Master in Agricultural Economics

The MSc in Agricultural Economics at the University of Copenhagen is a two year master's taught in English. It looks at the economics of agriculture, international development, resource use and environmental impacts, and at how incentives can regulate food production and consumption.

What you study

The programme gives you an understanding of the economics behind farming, development and the environment. You learn how incentives can be used to regulate how food is produced and consumed. The degree title on completion is Master of Science (MSc) in Agricultural Economics, in Danish cand.oecon.agro. i jordbrugsøkonomi.

Teaching comes as lectures, seminars, practical and theoretical exercises, plus a good deal of project work. You work both on your own and in project groups.

How the programme is organised

You have a lot of freedom to shape the degree. Only two courses are compulsory in your first year. The rest are restricted electives from a set list, or free electives you pick yourself. You can take courses at the Faculty of Science, at other UCPH faculties, or at Copenhagen Business School.

One compulsory course is Applied Econometrics. The overall split is 15 ECTS compulsory, 60 ECTS restricted electives, 15 ECTS free electives and a 30 ECTS thesis. One block each year is nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS.

In your second year you write the thesis, a large scientific project worth 30 ECTS, about four months of teaching. You can write it alone or in a group, often on a specific problem a researcher, institution or company is working on. Past topics include abatement costs of greenhouse gas emissions in Danish agriculture, purchasing patterns after low VAT on selected foods, tariff barriers for EU and developing country sugar beet producers, and managerial focus and productivity among Danish farmers.

You can use electives for a project in practice in Denmark or abroad, with a company or institution. You need a supervisor who approves the host and guides you, and you finish with a written project report and an oral exam. You can also study abroad for one or two semesters, or a shorter period such as a summer school, with credits transferred back.

Who it suits

It suits someone who wants economics applied to food, farming and the environment, and who likes project work and group work. The structure rewards students who can plan their own course choices rather than follow a fixed timetable.

Admission, language and next steps

You need a qualifying bachelor's degree or an equivalent that the admission board judges to meet the academic requirements. Legal right of admission goes to holders of the UCPH bachelor's in Agricultural Economics (jordbrugsøkonomi) or Environmental and Food Economics (miljø- og fødevareøkonomi), who are guaranteed a place if they apply by the deadline, and can wait up to three years to use it.

Several degrees automatically meet the academic requirements, including UCPH Agricultural Economics, Computer Science and Economics, Environmental and Food Economics, Economics and Mathematics-Economics, the Economics and Mathematics-Economics degrees from the University of Southern Denmark and Aarhus University, and Business Administration and Mathematical Business Economics from Copenhagen Business School.

Other Danish or international degrees need at least 37.5 ECTS in economics, with at least 22.5 ECTS in micro economics and 7.5 ECTS in macro economics, plus 7.5 ECTS each in statistics, econometrics and mathematics. A UCPH Natural Resources degree with the Environmental Economics specialisation has its own route. You must also meet the English B language requirement.

Apply through the application portal. Deadlines differ: 1 March for applicants from the EU, EEA and Switzerland starting in September, and 15 January for applicants from outside. February start is open to legal right of admission only, with a 15 October deadline. Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland study free of charge; other students pay a fee the institution sets. The university does not pre-assess qualifications.

Master’s applications go straight to University of Copenhagen, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. The register shows 15 January 2027 as the next deadline for this programme. Intake, as the register states it: Starts 1 September 2027 (apply by 15 January 2027). Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.