Lincoln’s International Rural Development (IRD) programme aligns with the Lincoln University’s focus on land and with the Millennium Development Goals of ending extreme poverty and hunger and promoting environmental sustainability. Following the food price crisis of 2008, the international community re-prioritised investment in agriculture and the formation of sustainable organisations to link small producers with markets and to manage shared natural resources like communal forest, fisheries, grazing and eco-tourism amenities. These topics form the basis of the IRD programme at Lincoln University, in conjunction with more generic subjects like project planning and research methodology.
Career prospects
IRD graduates tend to pursue careers with government and non-government rural development organisations, AID agencies and development banks, research and teaching institutions, agribusiness and consulting firms, and in business ventures of their own. The programme prepares students to work at an applied level (for example planning, managing and evaluating rural development projects), as researchers, and as advisors at the planning or policy levels. The following examples indicate a range of employers and jobs:
- Director of Fisheries, Indonesia
- Senior Policy Analyst, New Zealand iwi Authority
- Assistant Director of a University Research and Extension Agency, Samoa
- Forest Landscape Restoration Project Co-ordinator, WWF - Argentina
- Fresh Produce Marketing Agency, Papua New Guinea
- Community Forestry Advisor, GTZ - Nepal
Major Courses
Six 600-level courses must be taken towards a Masters degree. Students usually take three courses per semester and complete their course work in the first year of a two-year Masters degree. The second year is dedicated to a full research thesis. Students specialising in IRD or Agribusiness/IRD usually register for the M.Appl.Sc. or M.Com.(Ag.) degree. For more information about their research topics, visit the LUCID site.
Postgraduate students specialising in IRD or Agribusiness/IRD take the following core courses:
MGMT 615 Managing International Development Programmes - Planning
An applied course critically investigating the range of mechanisms by which international rural development assistance is delivered. Identification, preparation, design and planning of development interventions. Factors influencing the sustainability and success of rural development assistance.
MGMT 628 Agribusiness in Developing Economics
Relationships between agriculture, rural development and economic growth; institutional arrangements and their implications for resource use and livelihoods; linking small producers to economic opportunities.
MGMT 611 Management Research Methods
Management research methods with an emphasis on applications in primary production. Course information and contact details.
These core courses are often complemented with one or more of the following courses:
MGMT 627 Advanced Agribusiness Management
There are different strategies that businesses can follow to gain or maintain a competitive advantage in the market. On the one hand, businesses can strive for cost leadership; on the other they can try to differentiate their products ...
ECON 603 Development Economics
A discussion of the problems of low and middle income countries in an economic context. Course information, restrictions, and contacts.
ERST 636 Aspects of Sustainablity: An International Perspective
An International Perspective. A critical analysis of the concept of sustainability in both national and international contexts. Course information, restrictions, and contacts.
TOUR 603 Tourism Management
An advanced study of: the construction and definitions of tourism systems. Course information and contact details.
SOCI 601 Social Science Research Methods (Quantitative)
A study of the theory and practice of quantitative social scientific research. Course information and contact details.
SOCI 602 Social Science Research Methods (Qualitative)
A study of the theory and practice of qualitative social scientific research. Course information and contact details.