Postgraduate Certificate/Postgraduate Diploma/MSc Plant Health and Biosecurity
Institution(s): Harper Adams University
Website: https://www.harper-adams.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/201156/plant-health-and-biosecurity
Contact e-mail: sedwards@harper-adams.ac.uk
Course duration: 2+ years (part-time)
Course start date (2022): September 19th
Number of students admitted to course per annum and number/proportion studying plant health or crop science: 5-10 (100% plant health)
Application deadline(s): 1st July (international students); 1st September (UK students); 30th June normal deadline for BSPP bursaries
Admissions criteria: BSc (Hons) 2:2 or equivalent work experience
Type of funding available: BSPP Bursary £4000
Course description: The course is intended to provide students with a detailed understanding of basic plant pathology and the application of this science to control current plant pests and pathogens, to reduce the introduction on invasive pests and pathogens and to minimise their impact when introduced. This course is primarily aimed at Plant Health and Seed Inspectors within Defra but will also benefit others working in Defra Plant Health and staff in industry with responsibility for plant biosecurity. The PgC is a blended learning course where each module is delivered as 60% online over a six week period followed by two days of face to face delivery on campus. The PgC course is strongly aligned to the competencies of the Royal Society of Biology Plant Health Professional Register. Students can progress to PgD or MSc by completing a further four modules from the suite of plant pathology and entomology courses (PgD and MSc) and a research project (MSc only).
Potential Supervisors: Dr Martin Hare, Dr Tom Pope, Dr Joe Roberts, Dr Matthew Back, Prof Dawn Arnold, Prof Simon Edwards. There is also potential to conduct projects at a research institute (eg Forest Research)
Examples of career paths followed by graduates from this course: These courses are aimed at those already employed in the plant heath sector (Defra Plant Health, Fera Sciences, SASA, Forestry Agencies). Graduates gain evidence of their competencies as a Plant Health Professional facilitating further career progression.
