Global Environment and Development

""
Global Environment and Development
Scheda del corso
A.A. 2024/2025
Laurea magistrale
interateneo Uniwersytet Warszawski (Poland), University of Copenhagen (UCPH)
LM-69 - SCIENZE E TECNOLOGIE AGRARIE
Laurea magistrale
120
Crediti
Accesso
Programmato
2
Anni
Sede
Copenaghen, Milano, Varsavia
Lingua
Inglese
International title
Joint Degree
Global Environment and Development (MERGED) is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master (https://merged.info/).
The course aims to create globally competitive graduates that can identify critical aspects of sustainable natural resource management for economic, environmental, institutional, and societal development in both the global south and the global north and develop sustainable, appropriate, and feasible solutions. The programme will educate high-quality digitally-competent graduates to become professionals in private and public companies, I/NGOs, government bodies, and research institutions. Through interdisciplinary and disciplinary, multicultural real-life experiences and laboratory experiments, students will learn to identify, analyse, understand, and forecast complex systems. MERGES provides two curricula: in Agricultural Development (at the university of Milano) or in Sustainable Environmental Development (at the university of Warsaw).
The MERGED graduate with a specialization in Agricultural Development is an innovative professional figure, equipped with a solid technical-scientific culture, a broad multidisciplinary vision of the environmental and agricultural system and a high operational preparation to manage economic and productive activities related to agriculture and natural resources in a global framework and long-term sustainability. The figure can operate in international contexts, both in the North and in the South of the world.
The MERGED professional figure in Sustainable Environmental Development is equipped with the ability to interpret the principles and processes that inform sustainable development on a global level from an economic, sociological, and legal point of view.
During the first year at the University of Copenhagen the student acquires skills also through practical and interdisciplinary courses, which include training visits in other continents. During the second year at the university of Milano the subjects offered are dealing with interdisciplinary disciplines of natural, environmental, and territorial resource management; disciplines of animal production; engineering disciplines and biosystem design; disciplines of the sustainability of crop production. The student refines his/her knowledge in the field of sustainability for agricultural systems, in particular by acquiring: a) knowledge with a strong applicative nature, based on case studies in real scenarios, on a global scale; b) skills with a technical and quantitative slant, based on scientific knowledge and acquisitions and on the applications of technological innovations. During the second year at the university of Warsaw, the students acquire a socio-economic and legal perspective on environmental issues from a global perspective. The aim is to allow the student to master the tools to be used in the analysis of the sustainability of the global environmental development.
As a consequence of the knowledge and skills acquired, the graduates in Global Environment and development:
- have a solid technical and cultural preparation, a multidisciplinary and global vision, and a good command of the scientific methods of the sciences of environmental and agricultural sustainability
- have in-depth knowledge of the qualitative criteria and quantitative methods necessary to plan, evaluate, and manage agricultural production systems and processes in a sustainable way, integrating the technical, economic, regulatory and environmental aspects, in a global context
- know how to formulate and apply quantitative assessments using conceptual models and IT tools, to animal and plant production and to choose the most suitable and sustainable technologies
- know how to manage the global climate change challenges to the management of water resources
- know how to manage the technical and economic quality of products and processed products in the plant and animal production chains, to be able to operate in support of regulatory policies with governmental and non-governmental bodies, and private companies.
Expert, manager and consultant of policies and rural and environmental development in private companies, public administration and public bodies with international interests, and international organizations (governmental and non-governmental) in the agro-food sector.
In the private sector, the graduate can take on the organization, evaluation and management of the interaction between agri-environmental activities and systems.
In the public sector, the graduate supports administrations on environmental and territorial policies, especially on issues related to sustainable husbandry and agricultural engineering. The international bodies are a preferred career opportunity provider.
MERGED graduates can disseminate, within institutions, the principles of environmental sustainability, promote a culture oriented towards safety and the protection of the agricultural environment, also through the awareness of public opinion.

Skills associated with the function
Those who complete the MERGED study path are able to carry out analyses, evaluations and monitoring of natural, territorial and environmental resources, carrying out environmental impact studies with tools deriving from social sciences, economics, law, agricultural business management and environmental planning. These tools are made available through the first-year interdisciplinary courses. The skills allow to operate in interdisciplinary and diversified contexts (such as those outlined by the European Green Deal and similar policies) and/or continue the studies with further masters and courses. Those who complete MERGED can contribute to: implementing and certifying environmental management systems in rural areas; carry out interventions on the production of goods and services to improve environmental quality; plan and implement interventions for the prevention of environmental risks, increasing safety, especially in agriculture.
The professional trained by MERGED has a holistic vision and can synthesize complex ideas and concepts deriving from the analysis of the agricultural reality at a global level.
Employment opportunities
The skills acquired allow to work in companies and organizations that operate - even globally - in the green economy and bioeconomy; in professional studies dealing with territorial analyses, agricultural environmental impact assessment, resource management in rural environments. Those who complete the MERGED study cycle find employment in the public administration and in local public bodies; in supranational organizations; in universities or research institutes (in Italy, such as CNR, ENEA, CREA, State Technical Services, National and Regional Agencies and Bodies for the Environment and the Territory, Parks and Protected Areas, Watershed Authority, Technical Services and Regional, Provincial and Municipal Departments, Land Reclamation and Irrigation Consortia, Mountain Communities and Mountain Watershed Consortia). Furthermore, they can work at NGOs globally, where they are able to understand and design the development of agricultural systems even under conditions of climate change.
The master's degrees of the LM-69 class allow to obtain the qualification for the profession of doctor of agronomy which can be accessed after a qualifying exam.
MERGED is a master based on international mobility, as it requires the student to complete the first year at the university of Copenhagen and the second year either at the university of Milano or at the university of Warsaw. The thesis work can be completed at a foreign university.
Competitive fellowships are available from ERASMUS MUNDUS program.
The participation costs for EU (Erasmus+ Programme Country) students for the two-year MERGED programme are set at euro 0/year.
For the two-year edition 2023-2024/2024-2025, the participation costs for Non-EU (Erasmus+ Partner Country) students are set at euro 9,000/year.
Students selected for an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship will automatically be granted a tuition waiver. Student with scholarship will be granted: Full coverage of participation costs, consisting of tuition fee, tutoring fee, and insurance. The fellowship includes the following costs: enrolment; registration; access to mandatory and elective modules; the optional language courses to be taken locally and all other participation costs for curriculum activities (excursions, fieldwork, etc.).
Lesson attendance is strongly suggested.
Immatricolazione
Requirements and knowledge required for access
Admission to MERGED requires possession of a three-year degree, or other educational qualification recognized as equivalent, after verification by the MERGED Commission of the curricular requirements, based on the documentation produced by the candidate.
English is the official language of MERGED. Level C1 is required by UCPH where the student enrolls. English knowledge should be documented as follows:
- holding a full degree (minimum 2 years of fulltime studies) in English (i.e. a secondary school diploma, Bachelor's degree or Master's degree from USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK or Ireland) exempts the candidate from the language requirement
- if not exempted, the candidate should provide an English language test:
IELTS Academic (6.5 overall test score). Only the overall score will be considered
TOEFL iBT (83), TOEFL iBT paper edition or TOEFL iBT Home Edition
Cambridge Advanced English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) passed at level C1 or C2.

MERGED is an international course that can be accessed by students who have completed three-year degree courses from different university systems. The range of disciplines is wide because the nature of the CdL is strongly interdisciplinary, and its teaching capacity depends on the presence of students with various backgrounds. Furthermore, students can undertake two paths with distinct characteristics, and which benefit from different starting skills.
For students coming from foreign universities, the following disciplinary areas are considered eligible: Agriculture, Agronomy, Agrobiology, Agricultural Economics, Forestry, Animal Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, Food and Nutrition, Food Science, Geography, Geology, Geoinformatics, Landscape Architecture, Natural Resources, Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology, Development Studies, Rural Development, Economics, Interdisciplinary Economic-managerial studies, Environmental Science, Natural Science.
For graduates from Italian universities, the following degree classes are considered eligible: L-2 (Biotechnology), L-13 (Biological Sciences), L-18 (Economics and Business Management), L- 21 (Sciences of territorial, urban, landscape and environmental planning), L-25 (Agricultural and forestry sciences and technologies), L-26 (Agri-food sciences and technologies), L-32 (Sciences and technologies for the environment and nature), L-36 (Political sciences and international relations), L-37 (Social sciences for cooperation, development and peace), L-38 (Zootechnical sciences and animal production technologies). Students from different Italian degrees can access if they have acquired at least 60 credits in the following disciplinary scientific sector, grouped by affinity:
Disciplines of engineering applied to agriculture and the environment (at least 14 credits)
AGR/08 Idraulica agraria
AGR/09 Meccanica agraria
AGR/10 Costruzioni rurali
ING-IND/11 Fisica tecnica ambientale
ING-IND/06 Fluidodinamica
Disciplines of agricultural production (at least 14 credits)
AGR/02 Agronomia e coltivazioni erbacee
AGR/03 Arboricoltura generale e coltivazioni arboree
AGR/04 Orticoltura e floricoltura
AGR/05 Assestamento forestale e selvicoltura
AGR/12 Patologia vegetale
AGR/19 Zootecnica speciale
AGR/20 Zoocolture
Disciplines of fertility, conservation and soil study (at least 10 ECTS)
AGR/13 Chimica agraria
AGR/14 Pedologia
BIO/04 Fisiologia vegetale
GEO/05 Geologia applicata
Economics-management and data analysis disciplines (at least 10 credits)
AGR/01 Economia ed estimo rurale
SECS-S/01 Statistica
SECS-S/02 Statistica per la ricerca sperimentale
SECS-S/03 Statistica economica
SECS-S/05 Statistica sociale
SPS/10 Sociologia dell'ambiente e del territorio
Biological, chemical and physical disciplines (at least 6 ECTS)
BIO/01 Biologia molecolare
BIO/07 Ecologia
BIO/08 Antropologia
BIO/13 Biologia applicata
FIS/07 Fisica applicata
CHIM/12 Chimica dell'ambiente e dei beni culturali
Disciplines of genetic improvement (at least 6 credits)
AGR/07 Genetica agraria
AGR/17 Zootecnica generale e miglioramento genetico

English is the official language of MERGED and prior to enrolment, knowledge of the English language equal to level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference or equivalent is required. Those in possession of a qualification obtained abroad, recognized as suitable, can also access, provided they demonstrate that they possess the necessary skills to profitably follow their studies. The verification of personal preparation will take place at the same time as the selection by an international panel of the Course, the Commission, which is responsible for this evaluation.
The requirements specifically requested by UW are listed in the MERGED website and in the UW website (https://merged.info/index.php/application-procedure/).
The course has limited access and the number of places available for enrollment in the first year for each cohort is 40. Access to the course is regulated by the evaluation - by an international panel of the course (Commission) - of documentation including the academic curriculum. A motivation letter and references will contribute to better calibrate the didactic compatibility of the student with MERGED.

Applications for admission are managed by the University of Copenhagen

Manifesto ed elenco insegnamenti
annuale
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua SSD
Facoltativo
Entrepreneurship and innovation 7 88 Inglese AGR/01
Primo semestre
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua SSD
Obbligatorio
Global challenges in environment and development 8 96 Inglese AGR/02 AGR/03 AGR/04
Quantitative and qualitative methods in environment and development 7 88 Inglese AGR/01
Facoltativo
Advanced crop production 8 96 Inglese AGR/02
Agroforestry 8 96 Inglese AGR/03
Applied insect ecology and biological control 7 88 Inglese AGR/12
Applied statistics 7 88 Inglese AGR/02
Climate change and land use 7 88 Inglese AGR/02
Climate management in plant production and research 8 96 Inglese AGR/02
Plant nutrition and soil fertility 8 96 Inglese AGR/13
Tropical crop production 7 88 Inglese AGR/02
Secondo semestre
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua SSD
Obbligatorio
Practicing interdisciplinarity: field research on the environment 15 176 Inglese AGR/02 AGR/03 AGR/04
Facoltativo
Agricultural value chains in developing countries 7 88 Inglese AGR/01
Environmental impact assessment 8 96 Inglese AGR/02
Global environmental governance 7 88 Inglese AGR/01
Land use and environmental modelling 7 88 Inglese AGR/02
Plant ecophysiology in a changing climate 7 88 Inglese AGR/13
Plant genome editing and selection 7 88 Inglese AGR/07
Tropical forest restoration 7 88 Inglese AGR/02
Regole di composizione
- I year - elective teachings at University of Copenaghen (UCPH) for the mobility track AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT - University of Milan (UMIL): choose 30 ECTS
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua Periodo SSD
Entrepreneurship and innovation 7 88 Inglese annuale AGR/01
Advanced crop production 8 96 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/02
Agroforestry 8 96 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/03
Applied insect ecology and biological control 7 88 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/12
Applied statistics 7 88 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/02
Climate change and land use 7 88 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/02
Climate management in plant production and research 8 96 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/02
Plant nutrition and soil fertility 8 96 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/13
Tropical crop production 7 88 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/02
Agricultural value chains in developing countries 7 88 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/01
Environmental impact assessment 8 96 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/02
Global environmental governance 7 88 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/01
Land use and environmental modelling 7 88 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/02
Plant ecophysiology in a changing climate 7 88 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/13
Plant genome editing and selection 7 88 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/07
Tropical forest restoration 7 88 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/02
Primo semestre
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua SSD
Obbligatorio
Laboratory in sustainability of agricultural mechanization 6 68 Inglese AGR/09
Laboratory in sustainability of livestock systems 7 64 Inglese AGR/19
Laboratory in sustainability of water management 6 60 Inglese AGR/08
Facoltativo
Agricultural systems and soil science 6 48 Inglese AGR/02
Bioeconomy: management, assessment and intellectual property 6 56 Inglese AGR/01
Natural resource economics 6 48 Inglese AGR/01
Secondo semestre
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua SSD
Facoltativo
Environmental plant biotechnology 6 56 Inglese AGR/13
International cooperation and crop-livestock systems 6 56 Inglese AGR/18
Land planning and life cycle assessment 6 52 Inglese AGR/10
Plants as biofactories 6 56 Inglese AGR/07
Statistical methods for the environmental research 6 64 Inglese AGR/02
Periodo non definito
Per queste attività non è previsto un periodo di offerta (es. corsi online a frequenza libera).
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua SSD
Obbligatorio
Practical/experimental internship 17 0 Italiano
Facoltativo
Additional internship 3 0 Inglese
Additional language skills: italian (3 ECTS) 3 0 Italiano
Merged intra-semester workshop 3 24 Inglese
Attività conclusive
Per queste attività non è previsto un periodo di offerta (es. corsi online a frequenza libera).
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua SSD
Obbligatorio
Final exam 7 0 Inglese
Regole di composizione
- II year - elective teachings at University of Milan (UMIL) for the mobility track AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: choose 6 ECTS
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua Periodo SSD
Agricultural systems and soil science 6 48 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/02
Bioeconomy: management, assessment and intellectual property 6 56 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/01
Natural resource economics 6 48 Inglese Primo semestre AGR/01
Environmental plant biotechnology 6 56 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/13
International cooperation and crop-livestock systems 6 56 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/18
Land planning and life cycle assessment 6 52 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/10
Plants as biofactories 6 56 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/07
Statistical methods for the environmental research 6 64 Inglese Secondo semestre AGR/02
- To obtain the degree, those who do not hold an Italian high school diploma or bachelor's degree must demonstrate proficiency in Italian at the A2 or higher level per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This level must be demonstrated prior to completing the course programme in one of the following ways:
- by submitting a certificate of A2 or higher level issued no more than three years prior to the date of submission. You will find the list of language certificates recognized by the University at: https://www.unimi.it/en/node/349/). The language certificate must be submitted to the University Language Centre (SLAM) via the Language Test category of the InformaStudenti service: https://informastudenti.unimi.it/saw/ess?AUTH=SAML;
- via a entry-level test administrated by SLAM that can only be taken only once.
Those who fail to reach A2 level will have to attend a 60-hour Italian course geared to their level.
Those who do not take the entry-level test or fail to pass the end-of-course test after six attempts will have to obtain language certification privately in order to earn the 3 credits of Additional language skills: Italian.
Italian students must acquire an additional 3 credits in activities dedicated to thesis work.
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua Periodo SSD
Additional internship 3 0 Inglese Periodo non definito
Additional language skills: italian (3 ECTS) 3 0 Italiano Periodo non definito
- STUDENTS HAVE TO CHOOSE FREE-CHOICE COURSES FOR 8 ECTS.
A further 8 credits derive from free-choice courses, including 3 ECTS from the intra-semester workshop. The workshop is a strongly suggested, EU funded, interdisciplinary activity for all students, i.e. students from the university of Milano and from the university of Warsaw. The teaching tutors support students in selecting the elective courses.
Attività formative Crediti Ore totali Lingua Periodo SSD
Merged intra-semester workshop 3 24 Inglese Periodo non definito
Altre informazioni
Sede
Copenaghen, Milano, Varsavia
Presidente del Collegio didattico
Tutor per l'orientamento
Tutor per la mobilità internazionale e l'Erasmus
Tutor per i piani di studio
Tutor per stage e tirocini
Tutor per laboratori e altre attività
Tutor per tesi di laurea
Tutor per trasferimenti
Tutor per ammissioni lauree magistrali
Tutor per riconoscimento crediti
Referente AQ del corso di studio
Contatti