Agriculture

Cows and calves taking part in feeding trials

As an agricultural graduate, you will be equipped with a comprehensive knowledge of agricultural science, business management and agricultural innovation.

With the combination of subject specific knowledge and practical skills, our graduates have gone onto a wide range of careers from farm management to specialist consultancy positions within the food or farming industry.

Other life science sub-sectors you may wish to explore further are:

animal health and welfare
biotechnology
food and drink
medical technology
pharmaceuticals

A food and nutritional sciences degree from the university is accredited by the Association for Nutrition and offers you the chance to study nutrition alongside animal and plant production, food science and food safety, as well as biochemistry and physiology.

The skills you’ll develop during your degree will give you the skills to apply for a variety of jobs.

Join the Biosciences Careers moodle

MyCareer

What skills will I gain during my degree?

Depending on which degree pathway you are following you will be developing a range of valuable skills such as:

agricultural business development
livestock management
policy design
agronomy
disease management
international awareness

Biosciences Core Graduate Competencies

You will also develop 12 competencies which have been divided into these four headings:

fundamental skills
interpersonal skills
personal aspiration and development
professional responsibility

Explore the Biosciences Core Graduate Competencies

How can I develop my skills and experience during my degree?

Employers often seek a range of transferable skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork, in addition to the subject-specific skills and knowledge you will gain during your degree. Below are some ideas of how to develop these transferable skills during your degree; make sure you look at the ‘What can I do?’ pages for even more ideas.

Gain work experience

Gaining further hands-on experience

Gaining relevant and practical work experience can help support you with securing a job after graduation. Contacting the University Farm managers or staff is a great way to build on your hands-on farming experience right here on Sutton Bonington campus. Hands-on experience is useful for any role in the agricultural industry. You could also think about harvest or lambing positions during university vacations.

The University Farm website

Lambing work experience
4xtrahands recruitment agency
Farmer’s Weekly jobs

Year in Industry

Why not take an optional industry placement, between years two and three of your degree? This will extend your degree to a four-year programme.

Year in Industry

Summer internships

Summer internships are also a great way to gain experience, whether in science or non-science based roles. Search for roles:

Farmer's Weekly Jobs

MyCareer - internships from companies targeting Nottingham students

Nottingham Internship Scheme

Contact companies directly

Approach companies for work experience opportunities. Several agronomy companies have said they’re happy for Nottingham students to approach them and arrange to shadow one of their agronomists for a day or two. As well as giving you an insight into the role, this would be a great addition to your CV.

Summer research placements

If you’re interested in the scientific side of your degree, summer research placements might be a good option for you. You can find these through the School of Biosciences by approaching a relevant academic who is working in the area you are interested in.

There are also sponsored opportunities and funding for summer research placements, visit:

Royal Society of Biology - undergraduate studentships

The Henry Plumb Foundation

NFU - for contacts within the industry

Get involved in Students' Union activities

Involvement in relevant SU activities including volunteering, sports clubs and societies can help you to develop and enhance skills that employers look for such as working in multidisciplinary teams, communicating scientific information to a non-science audience and consulting with local businesses.

SBAgrics

Full list of the Students' Union's student societies

Volunteering

Apply for part-time jobs through us

We advertise part-time, casual and temporary jobs on campus and with local businesses. Created just for you, the advertised vacancies can fit around your studies and other commitments.

The vacancies are advertised in two places.

On-campus jobs

Off-campus jobs

Nottingham Advantage Award

Through the completion of extracurricular modules, the Nottingham Advantage Award helps you develop key life and work-based skills and reflect on your experiences, allowing you to demonstrate your achievements and skills more effectively when applying for jobs.

Nottingham Advantage Award

Keep up to date with industry news

Knowing about the latest developments is important for a couple of reasons: firstly it may spark off your interest in a particular part of the sector and secondly, employers often ask questions about the factors that may be affecting their company at an interview as a way of gauging your interest in their business. Try the following resources - check out any events or directories of employers too.

NFU - free membership for students

British Society of Animal Science

Agricultural Economics Society

Institute of Agricultural Management

What are the range of careers I could enter?

Agricultural sciences and business management students move into a wide range of different careers after graduation, including farm management, consultancy, agronomy and farm trading, agricultural policy, academia, marketing and communications, starting a new business and various roles in the food industry.

Some of the employers who have recruited our graduates

Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB)
Animal and Plant Agency
Brown & Co
Cargill
Evolution Foods
Frontier Agriculture
Hazlewoods
Holkham Farming
IDEXX
Langmead Produce
Moundsmere Estate Management
Pro Cam
Strutt and Parker

Some of the roles secured by our graduates

Agricultural assurance manager
Agricultural business consultant
Farm business consultant
Graduate consultant
Graduate farm manager
Graduate trainee, supply
Histology lab scientist
Pig and poultry nutritionist
Plant health and seed inspector
Trainee accountant
Trainee agronomist

Read Peter Cox's (agriculture alumnus) blog post on becoming an agricultural business consultant.

What do graduates from my course go on to do?

Graduate Outcomes is a national survey capturing the activities and perspectives of graduates launched in 2018 and is the biggest annual social survey in the UK.

You can view the destinations of graduates, who completed the survey, from your course by booking an appointment with an adviser. This can help you to explore your options if you are unsure what you want to do.

Find out more about the Graduate Outcomes survey

What are my further study options? Watch our webinar on PhD study.

Each year a number of agriculture graduates start postgraduate courses either at Nottingham or at other universities. Some examples of the types of courses Nottingham graduates study include MSc Agri-Food, PhD Crop Science, PhD Sustainable Soil Management and accountancy training courses.

Search for further courses and find out about funding