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Master of Science in Food Security
and Climate Change
Professional Profiles and Learning Outcomes
The Master of Science in Food Security and Climate Change (MS FSCC) is a joint degree developed under the ERASMUS+ Capacity Building for Higher Education funding from 2016-2019. It was based on the identification of several professional profiles and learning outcomes that were defined at the initial kick-off meeting held in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines in November 2016 after a discussion with professional organisations in charge of supporting agricultural development in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The MS FSCC intends to develop professionals who will become policy advisors, development officers, extension workers, and researchers.
Core, Specialization, and Elective Courses of the MS FSCC
All Core Courses and the six Core Specialization Courses have been developed jointly by the member universities of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC): Kasetsart University (KU) in Thailand, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Malaysia, the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in the Philippines, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) and Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), both in Indonesia.
Programme Guide
To be awarded the degree of Master of Science in Food Security and Climate Change, a student needs to finish 40 units or credits within the span of four semesters (or two years), broken down as follows:
| Courses | Credit |
|---|---|
| Core Courses | 15 |
| Specialization Courses | 13 |
| Thesis | 12 |
| Total | 40 |
Programme Structure
1st Semester
|
2nd Semester
|
1st Semester
|
2nd Semester
|
Programme Core Competencies
All graduates of the MS FSCC programme are instilled with six programme core competencies. These programme competencies are as follows:
1
Assess biophysical mechanisms of contribution to, adaptation to and mitigation of climate change in agriculture and food processing
2
Capacity to assess any technical production system (farming, forest, food processing) from a sustainability point of view
3
Be able to command studies, or implement assessment of public policies and technologies on both production and sustainability point of view
4
Capacity to identify problems and research question, and to set up an appropriate mechanism of research that can respond to the question
5
Capacity to identify issues, concerns, challenges and assess food security situation at different level
6
Capacity to effectively communicate and manage projects and institutions
Core Courses
FSCC 501 Changing Climate and Its Impacts on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Food Security
|
FSCC 502 Food Security and Food Systems in a Dynamic Environment
|
FSCC 503 Impact Assessment and Evaluation of Projects and Policies
|
FSCC 504 Sustainability Assessment in Agricultural Production and Food Processing (MS FSCC Summer School)
|
FSCC 591 Research Methods
|
FSCC 597 Seminar
|
| Core Courses | Programme Core Competencies | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| FSCC 501 Changing Climate and Its Impacts on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Food Security | ||||||
| FSCC 502 Food Security and Food Systems in a Dynamic Environment | ||||||
| FSCC 503 Impact Assessment and Evaluation of Projects and Policies | ||||||
| FSCC 504 Sustainability Assessment in Agricultural Production and Food Processing | ||||||
| FSCC 591 Research Methods | ||||||
Specialization Courses
A student is required to take 3-4 units or credits of specialization courses under the area of specialization where he/she has been admitted. The remaining 9-10 units can be from other areas of specialization apart from his/her own and can be chosen with the guidance of the advisory committee.
Specialization Area: Agriculture and Animal Sciences
- Climate-smart Animal and Crop Production Systems
Course Credit: 3 units
Course Description: Climate smart innovative strategies and technologies in animal and crops production systems in the tropics.
- Practices and Advances in Crop Production Systems
Course Description: Management practices and recent advances towards increasing productivity, profitability and sustainability of various crop production systems. - Crop Physiology and Environment
Course Description: Elucidation and evaluation of the response of crops to climate and other environmental changes, their effects on crop growth and productivity and implications to crop management - Crop Pests and Diseases Ecology and Management
Course Description: Practices and recent advances in plant disease and pest management; pest residues their fate in environment and ecological significance host-pest- environment relations; pest ecology and population dynamics. - Practices and Advances in Animal Production Systems
Course Description: Current practices and recent developments in animal production systems. - Animal Forage, Feeds and Nutrition
Course Description: The production and utilization of pasture and fodder crops including, techniques in grassland research and cost of production; Advances in animal nutrition research and in industry practices. - Animal Physiology and Environment
Course Description: Elucidation and evaluation of the response of animals to climate change and other environmental changes, their effects on animal adaptation, body temperature regulation, and related nutritional, metabolic and hormonal functions and implications to production and management. - Agroecosystem Analysis and Design of Sustainable Crop and Animal Production Systems
Course Description: Dynamics of agroecosystem components in relation to agriculture practices, issues and concerns; analysis, evaluation and design of sustainable farming systems. - Land, Soil and Water Resources Assessment and Management in Agriculture
Course Description: Analysis of environmental factors affecting land/water use; soil microbe plant interactions; land, soil and water resources management vis a vis competitive uses and ecological impacts. - Practices and Advances in Fisheries/Aquaculture Production Systems
Course Description: Current practices and recent developments in fisheries/aquaculture production.
Specialization Area: Forestry
- Forests and a Changing Climate
Course Description: Analysis of the relationship between forests and climate change, their impacts and corresponding strategies for adaptation and mitigation.
- Water and Watershed Management
Course Description: Interception, transpiration, evaporation and sedimentation related to the quantity, quality and distribution of water as affected by forestry practices. - Landscape Structure and Biodiversity
Course Description: Landscape pattern and process; mechanisms by which it changes through time; its influence in shaping biodiversity, and implications to populations, communities, and ecosystems. - Agroforestry
Course Description: Micro-analysis and application of management principles on agroforestry farms. - Non-timber Forest Products
Course Description: Properties, processing and utilization of non-timber forest products. - Forest Ecosystem Health and Services
Course Description: Forest ecosystem health concepts, indicators, assessment methods, and impacts on human well-being. - Forest Biometry
Course Description: Analysis of forest measurements; evaluation of growth prediction methods recent developments in forest mensuration and statistics. - Geospatial Methods in Forest Resources Management
Course Description: Application of geographic information systems (GIS) technology in natural resources management; IS operations and spatial analysis. - Social Forestry
Course Description: Perspectives in social forestry and analysis of social forestry programme. - Conflict Management in Planted Forest
Course Description: Analysis and management of conflicts in planted forests towards food security and climate change mitigation. - Forest Carbon Measurement and Monitoring
Course Description: The science, methods and practice of forest carbon measurement and monitoring for climate change mitigation and adaptation
Specialization Area: Food Science
- Postharvest, Processing and Distribution in Changing Climate
Course Description: This course covers food system from postharvest, processing and distribution. Various technologies in postharvest, processing and distribution and their impact on climate change will be discussed.
- Food Nutrients/ Nutrition
Course Description: This course covers discussion on food components as well as non-nutrient components; physiological changes and metabolism - Post-harvest Physiology and Biochemistry of Fruit and Vegetables
Course Description: Biochemical and physiological changes in plant based products and their quality after harvest. - Microbiological Food Safety
Course Description: The lectures discuss conventional as well as emerging foodborne pathogens with regard to their behavior and survival in foods, the diseases they may cause, pathogenicity, transmissions, and epidemiological studies pertaining their outbreaks. The lecture will also discuss the development of risk-based food safety management and the role of microbiological risk analysis in food safety management. - Food Safety Management
Course Description: This course covers the concept and principles in ACCP and risk analysis of microbiological, chemical and physical hazards in foods. The methods for education of hazards in foods are discussed. - Food Toxicology
Course Description: Naturally occurring food toxins, sources, mechanisms, nature, toxigenicity, of bacterial and fungal toxins as well as methods of detection. - Advanced Food Packaging
Course Description: This course covers food packaging which encompasses concept and functions of packaging, food protection, packaging materials and manufacturing, packaging materials testing methods, type of failures in food packaging, forms of packaging system, packaging and application, packaging equipment, and current and future developments in food packaging. - Food Regulation
Course Description: Food laws and regulations; ethical standards; international and food laws and regulations.
Specialization Area: Climate Sciences
- Climate Risk Management for Food Security
Course Description: Tools, methods and approaches in assessing and managing climate risks, particularly those that impact food security; issues and challenges in climate risk management.
- Decision Support System for Food Security in a Changing Climate
Course Description: Knowledge databases, utility of geo-portals and climate models, and tools for improved decision-making for climate change interventions - Climate Change, Vulnerability and Adaptation
Course Description: Covers concepts and techniques of impact and vulnerability assessment to climate change by utilizing dynamic and empirical models in a region and/or sector of the economy by using statistical evaluation techniques. Results of the assessment is used for the preparation of climate change adaptation plans and action. - Life Cycle and System Analysis
Course Description: Tools, methods and approaches in assessing and managing climate risks, particularly those that impact food security; issues and challenges in climate risk management. - Geoinformatics
Course Description: Covers overview of IS, its applications, algorithms and general methodology, functionality of its components and the interrelationships between IS and other sciences and technologies, includes practical assignments concerned database building, data analysis, modelling, cartographic production and data transfer. - Dynamics of Climate Change and Environment
Course Description: Effect of climate change on coastal environment, adaptation and mitigations strategies, international cooperation that mitigate climate change impacts and case studies - Environmental Communication
Course Description: Application of environmental communication principles, strategies, and techniques to address risks, controversies, and crises associated with the environment. - Governance Framework for DRR and CCA
Course Description: Covers different theories, development and governance concepts, values and interventions relevant to development contexts; devise innovative, participatory and multi-disciplinary approaches to respond to development and governance issues and concerns affecting organizations, communities and societies; design and implement research and technical assistance programmes on development management and governance.
Specialization Area: Public Policy and Economics
- Economics and Policy Issues in Food Security and Climate Change
Course Description: Economic theories and the interrelationships of food security, climate change and policy. - Economic Valuation for Food Security and Climate Change
Course Description: Characteristics and services of natural resources and environment; economic concepts and valuation techniques applied to food security and climate change issues.
- International Trade
Course Description: Deals with the causes of trade and effects on food security and climate change.
Contact Us
Contact Details
- UC Secretariat Address: Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)
College, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna, Philippines - T: +63 49 536 2290; 554 9330 to 39 (local 2200) (Laguna);
+63 2 8657 1300 to 1302 (local 2200) (Manila) - F: + 63 49 536 4153
- E-mail Address: info@msfscc.org; gsid@searca.org