Animal Health Management (Master's)

The continuing education programme has a clear focus with its three specialisations: 'cattle', 'pigs' and 'poultry'. The areas of feeding, husbandry, health, and herd management are combined to produce an individual, vocational course which enables a high level of specialisation.

The objective of the master’s programme in Animal Health Management is the interdisciplinary and practice-oriented deepening and expansion of skills in the management of cattle herds, pig herds or poultry flocks, as well as in consulting on the basis of previous study in the field of veterinary medicine. Graduates of the course are able to assess the genetic potential of livestock without neglecting the animals’ health and wellbeing. They have knowledge of the organisation, execution, monitoring and control of tasks relating to dairy, pig and poultry stocks. In this context, they are able to collect and analyse data and key figures, use these as a basis to initiate measures, and make the necessary decisions. The interlinking of agricultural and veterinary expertise enables graduates of the master’s degree programme to contribute significantly to sustainable livestock husbandry with a focus on animal wellbeing.

In addition to economic elements, the course covers management skills for conventional and ecological agricultural animal husbandry systems, as well as soft skills relating to communication and consultation tasks.

In the first semester, candidates select an individual teaching programme from the fields of practice management, communication and consultation, company management, grassland and forage production, as well as ecological animal husbandry.

In addition, there is a choice of three different specialisations, which are covered in the second semester. The specialisations available are cattle, pigs and poultry. Each specialisation focuses on particular aspects of animal health, herd management, animal husbandry, fodder production and animal nutrition.

The course programme for the master’s degree in Animal Health Management is suitable for any veterinarians in the livestock industry. Candidates do not need to have professional experience to be accepted onto the programme.

To guarantee unity between work and studies, the master’s degree programme in Animal Health Management is intentionally structured as a vocational course. For example, blended learning formats (i.e. a mixture of online tuition and face-to-face events) are used consistently. The face-to-face modules are used for acquiring practical skills and gaining a deeper understanding of the course content.

HSWT brings its teaching expertise in agricultural livestock breeding, animal husbandry, fodder production and animal nutrition to the course and links these elements together to form a holistic approach.

The Veterinary Department at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich supports this approach with its expertise and academic experience in veterinary medicine. The collaboration, which is unique in Germany, between an agricultural and veterinary department is setting a new standard for knowledge sharing and interdisciplinarity in higher veterinary education.

The course is split into four semesters and comprises 60 ECTS (including the master’s thesis). In the first two semesters, 30 ECTS are acquired in total through a selection of three modules per semester. The third semester is dedicated to practice, while the fourth semester is taken up by written preparation of the master’s thesis.

In the first semester, two modules must be selected from the three elective management modules. Another module must be selected from the list of supplementary elective modules. The module description provides detailed information on the content of the modules. 

When applying for the programme, students choose a veterinary specialisation (cattle, pigs or poultry), which is covered in the second semester. Within each specialisation, the following modules are available to select: Feeding, husbandry, special health issues, herd management.

Three modules must be chosen from this list. Management skills are practiced through the 'project work' teaching method in particular. The project work included in the 'Cattle herd management', 'Pig herd management' or 'Poultry flock management' modules, which is undertaken in partnership with agricultural businesses, has a key role.

By completing their master’s thesis, students gain skills in planning and executing research projects and in interpreting results. As a result, the degree is both an occupational and research qualification.

The module overview for the Animal Health Management programme (Modulübersicht) provides information about the content in the individual semesters.

As well as supporting the establishment of the new degree programme financially, the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection is providing support for future students in the form of scholarships (Stipendien) which cover most of the semester fees involved. The scholarship offer applies to the first two intakes (2021 and 2022). In each of these years, 15 students can receive a scholarship for a maximum of four semesters. You can find more detailed information in the corresponding funding guidelines (Förderrichtlinie).

Please note that we must receive the application (including supporting documentation) by 22 August 2021 (based on the received mail stamp).

Information on the scholarship and the selection criteria can be found in this information sheet (Merkblatt).

Documents required for application:

• application form (Formblatt zur Bewerbung)
• declaration on the application for the award of sponsorship as de minimis aid (Erklärung zum Antrag auf Gewährung einer Förderung als De-minimis-Beihilfe)

Dr Petra Nicole Weindl, degree programme assistent, T +49 8161 71-6420 | petra.weindl [at]hswt.de