
APO-230 Advanced Applied
Econometrics
L, E Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- correctly interpret excerpts from econometric
textbooks and articles;
- apply matrix algebra in the context of statistics;
- apply econometric methods to estimate
quantitative economic models derived from
economic theory;
- select appropriate econometric methods based
on an analysis of the data situation and research
question;
- correctly use and interpret the output from
econometric software packages.
None Assignment 6
- 30 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-240 Development
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe key concepts and the structure of
economic growth models and drivers of socio-
economic development;
- explain the role of institutions, labor markets,
migration and sustainable natural resource
management for economic development;
- apply the concepts that have been learned to
the analysis of development polices;
- compare methods for researching sustainable
natural resource management topics;
- evaluate empirical examples using case studies;
- generalize lessons learned from case studies to
broader development issues.
None Written
examination
6
APO-250 Partial and General
Equilibrium Modeling
L None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of partial and general
equilibrium models and describe the interactions
within and between these building blocks as
expressed in their equations;
- change equilibrium models in the software
package GAMS and perform counterfactual
analyses;
- use microeconomic theory, their knowledge of
agricultural and food markets and, more
generally, their knowledge of the economic
system to analyze the results of such models;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their use
in equilibrium models;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
- 31 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-300 Seminar Policy
Analysis
S None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify and apply relevant theories and
methods in the field of economic policy analysis
to policy issues related to the agricultural and
food sector;
- correctly apply research techniques such as the
structuring of research papers, literature
searches, referencing and technical writing;
- present research results using appropriate
techniques and efficiently moderate a scientific
discussion;
- develop and assess research designs in order to
answer specific research questions using
appropriate qualitative or quantitative methods;
- discuss research results, relate them to recent
academic literature and derive policy
implications.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
APO-310 Special Project in
Agricultural and
Development Policy
PS Two of the
following
modules:
APO-110,
APO-230,
APO-240,
APO-250
must be passed
with an average
grade of 1.3 or
better.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- explain a selected policy issue correctly and in
detail;
- select and use theories and appropriate
qualitative or quantitative analysis tools to
answer a specific policy-related research
question;
- evaluate alternative options for analyzing
policies or evaluate alternative policies with
respect to economic impacts;
- summarize the academic literature and their
own research work to contribute to a current
policy debate and identify research gaps that still
exist.
None Project report 6
- 32 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-350 Evidence-Based
Agricultural Policy
Impact Analysis:
Causal Effects and
Policy Design
S None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- gain an understanding of the cause and effect
paths of agricultural policy instruments;
- explain the quantitative techniques that were
covered for estimating causal impact;
- distinguish between different concepts of
causality when evaluating agricultural policy;
- structure and organize large data sets to
perform an analysis of causal effects with
different methods for causal inference using the
software programming knowledge learned;
- derive research questions based on the current
literature in this area and develop procedures and
research designs to test these hypotheses.
Assignments Written
examination
6
APO-330 Research Seminar in
Agricultural and
Development Policy
S* 48 ECTS CP D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the problem background for a chosen
topic after conducting a literature review;
- derive a research question or testable
hypothesis from a problem description;
- assess, select and compare current research
articles in a relevant field;
- after evaluating alternative approaches,
determine an appropriate methodology for the
research question(s);
- develop the concept for their master’s thesis,
including the work plan and expected results.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
- 33 -
Major or minor in Resource and Environmental Economics (ENV)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-100 Economics on
Sustainability
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define the basic concepts of sustainability and
ecological and environmental economics;
- translate welfare functions into preferences and
vice versa;
- interpret economic models and their
assumptions;
- apply economic theory to environmental
economics problems (e. g. renewable resources);
- evaluate the pros and cons of different policies;
- apply economic theory to real world problems;
- systematically organize their arguments in the
form of essays;
- extract the core ideas of scientific articles;
- discuss scientific articles.
None Written
examination
6
ENV-110 Environmental
Economics and
Policies
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- use neoclassical and institutional economics to
analyze environmental policy;
- discuss complex issues of economic theory;
- identify the implicit assumptions of certain
economic approaches;
- systematically organize their arguments;
- apply the concepts learned to new policy fields;
- compare different research approaches to
empirical questions.
None Written
examination
6
ENV-130 Impact Evaluation of
Conservation &
Development
Projects and
Environmental
Policies
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will
- know alternative quantitative evaluation
methods and their underlying assumptions;
- understand how different types of selection
effects impact development and conservation
initiatives;
- be able to apply selected evaluation methods to
real world problems;
- be able to critically interpret the findings from
evaluation studies.
None Assignment 6
- 34 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-210 Advanced
Environmental
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- identify alternative theoretical approaches in
environmental and resource economics;
- understand the effects of assumptions in formal
economic models on real world applications;
- apply theory and numerical techniques to solve
common problems in environmental and resource
economics.
None Oral
examination
6
ENV-220 Agricultural and Agri-
Environmental Law
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the legal system formed by agricultural
and agri-environmental legislation in Europe,
Germany and the German states;
- describe how the above legislation is developed,
adopted and enacted;
- assess the legal bases for the primary production
of food;
- explain how European, German and German
state law work together;
- develop solutions for the above legislation in
practical cases;
- list the civil law that is important for the
agricultural industry;
- list the commercial and corporate law that is
important for the agricultural industry;
- compare the law applicable in agricultural areas
in two different German states.
None Written
examination
6
- 35 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-240 Bio-Economic
Modeling at Farm
Scale
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of farm-scale
bioeconomic models and describe the
interactions within and between various sub-
systems in a farm as expressed in a formal
optimization model;
- write simple or more complex farm-scale
bioeconomic models in the software package
GAMS;
- use microeconomic theory to analyze the results
of such a model;
- evaluate the impact of drivers of farm
management decisions, such as changes in
input/output prices or farm-scale policies on
economic and environmental indicators based on
the application of a bioeconomic model;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
ENV-270 Data Wrangling,
Visualization and GIS
Data Analysis with R
L, E Recommended:
Experience with
R
(programming)
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will
- understand the peculiarities of different data
formats and how to use them;
- understand the basics of GIS;
- be able to work with various data in R;
- be able to visualize various data in R;
- be able to perform spatial analyses with data in
various formats;
- be able to apply the packages and methods they
have learned to their own case studies;
- be able to perform their own analyses and
visualize publication-ready maps.
None Report [50%]
Presentation
[50%]
Admission
requirement
for the
presentation:
all reports
submitted
6
- 36 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-300 Seminar on
Environmental
Economics and Policy
S* None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- deepen their knowledge of selected
environmental policy issues;
- understand advanced concepts for
environmental policy analysis;
- apply environmental and ecological economic
concepts to current policy debates;
- analyze quantitative and qualitative data using
empirical methods from environmental
economics;
- summarize complex debates on environmental
policy design.
None Term paper
[50%]
Presentation
[30%]
Project report
[20%]
6
ENV-310 Special Project in
Environmental
Economics
PS ENV-100 and
ENV-110 and
ENV-130 must
be passed with a
grade better
than 1.7.
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- deepen their knowledge of selected
environmental policy issues;
- understand advanced environmental and
ecological economic concepts;
- apply environmental and ecological economic
concepts to current policy debates;
- apply advanced skills in literature and data
analysis;
- summarize complex debates on environmental
policy design.
None Project report 6
ENV-260 Sustainability and
Risk
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- understand and evaluate relevant details, their
interrelationships and the overall interdisciplinary
picture with regard to the concepts of
sustainability and risk;
- identify and assess the drivers of, and barriers
to, sustainable development;
- analyze concrete (or local) issues of
sustainability and risk from the perspective of
various social actors and find solutions by
applying established generic (or global) tools;
- critically reflect on all the models, instruments
etc. discussed during the course.
None Written
examination
6
- 37 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-350 Evidence-Based
Agricultural Policy
Impact Analysis:
Causal Effects and
Policy Design
S None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- gain an understanding of the cause and effect
paths of agricultural policy instruments;
- explain the quantitative techniques that were
covered for estimating causal impact;
- distinguish between different concepts of
causality when evaluating agricultural policy;
- structure and organize large data sets to
perform an analysis of causal effects with
different methods for causal inference using the
software programming knowledge learned;
- derive research questions based on the current
literature in this area and develop procedures and
research designs to test these hypotheses.
Assignments Written
examination
6
APO-230 Advanced Applied
Econometrics
L, E Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- correctly interpret excerpts from econometric
textbooks and articles;
- apply matrix algebra in the context of statistics;
- apply econometric methods to estimate
quantitative economic models derived from
economic theory;
- select appropriate econometric methods based
on an analysis of the data situation and research
question;
- correctly use and interpret the output from
econometric software packages.
None Assignment 6
- 38 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ABS-210 Agricultural
Production
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall relevant theories and methods of
production;
- identify core farm management tasks and
production-related problems in agricultural
production;
- apply relevant theories and associated farm
management and planning tools;
- apply various methods for productivity analysis
and farm optimization;
- use appropriate management tools to develop
optimal solutions for typical farm management
tasks;
- discuss the solutions provided by the tools.
None Written
examination
6
MAC-230 Ethics in Food
Consumption and
Production
L, E, PS None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe ethical theories and theories and
concepts related to responsible business conduct;
- explain ethical arguments and different views on
the role of businesses in society;
- summarize relevant empirical studies of
responsible/ethical conduct;
- apply relevant theories and concepts to ethical
issues in the food sector;
- critically assess ethical cases with relevance to
the food sector;
- perform their own assessment of a specific case
linked to the food sector;
- discuss and reflect on their own findings and
research performed by others;
- prepare a scientific presentation.
None Project report
[60%]
Assignment
[40%]
6
- 39 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-250 Partial and General
Equilibrium Modeling
L None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of partial and general
equilibrium models and describe the interactions
within and between these building blocks as
expressed in their equations;
- change equilibrium models in the software
package GAMS and perform counterfactual
analyses;
- use microeconomic theory, their knowledge of
agricultural and food markets and, more
generally, their knowledge of the economic
system to analyze the results of such models;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their use
in equilibrium models;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
ENV-330 Research Seminar in
Resource and
Environmental
Economics
S* 48 ECTS CP D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- summarize the scientific state of the art in a self-
selected field of research;
- build a conceptual framework for the social
sciences/environmental economics;
- prepare and present a research proposal;
- participate in scientific debates.
None Term paper
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
- 40 -
Major or minor in Market and Consumer Research (MAC)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-130 Global Agricultural
and Food Markets
L, S, E None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe key European and global agricultural
and food markets;
- explain the impact of interdependencies
between agricultural and food markets;
- use economic theories to analyze developments
in agricultural and food markets;
- describe the basic framework for international
trade provided by the WTO;
- explain the relevance and international
framework of non-tariff trade barriers (NTB) in
agricultural and food markets;
- evaluate the welfare effects of NTB under
various assumptions;
- understand the difference between private and
public standards in world agricultural and food
markets;
- explain and structure relevant actors in
international agricultural and food markets;
- explain the need for coordination within food
value chains depending on product and value
chain characteristics;
- evaluate the results of agricultural models;
- combine insights gained in class with a specific
case and present and discuss in class.
None Written
examination
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
- 41 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-100 Food Marketing L, E None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe relevant psychological and sociological
constructs to understand the impact of
marketing;
- survey the competitive conditions in food
markets with a focus on German food markets;
- name the marketing fields of action and
opportunities for applying instruments in the
competitive environment of food markets;
- explain the differences in the impact of
marketing strategies depending on the market
environment (e.g. market structure);
- analyze consumer reactions based on
psychological and sociological constructs;
- analyze developments in food value chains;
- develop and implement marketing strategies at
the company level in a highly competitive
environment;
- analyze and interpret market information based
on research studies;
- present, discuss and defend implemented
marketing strategies.
None Written
examination
[60%]
Presentation
[40%]
6
- 42 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-110 Food Industrial
Economics
L, E, PS None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe the main characteristics of the
European food sector;
- explain the interactions between market
structure, conduct and performance;
- apply concepts used in industrial economics;
- use game theory to analyze interactions
between companies;
- analyze the impact of different market
structures and company strategies;
- critically evaluate the effects of business
strategies on company performance and
consumer and social welfare;
- explain and give examples of the role of
economic policy in imperfect competitive
markets;
- relate theories that were introduced to real
world cases relevant to the food sector, analyze
and evaluate those cases and discuss policy
implications.
None Written
examination
[70%]
Project report
[30%]
6
- 43 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-120 Behavioral
Economics in Agri-
Food markets
L, S None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the concept of rational choice in
neoclassical economics and its shortcomings in
explaining human behavior in the real world;
- explain key concepts in behavioral economics,
such as bounded rationality, framing, anchoring
and endowment effects, status quo bias,
heuristics and cognitive errors, nudging, altruism,
fairness and reciprocity;
- describe how experiments are conducted in
behavioral economics and prepare an
experimental setup for a given research question;
- discuss ethics in behavioral economics, focusing
in particular on nudging and libertarian
paternalism;
- understand, present and discuss experimental
scientific papers;
- explain different methods of cognitive
neuroscience.
None Written
examination
[70%]
Presentation
[30%]
6
MAC-210 Advanced Methods
of Market and
Consumer Research
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- prepare data for subsequent statistical analysis;
- perform hypothesis testing using parametric and
non-parametric tests;
- perform empirical research applying the
method(s) taught in class;
- evaluate the analytic results obtained from
statistical software;
- identify appropriate research methods for a
research problem;
- understand methods from a theoretical point of
view;
- present and reflect on results obtained from
empirical analysis.
None Written
examination
[60%]
Project report
[40%]
6
- 44 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-220 Communication in
the Food Sector
L, S None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define and describe important
conceptualizations of communication research;
- identify and distinguish different models of
communication and give examples;
- explain different approaches and theories
related to (mass) media research;
- identify different marketing and advertising
strategies in the food sector and give examples;
- apply conceptual knowledge of communication
and perception theories and relate them to
marketing issues in the agricultural and food
sector and nutrition education policies;
- plan, organize and present their results.
None Written
examination
[70%]
Presentation
[30%]
6
MAC-230 Ethics in Food
Consumption and
Production
L, E, PS None D: 1
PRS: 1st
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe ethical theories and theories and
concepts related to responsible business conduct;
- explain ethical arguments and different views on
the role of businesses in society;
- summarize relevant empirical studies of
responsible/ethical conduct;
- apply relevant theories and concepts to ethical
issues in the food sector;
- critically assess ethical cases with relevance to
the food sector;
- perform their own assessment of a specific case
linked to the food sector;
- discuss and reflect on their own findings and
research performed by others;
- prepare a scientific presentation.
None Project report
[60%]
Assignment
[40%]
6
- 45 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
MAC-300 Seminar Markets and
Consumers
S* None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- recall relevant results from current research on
a selected topic;
- identify and explain theories and methods from
the fields of microeconomics, industrial
economics marketing and/or behavioral
economics relevant to a selected topic;
- autonomously apply theories and methods from
the fields of microeconomics, industrial
economics marketing and/or behavioral
economics relevant to a selected topic;
- derive testable hypotheses or research
questions from relevant theoretical models and
from a review of the relevant literature;
- acquire expertise in the collection of primary
data, identification of appropriate secondary data
and analysis of the data;
- discuss and reflect on their own findings and
research performed by others;
- write a scientific paper;
- prepare a scientific presentation;
- moderate a session.
None Term paper
[70%]
Presentation
[30%]
6
MAC-310 Special Project in
Market and
Consumer Research
PS Two MAC
modules with an
average grade
of 1.3 or better
D: 1
PRS: 2nd/3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- research a topic in the field of market and
consumer research;
- identify and explain theories and methods
relevant to their research project;
- apply appropriate theories and methods for
their research project;
- identify and select appropriate methods for data
analysis;
- select appropriate theories and methods for
their research project and evaluate their research
results;
- reflect on their own research results in relation
to the current state of research.
None Project report 6
- 46 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-230 Advanced Applied
Econometrics
L, E Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- correctly interpret excerpts from econometric
textbooks and articles;
- apply matrix algebra in the context of statistics;
- apply econometric methods to estimate
quantitative economic models derived from
economic theory;
- select appropriate econometric methods based
on an analysis of the data situation and research
question;
- correctly use and interpret the output from
econometric software packages.
None Assignment 6
MAC-330 Research Seminar in
Market and
Consumer Research
S* 48 ECTS CP D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- prepare a synthesis of the current state of
research in the field of their research project;
- select and understand appropriate theories for
their research project;
- know how to derive testable hypotheses or
research questions from relevant theoretical
models and a review of the relevant literature;
- use an appropriate methodology for their
research project;
- plan a research project;
- lead and moderate a scientific discussion;
- provide examples for a number of research
topics in the field and explain the results.
None Term paper
[67%]
Presentation
[33%]
6
- 47 -
Minor in Development Economics (DEV)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-240 Development
Economics
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- describe key concepts and the structure of
economic growth models and drivers of socio-
economic development;
- explain the role of institutions, labor
markets, migration and sustainable natural
resource management for economic
development;
- apply the concepts that have been learned
to the analysis of development polices;
- compare methods for researching
sustainable natural resource management
topics;
- evaluate empirical examples using case
studies;
- generalize lessons learned from case studies
to broader development issues.
None Written
examination
6
APO-260 Food Security and
Sustainable Food
Systems
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- define key terms related to food security
and sustainable diets;
- explain how food systems relate to the
different Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs);
- identify policy needs and analyze the
sustainability implications of specific
interventions;
- evaluate the arguments in the public debate
concerning sustainable agriculture and
nutrition;
- prepare and use dietary surveys and
nutrition assessment tools.
None Written
examination
6
- 48 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
ENV-130 Impact Evaluation of
Conservation &
Development Projects
and Environmental
Policies
L, E None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will
- know alternative quantitative evaluation
methods and their underlying assumptions;
- understand how different types of selection
effects impact development and conservation
initiatives;
- be able to apply selected evaluation
methods to real world problems;
- be able to critically interpret the findings
from evaluation studies.
None Assignment 6
- 49 -
Minor in Agroeconomic Modeling (MOD)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-220 Applied Modeling of
Agricultural Systems
Proj None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- apply a policy-related equilibrium model;
- analyze a real policy question using
quantitative tools;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their
use in the chosen and expanded equilibrium
model;
- summarize these impacts in a presentation
for the client and jointly document and
comment on them in a larger report.
None Seminar talk
[50%]
Report [50%]
6
APO-230 Advanced Applied
Econometrics
L, E Written
examination
must be passed
for module BAS-
110
D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- correctly interpret excerpts from
econometric textbooks and articles;
- apply matrix algebra in the context of
statistics;
- apply econometric methods to estimate
quantitative economic models derived from
economic theory;
- select appropriate econometric methods
based on an analysis of the data situation and
research question;
- correctly use and interpret the output from
econometric software packages.
None Assignment 6
- 50 -
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
APO-250 Partial and General
Equilibrium Modeling
L None D: 1
PRS: 2nd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of partial and
general equilibrium models and describe the
interactions within and between these
building blocks as expressed in their
equations;
- change equilibrium models in the software
package GAMS and perform counterfactual
analyses;
- use microeconomic theory, their knowledge
of agricultural and food markets and, more
generally, their knowledge of the economic
system to analyze the results of such models;
- assess the impact of policy changes on
quantities, prices and welfare based on their
use in equilibrium models;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
ENV-240 Bio-Economic Modeling
at Farm Scale
L None D: 1
PRS: 3rd
After completing the module, students will be
able to
- outline the building blocks of farm-scale
bioeconomic models and describe the
interactions within and between various sub-
systems in a farm as expressed in a formal
optimization model;
- write simple or more complex farm-scale
bioeconomic models in the software package
GAMS;
- use microeconomic theory to analyze the
results of such a model;
- evaluate the impact of drivers of farm
management decisions, such as changes in
input/output prices or farm-scale policies on
economic and environmental indicators
based on the application of a bioeconomic
model;
- provide a short report summarizing these
impacts in the term paper.
None Term paper 6
- 51 -
Free elective modules (Modules worth 0 to 12 ECTS CP can be chosen; modules that have already been completed in another elective area cannot be chosen.)
Up to 12 ECTS CP can be earned for free electives. Modules that can be chosen in this area are shown in the module guide. Modules from other degree programs at
the University of Bonn that have been approved by the examination board can also be chosen in this area (import modules). The examination board shall announce
the approved elective modules before the beginning of the semester. The examination board can approve other elective modules upon request by individual
students. The import modules are governed by the provisions of the examination regulations for the degree programs in which the modules are originally based.
Module
Number
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
fWP4 Free Elective Module(s) According
to the
modules
selected
According to
the modules
selected
According to
the modules
selected
Acquire interdisciplinary academic
competences according to the modules
selected
According to the
modules selected
According to
the modules
selected
Up to 12
ILR-01 Internship in Agricultural
and Food Economics
I None D: 1
PRS: 1st–3rd
Students learn to transfer and apply
theoretical knowledge in a typical
professional work environment for MSc
students and gain professional qualifications
in the form of practical experience.
Internship report,
presentation
None 6
- 52 -
Master’s thesis (30 ECTS CP; in accordance with § 4, para. 2, sentence 1 Option a.)
Module
Number/
Abbrevia
tion
Module Name Course
Type
Admission
Requirements
Duration/
Program-
Related
Semester
Subject (Content) of Examination and
Qualification Objective
Coursework Type of
Examination
ECTS
CP
M-401 Master’s Thesis Students must
be registered in
one of the
following
modules
depending on
the research
group of the
supervisor:
ABS-330,
ENV-330,
MAC-330 or
APO-330
and must have
completed at
least
60 ECTS CP.
D: 1
PRS: 4th
After completing the module, students will
be able to
- work independently and efficiently;
- handle feedback from supervisors;
- define a research question;
- build a sound theoretical and
methodological framework;
- collect data systematically and verifiably;
- analyze data critically and correctly;
- formulate sound conclusions based on a
comprehensive discussion of the results;
- write a comprehensive, consistent and
concise thesis.
Candidates shall have a minimum of two
and a maximum of six months for
completion.
None Master’s thesis 30
- 53 -
Annex 2: Procedure in accordance with § 3, para. 4 of these Examination Regulations for the aptitude
test for foreign applicants to the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food
Economics (AFECO) who are not given equivalent status to Germans by or based on
international treaties
I. General principles
(1) The admission requirements in § 3 of the Examination Regulations must be satisfied for admission to
the consecutive master’s degree program Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO). Under § 3, para. 4 of
the Examination Regulations, foreign applicants who are not given equivalent status to Germans by or based
on international treaties must pass a special aptitude test for university studies.
(2) This annex sets down the provisions governing the aptitude test for university studies specified in
para. 1.
(3) The objective of the procedure is to determine whether applicants have the aptitude necessary to be
expected to successfully graduate from the degree program.
(4) §§ 6 (Recognition of and granting credit for academic achievements), 8 (Examination board and exam
office), 9 (Examiners and assistant examiners), 31 (Access to examination records) and 32 (Invalidity of the
bachelor’s or master’s examination and revocation of the bachelor’s or master’s degree) of these
Examination Regulations shall apply accordingly.
II. Eligibility and application procedure/admission to the examination procedure
(1) Foreign applicants who satisfy the other admission requirements in § 3 of the Examination Regulations
or are expected to satisfy them in accordance with para. 5, sentence 2, can participate in the examination
procedure for the aptitude test for university studies specified in Part I, para. 3.
(2) Applications for admission to the examination procedure must be submitted electronically or in writing
in German or English using the application forms provided by the examination board. Admission takes place
each summer and winter semester. The application deadlines are January 15 and April 30, respectively. The
time of receipt of the electronic or written application by the University of Bonn determines whether the
application deadline has been met. The application deadline and issuing of the notices in Part VI shall be
coordinated with the enrollment deadline.
(3) The following documents shall be included in English in electronic or written form with the application:
1. Proof of formal qualification in accordance with § 3, para. 1 and 2 of the Examination Regulations or a
provisional certificate in accordance with para. 5, sentence 2
2. A completed admission application form
3. A curriculum vitae with a detailed description of prior education
4. Proof of English language proficiency in accordance with § 3, para. 3 of the Examination Regulations
(4) The chairperson of the examination board established in accordance with § 8 of the POO-LWF shall
make the decision on the application for admission to the examination procedure.
(5) Admission shall be rejected if the application is incomplete. If the documents specified in para. 3 are
not yet available at the time the application is submitted, a corresponding certificate from the university
concerned and list of the modules completed and their grades shall be sufficient for the application. The
applicant must submit formal proof immediately upon receipt.
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III. Performing the examination procedure
(1) The examination board formed in accordance with § 8 of the POO-LWF is responsible for organizing
and carrying out the examination procedure. The examination board shall hold discussions and make
decisions in closed meetings. It shall appoint a committee consisting of a chairperson and at least two other
members of the group of professors in the Institute for Food and Resource Economics to carry out the
procedure. Decisions shall be made by simple majority. In the event of a tie vote, the chairperson’s vote shall
be the deciding vote.
(2) The examination board appoints the examiners for the examination procedure. § 9 of the POO-LWF
applies accordingly.
IV. Examination procedure
(1) The application documents will be checked to determine the level of education achieved in the fields
of agribusiness management, agricultural economics, food and household economics, economics and
business administration in the first degree. Particular attention will be given to whether the applicant has the
knowledge in the following areas that is required for successfully completing the consecutive master’s degree
program Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO):
- Microeconomics
- Statistics
- Economics
The standard used shall be the level of knowledge reached in the Agricultural Sciences bachelor’s degree
program specializing in the Economics of the Agricultural and Food Sector or Agricultural Economics at the
University of Bonn at the end of the 5th program-related semester. The committee appointed by the
examination board decides whether the aptitude test for university studies must be taken in order to assess
the qualifications of the applicant based on the criteria above.
(2) Applicants who completed their bachelor’s studies in the Agricultural Sciences degree program
specializing in the Economics of the Agricultural and Food Sector or Agricultural Economics or in a related or
comparable degree program at another institution of higher education within the scope of the German Basic
Law or at an institution of higher education in a member state of the European Union or a state that has
ratified the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European
Region (Lisbon Recognition Convention) have already proven their aptitude for university studies and are
exempt from the test.
(3) Written examinations shall be a maximum of three hours in length. Oral examinations shall be a
maximum of one hour in length. Applicants who satisfy the admission requirements for the aptitude test for
university studies in Part II shall be notified in writing of the type of examination and examination date.
Examinations shall take place in English.
(4) § 13, para. 7 of the POO-LWF applies accordingly.
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V. Grading of examinations
(1) A point score is assigned for the written or oral examination. The highest possible score is 100 points.
The assessment is considered passed if a score of at least 50 points is achieved.
(2) Applicants who try to influence the outcome of a written examination through deception or the use of
inadmissible auxiliary means shall receive an overall score of “0” (zero) points on the written examination. If
a proctor determines that such deception has taken place, the applicant can request that the examination
board review the decision.
(3) Written examinations shall be graded by two examiners. The two examiners assign separate point
scores for the examination. The overall score for the paper is calculated as the arithmetic average of the
individual scores assigned by the two examiners.
(4) The oral examination shall be conducted by several examiners or a single examiner as an individual or
group interview in the presence of a competent assistant examiner (§ 9, para. 1 of the POO-LWF). If the
examination is only conducted by a single examiner, the examiner shall hear the assistant examiner in private
prior to setting a grade.
(5) Otherwise, § 13, para. 7 of the POO-LWF shall apply accordingly.
VI. Notification of the results and repetition of the examination procedure
(1) Candidates shall be informed of their results on the oral examination immediately following the
examination. The examination board shall also notify the applicant in writing of the results of the
examination. If the notice indicates a negative decision, it must include information on legal remedies. The
reasons for the negative decision must be included.
(2) Applicants who do not pass the examination procedure may repeat the examination on the date in the
following semester at the earliest; a new application is required. A second repetition is not possible.
VII. Students who change the location of their studies
For students who change the location of their studies and were previously enrolled in a master’s degree
program in the field of agricultural economics or a comparable degree program at another institution of
higher education, the examination board shall assess their individual qualifications, including an examination
procedure if one was performed. If the examination board decides that the degree program and examination
procedure are equivalent, the applicant will be exempt from participating in the examination procedure at
the University of Bonn.
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