Master / Postgraduate in Agricultural Biotechnology
Key Points
Successful master’s graduates will have in-depth knowledge, understanding and experience of the use and potential of biotechnology in agriculture, including animal genetics, nutrition and health, crop and feed production, sustainable food and energy production, genetic engineering and bioremediation.
The aim of the master’s course is to produce graduates with in-depth knowledge, understanding, and experience of the use and potential of biotechnology in agriculture, including:
- Animal genetics
- Nutrition and health
- Crop and feed production
- Genetic engineering
- Sustainable food and energy production
- Bioinformatics and bioremediation
Graduates will be familiar with all aspects of policy and legislation relating to this field and will be able to assess the ethical, social, biosafety, and policy implications of existing and emerging technologies. They will be proficient in all relevant numerical and data acquisition methods and have advanced research and communication skills.
Career options
There are many job prospects for graduates of these programs, with previous graduates obtaining employment in a variety of sectors. Possible jobs include:
- Research positions in Teagasc, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or third level institutions;
- Auditors or inspectors of the agri-food sector;
- Quality management / quality assurance functions in the agri-food industry;
- Scientists / Laboratory Analysts;
- Food product development scientists.
Graduates can progress to research doctoral programs at DkIT or other institutions.
Delivery of the Program
The Master’s course is available in full-time mode (2 days per week) or part-time mode (1 day per week for 2 years), followed by the research project.
The course includes a combination of classroom and hands-on activities. Learning and teaching methods will include lectures, tutorials, master classes, group discussions, laboratory practices, industrial and agricultural visits, computational analysis, and individual and group project work.
Program structure
The Master’s course consists of 8 taught modules and a research project. The Graduate Diploma is made up of only the 8 modules taught. The modules include
- Animal genetics
- Biotechnology in animal feed
- GIS, data management and statistics
- Bioinformatics
- Bioremediation and bioenergy
- Animal biotechnology
- Food biotechnology
- Crop biotechnology
- Environmental Biotechnology Project
- Food and Feed Biotechnology Project
- Animal biotechnology project
Admission requirements
- The minimum standard entry requirement is to have a minimum qualification of Level 7 or 8 in the area of agriculture, agricultural science, environmental science, biotechnology, food science or a related area.
- Applicants who do not meet these requirements, but have relevant work experience, may be screened for entry in accordance with the DkIT RPL Policy and Procedures.
- For international students, an official degree translated into English will be required.
- IELTS 6.5 (or its internationally recognized equivalent).
Who should apply
- Graduates who are currently working in the areas of Agriculture, Environment and Food Sciences who wish to advance at the managerial level.
- Graduates who want to be equipped with scientific and agricultural knowledge and skills to succeed in the emerging technology-driven agricultural biotechnology industry.
- Graduates interested in integrating the most up-to-date advances in food production, agriculture and biotechnologies in a sustainable and low-carbon way.
- Graduates who are interested in learning how biotechnology can offer sustainable solutions to many of the problems facing agriculture today.
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