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The Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree gives you the contemporary agriculture-related skills you will need to become a leader in this rapidly growing international industry.
Find out more about entry requirements, fees and courses in the planning section.
Agriculture dominates New Zealand’s economy - generating billions in export earnings every year. The future of this industry is bright with international demand and available jobs predicted to grow rapidly.
New from 2019*, the Bachelor of Agricultural Science will give you the relevant, up-to-date skills to help you take your place in this exciting industry.
You will dig into every aspect of agriculture including pastures, crops, animal and soil sciences as well as economics, agribusiness and the influence of Government policies, regulations and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. You will learn about future and present issues in the industry and gain skills in the use of technology in agriculture. Disciplines like engineering, physics, chemistry and biology are also an important part of gaining a broad understanding of the primary industries.
Industry experience is integrated into this degree, with practical work courses allowing you to experience and analyse real-world scenarios while you are studying.
Massey aligns its world-ranked agriculture programmes to agribusiness industries throughout the world. All this will give you an advantage with prospective employers upon graduation, with industry contacts, a better understanding of the primary industries and the management skills to lead it. Most Agriculture students secure employment before they graduate.
Massey is world-ranked and New Zealand’s No 1 university in agriculture according to the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) rankings and ShanghaiRankings.
Our proud record dates back to 1927 when we were established as an agricultural college. As a student, you will benefit from our internationally-recognised capability and leadership in this area.
Massey’s Manawatū campus hosts the only multi-function teaching laboratories in Australasia.
The labs won a Best Practice Award for Innovation at the Association for Tertiary Education Management conference and were shortlisted for the international UKS-Lab awards.
The facility is unique in Australasia in that it allows each laboratory to be tailored to accommodate a variety of disciplines. Technicians can do preparation in the dedicated technical area before moving this into the lab, which means students can spend more time doing lab practical work.
Our Student Exchange Programme provides an international experience with the chance to study courses at overseas universities and credit them back to a Massey qualification. You’ll pay the same tuition fees while abroad and it’s a great chance to gain the overseas experience and knowledge that many employers value. Some of the top science universities available within the exchange programme are the University of Calgary, Canada; Wageningen University, The Netherlands and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
One of the best things about this degree is the variety of study. You’ll learn about animals and agriculture, soils and pasture, be introduced to agribusiness and decision-making skills. You’ll also study economics, chemistry, physics and ecology.
As part of this programme, you’ll need to do at least 26 weeks of full-time work in an area related to your major. This is usually done during the summer when work is readily available on farms and with rural businesses. To ensure you get the most from this experience, you'll provide a report on your activities which will be assessed.
Compare qualifications and academic information across different New Zealand institutions.
“The best part of my degree was the people I studied with. We helped each other out, knew what each other were up to, and created a support network to lean on. I also enjoyed the practical elements of my degree…”
When I was at high school, I remember a Dairy NZ consulting officer came into our TeenAg group to talk about what she did on a typical day. It sounded amazing and then she showed us her diary for that week and I thought ‘that’s what I want to do’.
The best part of my degree was the people I studied with. We helped each other out, knew what each other was up to, and created a support network to lean on. I also enjoyed the practical elements of my degree. I would go out to farms and talk to real people with real issues for me to solve and use this data to form my assignments – I guess that’s a lot more applied than your average degree. You do the theory in the first year to get the base knowledge, but it just gets more interactive from there.
I have recently started my first job as a Dairy NZ trainee Consulting Officer in Te Awamutu, so I’m living my high school dream. I found the skills I gained at Massey have created a great foundation to help me succeed in my work. My uni friends have jobs across agriculture and it’s a great support network as we build our careers.
The industry is made up of a huge range of organisations, including farming, processing and marketing produce, logistics of product supply, as well as the associated service industries such as banking, company technical representatives and consultants. That means there is a huge range of careers on offer for those with the right skills.
Industries where agricultural science skills are utilised include:
Scholarships worth hundreds of thousands of dollars are available for students who are studying in the areas of agriculture and horticulture. Massey has close connections with all the major agricultural organisations in New Zealand, many of whom provide scholarships for Massey students.
Find out more about scholarships
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