Teaching Excellence

The quality of undergraduate teaching at Harper Adams has been independently assessed as being one of the best in the higher education sector. The same academic staff teach postgraduates, supervise research students, and publish their research at conferences and in leading journals. Many also undertake research and consultancy for companies and organisations in the United Kingdom, keeping themselves at the forefront of current practice.

Modular structure

Full-time taught courses last one year and are delivered as a series of modules starting at the end of September or beginning of October. Some modules are common across all courses or groups of courses. Modules are generally worth 15 credits. This represents 150 hours of study time required to complete the module from start to finish.

Each module is taught as an intensive short course, with a maximum of five days per 15-credit module, with approximately 35 hours of contact time. The remaining 115 hours are for you to undertake further reading in your own time, complete tutorial exercises, undertake written assignments and if required, to prepare for an exam. However, modules that are worth 30 credits (300 hours) are taught as two blocks of five days duration.

Individual course materials will be supplied which are made up of a combination of text, tutorial exercises and readings including up-to-date extracts from relevant publications.

How many credits do I need?

For the majority of courses 60 credits are required for a PgC and 120 credits for a PgD. The MSc is earned by submitting a major project (60 credits), in addition to the successful completion of the modules specified for the PgD. The only exception is PgD REALM, for which you will need 180 credits over 12 taught modules.

Major projects can be carried out in conjunction with industry or other research institutes away from Harper Adams. Projects are submitted in August and graduation takes place in September. Our PgD and MSc qualification should be completed within 12 months full-time or up to four years part-time, although most students take between two and three years.

Assessment

Modules are assessed mainly through written assignments, usually based on realistic scenarios and situations. However, some modules include written examinations. Tutor support is always available via appointment, e-mail or telephone for the duration of the course. For the MSc, in consultation with their supervisor, students complete a research project on a topic of their own choice of between 12,000 and 20,000 words, which is sometimes carried out as a period of paid research or employment.