From Dipl. Ing.-Agr. ETH to MSc ETH Agr

Around the year 2000, the Agricultural Sciences degree programme was revised in the course of the Bologna Reform processes. The programme was transformed from an engineering programme (leading to the degree of Dipl. Ing.-Agr. ETH) into a field of study with two consecutive courses. The first three-year Bachelor’s programme started in October 2004, followed two years later by the initially 1.5-year consecutive Master’s programme.

A six-month internship, which at the time of the engineering degree programme was completed as the fourth semester of study on a farm, was cancelled. Instead, a seven-week internship on a mixed farm (plant and animal production) was introduced, which was to be completed during the semester break at any time and, if necessary, also divided into two sections in the course of the Bachelor’s programme.

The first year of study was organised in such a way that most of the courses were to be taken together with the students of the other three systems-oriented natural sciences. In the further course of the Bachelor’s programme, students were given great freedom of choice in taking courses. However, in the third semester, they had to decide on a focus either in natural science or in economic subjects.

The advantages of this Bologna-compliant study programme over the previous one resulted from its modular character. This was intended to facilitate exchanges with foreign study programmes, both for ETH students who wished to complete part of their studies at another university and for foreign students who should be able to conduct a guest stay at ETH in a simplified manner. In addition, the aim was to encourage the choice of individual focal points in the study programme.