• Total units 48 Units
  • Areas of interest Forestry, Geography, Resource Management and Environmental Science, Science
  • Major code AGIN-MAJ
Agricultural Innovation Major

With a major in Agricultural Innovation you will have the skills required to solve the complex challenges facing society. Globally agriculture will need to feed over nine billion people by 2050. With a changing climate and increasing competition for land, water and energy resources, the agricultural sector will need to find innovative ways to do more with less. To achieve this, interdisciplinary and co-innovation approaches to problem solving will be required.

By completing courses in agricultural systems, environmental management, sustainability, innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking, engineering and systems design, you will have the skills to integrate and adapt knowledge from different disciplines to design novel solutions to complex problems.

You will learn from world-leading experts from across ANU, and its industry partners, through initiatives including the Agrifood Innovation Institute (AFII). In partnership with government and industry, AFII brings together research and technology to address industry challenges, cutting across traditional discipline boundaries.

Graduates will gain applied industry relevant skills and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by industry and society. By working with industry stakeholders on applied problems, which are integrated into a range of courses, graduates will develop the skills needed to translate research and theory into real-world outcomes and impact.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of agricultural systems and value chains.
  2. Critically analyse published literature of relevance to agricultural innovation systems in the context of resilience to environmental, economic and social drivers of change.
  3. Apply knowledge of innovation systems to identify emerging opportunities and solve challenges in the agricultural sector.
  4. Integrate and adapt appropriate knowledge and problem-solving methods to co-design novel solutions with stakeholders and clients effectively in multi-disciplinary teams.
  5. Clearly communicate theory and results in both written and oral formats.

Other Information

Which courses should you take in first year?

You are strongly advised to enrol in ENVS1003 Intro to Environmental and Social Research and ENVS1004 Australia's Environment in your first year, as these courses are prerequisites for several later courses in the major and therefore will provide you with more options as you progress through the major. Most courses do not have prerequisites outside of the major but it is advisable to check and plan accordingly. Please check individual later year courses for details however the courses listed below will cover most 1000-level requirements for 2000-3000- level courses listed in this major. Not all courses will need to be taken depending on later year course selection.


Additional information:

  • You will need to complete either ENVS2002 or ENVS2018, both of these courses have 1000-level prerequisites
  • Courses marked with an asterisk (*) have 1000-level course prerequisites that may need to be taken in your first year of study.
  • For students taking ENVS3100, SCNC3000 as part of this major, the project or internship must be in the field of Agricultural Innovation and align with the learning outcomes of AGIN-MAJ.
  • Students seeking to take BIOL3194 should note this course has an enrolment limit. Please refer to the "Other Information" in the course entry in P&C.


Courses in this major that will contribute towards satisfying the transdisciplinary problem-solving course requirements of your undergraduate degree:

  • ENGN2300 Engineering Design 2: Systems Approaches for Design
  • ENVS1001 Environment and Society: Geography of Sustainability
  • ENVS1004 Australia's Environment
  • ENVS2018 Environmental Science Field School
  • ENVS2023 Sustainable Agricultural Systems
  • ENVS2024 Agricultural Systems
  • ENVS3040 Complex Environmental Problems in Action
  • ENVS3004 Land and Catchment Management


Academic or enrolment advice:

Students can seek further advice from the academic contact for this major (details above), or the College of Science Student Services Team (students.cos@anu.edu.au)

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Requirements

Courses marked with an asterisk (*) have 1000-level pre-requisites that may need to be selected in the first year of study and will contribute towards satisfying the 1000-level course requirements of the Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Science (Advanced) (Honours).


Not all courses will need to be taken depending on later year course selection. Please check individual courses for details however the courses listed below will cover most 1000-level requirements for 2000-3000- level courses listed in this major.

EMSC1006 (option for ENVS2002)

ENVS1001 (option for ENVS2002)

ENVS1003 (prerequisite for ENVS2002)

ENVS1004 (option for ENVS2002 and ENVS2018)

STAT1003 or STAT1008 (option for ENVS2018)

ENGN1211 (prerequisite for ENGN2300)


This major requires the completion of 48 units, of which:

A minimum of 18 units must come from completion of 3000-level courses

A minimum of 36 units must come from completion of courses from the discipline areas listed below:

BIOL - Biology

ENVS - Environmental Science

SCNC - Science

SCOM - Science Communication


The 48 units must include:

18 units from the completion of the following compulsory courses:

ENVS2023 Sustainable Agricultural Systems (6 units)

ENVS2024 Agricultural Systems (6 units)

ENVS3042 Agricultural Innovation (6 units)


6 units from the completion of a Systems Thinking course from the following list:

ENGN3410 Engineering Sustainable Systems (6 units)

ENVS3040 Complex Environmental Problems in Action (6 units)

MGMT2009 Design Thinking: Entrepreneurial Innovation (6 units)


6 units from the completion of a Quantitative Skills course from the following list:

*ENVS2002 Environmental Measurement, Modelling and Monitoring (6 units)

*ENVS2018 Environmental Science Field School (6 units)


 6 units from the completion of a Research and Professional Practice course from the following list.

BIOL3194 Biological Sciences in the Workplace (6 units)

ENVS3100 Independent Research Project (6 units)

SCNC3000 Science Internship (6-12 units)

SCOM3007 Science Communication Project Design and Delivery (6 units)


12 units from the the completion of Science and Society courses from the following lists which must include:

6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

*ENGN2300 Engineering Design 2: Systems Approaches for Design (6 units)

MGMT2001 Corporate Sustainability (6 units)

MGMT3021 Leadership (6 units)

SCOM3501 Strategies in Science Communication (6 units)


6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

ENVS2007 Economics for the Environment (6 units)

ENVS2011 Human Ecology (6 units)

ENVS2015 GIS and Spatial Analysis (6 units)

ENVS2020 Water Science (6 units)

ENVS3004 Land and Catchment Management (6 units)

ENVS3045 Social Applications of GIS (6 units)

ENVS3902 Environmental Chemistry and Systems (6 units)

*ENVS3903 Environmental Sensing, Mapping and Modelling (6 units)

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