Postgraduate Taught Programme: Land Economy (Rural Surveying, RICS accredited)

Aims

Land Economy (Rural Surveying/Rural Property Management) is concerned with the management of land and its resources, rural businesses and their associated activities and interests.

The programme provides a range of knowledge and skills e.g. land management, public policy, law, planning, economics, and valuation, integrated to meet the future challenges facing landowners and land managers. Understanding of traditional land management (agriculture, forestry, sporting) and emerging land uses (environmental and conservation activities, countryside access and leisure, steading conversions, telecommunication masts and wind turbines) is combined with an understanding of the business skills necessary for successful decision-making and rural business management. As a rural land and business manager the student/graduate is concerned not only with practical land management but also with the financial, legal, planning, and policy contexts within which decisions are made and business interests managed.

Reasons to Study Land Economy at Aberdeen 

• The Only RICS accredited programme of its kind in Scotland
• Most of our students gain employment within a short period of graduating
• Teaching staff includes Professional Rural Practitioners
• Access to a wide range of highland and lowland estates and properties for field visits and practical work
• Includes a week-long project in southern or central Europe
• Small group teaching
• Close links with the RICS (Rural and Environmental Faculties)

Requirements

Our minimum entry requirement for this programme is a UK Honours degree (or an honours degree from a non-UK institution which is judged by the University to be of equivalent worth) at a 2:2 (lower second) class or above.

Mature students who do not meet the minimum entry requirement but who have appropriate professional experience will also be considered. Applicants should note that irrespective of your initial registration (Diploma or Masters) the qualification awarded on completion of the programme is dependent upon your performance during the year.

It is important when submitting an application that you ensure you have completed all the necessary sections and enclosed all the relevant documentation to ensure that your application can be processed as quickly as possible.

Even if you have been educated in the medium of English you must meet our English Language requirements. These are located at www.abdn.ac.uk/sras/international/english.shtml. This programme requires that you meet the 'Postgraduate Standard' level of English proficiency. If you are in doubt about your proficiency in English, contact the British Council office or its equivalent in your country. If your first language is not English, it is important that your proficiency in English is good in order for you to study successfully at the University of Aberdeen . Without this ability you will find great difficulty in understanding lectures, producing written work and sitting examinations.

We have one intake each year in September. Late applications may be asked to wait until the next intake should the programme coordinator feel there is insufficient time to consider the application. Prospective students who require a visa to study in the UK are advised to apply as early in the year as possible to secure a place. Applications received after 30th June from students who need to apply for a visa to study in the UK will not be processed for entry in September of that year but may be considered for entry the following year as appropriate.

It is important to note that the programmes of postgraduate study at the University of Aberdeen are very competitive and the entry requirements stated are a guide to the minimum requirements, but do not guarantee entry.

Syllabus

• Land and Environmental Economics
• Agriculture, Forestry and Valuation
• Introduction to Rural Policy
  
• Planning Land and Environmental Law
• Land Use and Valuation
  
• Rural Business Management
• Rural Policy in Practice
  
• Research Methods
• Dissertation (Masters students only)

Assessment

Courses are assessed via coursework and formal examinations. There are two diets of examinations: January and May, normally four courses examined at each diet. As you progress greater emphasis is placed on the application of knowledge and skills, project work increases and examinations are fewer. Projects focus on local estates, rural businesses, and farms and are designed to incorporate the types of task expected in the workplace.

Teaching

Highly qualified and motivated staff will teach you, including those with considerable practical experience. A variety of teaching and assessment methods are used. All courses involve lectures, tutorials, seminars and project work although the relative balance varies as you progress through the programme. Courses typically involve two or three hours of lectures and one small group tutorial/seminar per week. There are half-day, whole day, and three day field visits (for example, to Highland estates) for general experience and in relation to specific projects. These regularly involve leading practitioners in the field.

Project-work includes a mix of individual and group exercises. Residential field visits include a European field course. In recent years visits have been made to Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

Funding

Prospective students should visit the University's Postgraduate Funding Database, the University Funding Pages.and the College's Funding Pages.

University of Aberdeen Alumni Discount Scheme
The University of Aberdeen is very pleased to offer a 20% discount on postgraduate tuition fees for all alumni who have graduated with a degree from the University of Aberdeen. The Alumni Discount Scheme applies to both home and overseas students, and applies to the self-funding element of the postgraduate tuition fee. This is the element of tuition fee which you are paying yourself and does not cover the element of tuition fee which is covered by a scholarship, funding body, your employer, a company, or any another source of funding. The Alumni Discount applies only to the tuition fee element and does not apply to any other costs such as additional programme costs or research costs. More Information can be here.

Other Sources
The University of Aberdeen also has a list of International Scholarships & Bursaries.

Careers

The MLE (Rural Surveying) programme is designed for graduates from any discipline. It is the only programme of its kind in Scotland accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Graduates therefore have the option of entering a career in chartered surveying (Rural or Environmental Faculties) having already made progress towards their APC. Career options include such areas as land agency, estate management, countryside management, and rural policy and development. Diploma and Masters graduates in Rural Surveying are particularly highly sought-after by the leading land agency firms throughout the UK: Smiths-Gore, Strutt and Parker, Bidwells, Savills, and Edwin Thompson to name but a few. Many of these firms visit the Department as part of their annual recruitment strategy. Other graduates have secured employment with landed estates (Buccleuch Estates, Moray Estates, Strathmore Estates, Dunecht Estates), conservation bodies (SNH, RSPB) and public authorities (National Parks, Local Authorities).

Fees

Information on tuition fees, including the current fee level, can be found on the University Registry website.

PLEASE NOTE: In accepting an offer for this programme you should be aware that the University makes an additional training charge over and above the standard tuition fee. In 2011/12 this charge will be £1,000. Part-time students will be charged pro rata. Students will also be expected to cover the costs of travel to residential field work destinations.

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