Agricultural Enterprise Management

Course overview

Continue your agricultural development whilst in employment and progress your career into a management role. Gain knowledge, skills and a globally recognised qualification.

Become a business leader

Management theories and practices used in running diverse farm enterprises are vital to business success and are highly transferable. You’ll focus on the application of these traits as you meet modern industry demands and join the next generation of agriculturalists.

A dual approach to learning

Due to the nature of the course, you’ll already need to be working within agriculture to secure a place on the course.

You’ll combine your studies with your existing role in industry to allow you to apply the knowledge and understanding you gain through our taught modules in real-world settings. Your experiences will be captured in a portfolio that you can use within your assessment.

Making the most of your resources

You'll engage with sessions led by our expert lecturers, who have significant industry management experience. Develop your skills using our world-class facilities, including our award-winning 400-hectare commercial farm and government-backed £2million Agri-Tech Centre.

To allow you to combine your studies with work, taught content will take place in blocks each month on the Hartpury campus.

Membership to IAgrM

On enrolment on to the course, you’ll have the opportunity to become a student member of the Institute of Agricultural Management. This will help you to develop your practice and network with managers within the industry.

What you'll study

Professional CertHE Agricultural Enterprise Management

Through five compulsory modules, you’ll develop your management skills within agricultural enterprises. You’ll advance your understanding of industry research and business planning through engagement with our industry-experienced lecturers, guest speakers, and local and national agricultural businesses. There will also be opportunities to engage with innovative agricultural technologies through our Agri-Tech Centre and the commercial enterprises at our award-winning commercial farm, Home Farm.

Key industry areas

You’ll explore the fundamental areas of enterprise management including animal welfare, farm assurance, labour relations, finance, machinery procurement and the legislation that underpins how individual enterprises are managed to ensure physical and financial success. You’ll have opportunities to learn how to plan, implement and monitor strategies within enterprises, build budgets and undertake relevant accounting processes. You’ll explore reflective practice and how it can be utilised effectively within your role to support your professional development.

Learning the business

You'll develop your knowledge and understanding of how economic principles impact on farming decisions and how UK farming engages with the global market. You'll also acquire the attributes to budget for and fund enterprise development, build cash flow projections and monitor performance through accounting processes.

In years one and two, modules focusing on enterprise management practice will enable you to evidence the application of your knowledge and understanding within your individual role and farm enterprise, through the completion of a portfolio of evidence. This portfolio of your professional practice within enterprise management will focus on your development through reflective practice and discussion with your lecturers and employer.

Below you’ll find the compulsory modules for the Professional Certificate of Higher Education in Agricultural Enterprise Management.

Please visit our document library for more module information.

How you'll study

The course will run over two years and you’ll be required to attend in person on the first Wednesday of the month for nine months of the academic year (October to June). In addition to on-site attendance, there will be online content for one hour a week on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Wednesday evenings of the month.

Each year will include a period of 44 hours of professional practice, carried out with your workplace, and you’ll complete 60 credits in each year. Delivery will be face-to-face at Hartpury and will utilise the farm, Agri-Tech Centre facilities on campus and guest speakers within teaching and learning. The programme manager will engage with you within your workplace to further support development and assessment.

Your support network

You'll benefit from a strong support network from day one. This will range from your lecturers, supervisors and personal tutor to our specialist academic (Achievement and Success Centre), employability (Innovation, Careers and Enterprise) and wellbeing teams. These are available both on-site and virtually.

Your learning experiences

You'll experience a range of teaching methods to strengthen your understanding of topics, including lectures, seminars, practical sessions and guest speakers.

Further details

Tuition fees and financial support

Tuition fees are £4,000 for the 60 credits studied in each of the two years, a total cost of £8,000.

Please visit our finance pages for further information on tuition fees and student loans, as well as non-repayable grants, bursaries and scholarships, eligible to different groups, to support with study costs.

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Additional costs

Students must be able to access the internet reliably to support the scheduled online activities and independent learning. This may involve the student experiencing costs to upgrade their current internet and technology solutions. Travelling to Hartpury for scheduled onsite sessions is to be paid for by the student. If a student has a concern about any of these costs they should visit our finance pages for information on student loans and grants, bursaries and scholarships, to investigate what support may be available to them. 

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