Soils and Global Change

The Erasmus Mundus International Master’s in Soils and Global Change (IMSOGLO) offers you a unique international educational experience with a focused curriculum on soils and global change by bringing together the expertise of research groups at four renowned EU universities.  The programme has been granted the EU’s prestigious Erasmus Mundus label. It is offered jointly by Ghent University (Belgium), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Austria), University of Göttingen (Germany), and Aarhus University (Denmark). GLOBAL CHANGE AFFECTS THE FUTURE CAPACITY OF SOIL Increasing population pressure, industrialisation, and intensive land use are causing depletion of natural resources and are limiting the performance of land with respect to functions such as biomass production, carbon sequestration, and water purification. The cumulative effects of climate change and the aforementioned aspects of global change influence the capacity of soils to regenerate, and may even cause soil degradation. The future capacity of soils to support (human) life is at stake, as recognised by national and international organisations and governmental bodies, such as the EU. Programmes have been developed to protect the environment and to increase ecosystem resilience. Numerous directives have been developed and implemented that build on scientific knowledge about soil response to external pressures.  This scientific knowledge is available in European universities, but is rather dispersed due to the specialisation and size of the relevant research groups. In the past this has made it difficult for students to follow a focused curriculum on soils and global change at any individual university.  The alarming effects of global change on soils observed throughout the world emphasises the need to train more personnel worldwide to understand how soils react to global change and to develop prevention and remediation strategies and increase soil resilience. The participating universities in IMSOGLO are very well equipped to give effective and targeted training on soil interactions with global change to an international audience of students. COMBINE YOUR OWN STUDY PROGRAMME AT DIFFERENT EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES As a student on the IMSOGLO programme, you will attend several higher education institutes in at least two countries.  All students will study for their first semester at Ghent University. Following this, students will choose between two specialisations.  Students who choose to specialise in ‘Soil-Plant System Processes and Global Change’ will study in Vienna in their second semester and in Göttingen in their third semester. In their fourth semester, they will write their master’s thesis at one of these two universities.  Students who choose to specialise in ‘Soil Ecosystem Services and Global Change’ will study in Ghent in their second semester and in Aarhus in their third semester. In their fourth semester, they will write their master’s thesis at one of these two universities. All students will have the opportunity to attend summer school in Vienna or to conduct fieldwork in China. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS A bachelor’s degree (minimum 180 ECTS credits) is required in pure or applied sciences (e.g., chemistry, biology, geology, civil or agricultural engineering, environmental or agricultural sciences) or an equivalent level from a recognised university or engineering college. The grades obtained during the bachelor degree must be very good or excellent.  Sufficient academic knowledge (at least 40 ECTS in total) is also required in natural sciences (with natural sciences specified as: physics, chemistry, maths, ecology, biology, geography, environmental sciences, or agricultural sciences).  English is the language of instruction in all subjects, and all applicants are therefore required to provide evidence of their English-language proficiency. Please find more information about English requirements online ( https://imsoglo.eu/admission-application/ ).  IMSOGLO offers Erasmus Mundus Scholarships for student intake September 2024 and onwards. Please read further information online ( https://imsoglo.eu/scholarships-fees/ ) CAREERS With an International Master of Science in Soils and Global Change, you will be trained in soil management in the context of global change, with either an agro-ecosystem focus or an integrated land management focus. You will gain extensive knowledge about what it takes to save our soils from degradation, how to make soils resilient to climate change, and how to make soils healthy again.  You will be equipped to follow a variety of career paths as a top-level researcher, an academic, or a policymaker. This means that there are job opportunities in regional environmental agencies, municipal nature conservation offices, agricultural advisory services, educational institutions, NGO's concerned with nature and the environment, consulting engineering companies, and EU institutions, ministries, and other public authorities.  Research is also an obvious career path. Students can apply for admission to the university’s PhD programme following completion of the thesis. IN THE RANKINGS Agricultural sciences by subject at Aarhus University rank twenty-second in the world in the 2020 US News Best Global Universities ranking, and in the 2019 National Taiwan University ranking are nineteenth in Agricultural Sciences by subject. Agriculture and Forestry at AU is ranked thirty-fifth in the 2020 QS World University Rankings by subject. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION In general, admission to a master’s degree programme requires successful completion of a relevant and recognised university degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree in level and length (180 ECTS). In addition, you must meet the specific requirements for the individual programme, including language requirements. If you wish to study a master’s degree at Aarhus University, please check out our page ‘Am I qualified for admission’: https://masters.au.dk/am-i-qualified-for-admission If you are curious about how to submit a master’s degree application to Aarhus University, then make sure to check out our ‘Apply Now’ page. Here you can find information about relevant fees, guides, and video tutorials on how to use the application portal: https://masters.au.dk/apply-now There are the same English language requirements for all international students with a few exceptions. The general English language requirements for master’s degrees can be found here: https://masters.au.dk/am-i-qualified-for-admission/english-language-requirements Aarhus University offers a limited number of Danish state scholarships for highly qualified non-EU students applying for master’s degrees. You can read more about scholarships here: https://masters.au.dk/scholarships-and-grants Students from outside the EU are generally required to pay tuition and application fee. You can consult our page Tuition fees for master’s degree programmes: https://masters.au.dk/tuitionfees Would you like to chat with a fellow student from your country, or with someone who studies the programme you are interested in? You can get help with your questions from Aarhus University’s Student Ambassadors: https://international.au.dk/education/meetau/chat-with-our-students/