Master of Bioprotection
Course details
| NZQF Level | 9 |
|---|
About the course
Help secure native ecosystems throughout New Zealand and the world.
About this programme
New Zealand is facing a host of challenges from invasive pests. There is an urgent need for trained experts with the skills to strengthen our bioprotection and conserve our natural spaces.
You'll learn how to design, implement and monitor pest management systems with a scientific grounding to ensure the safety of our ecosystems.
You'll specialise in plant or vertebrate pest management, with the opportunity to spend a semester on a research placement conducting real world work.
Key features
- Learn how to design and implement environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable management programmes in response to specific pest problems.
- Understand how to monitor the outcomes of pest management strategies, measuring impacts and pinpointing any developing physiological and behavioural resistance to control tools.
- Gain in-depth understanding of adaptive management, and learn how to effectively share new research findings to influence current practice.
- Work alongside industry or gain a valuable placement in a relevant organisation.
Career opportunities
You’ll be well positioned for a role in the primary production sector, with a government organisation involved with pest control and border safety, or as an agricultural consultant advising on pest control and plant protection.
Graduate Attributes
Graduate Attributes refer to the knowledge, skills, and values that you gain from completing your qualification. These high-level qualities will prepare you for career success, further study or research and making a valuable contribution to society in your chosen field.
Knowledge
- Describe the scientific, political and economic factors that influence the management of vertebrate pest species in New Zealand and internationally.
- Explain and use basic biometric analysis techniques.
- Understand the ecological theory underpinning wildlife management and conservation.
- Describe the biology and ecology of specified plant disease and pest organisms and identify appropriate and acceptable management options.
- Understand the strategic, tactical and logistical issues that wildlife managers need to address before instigating any vertebrate pest management action.
- Understand how to use GIS analysis to solve ecological problems at a landscape scale.
Skills
- Communicate the results of literature reviews (using library databases) and research projects clearly and concisely in various written and oral forms.
- Identify and apply GIS spatial analysis techniques to both raster and vector models.
- Incorporate GPS and Remote Sensing data appropriately into GIS analyses using the ArcGis software suite.
- Develop management plans for plant pests that integrate various control methods into programmes suitable for both host and pest/disease development phases.
Values
- Understand the philosophy and ethics of science research and communication.
- Understand how existing plant-pest control programmes can continue to meet the needs of growers in a sustainable way.
Entry requirements
- A relevant New Zealand level 7 bachelor’s degree or recognised equivalent with a B average or better in the 300 level and final year (full-time equivalent) courses
- If English isn’t your first language, other entry requirements will apply. Learn more about the English language requirements.
About the provider
Lincoln University is one of the eight government universities in New Zealand. Established in 1878, it is governed by the Lincoln University Council.
Based in Canterbury, in the South Island of New Zealand, Lincoln offers a unique experience, a perfect balance of student and academic life and a host of recreation activities around the region.
The institution is rated the 15th best small university in the world by the QS World University Rankings. It is home to a diverse group of nearly 4,500 students who come from more than 80 different countries around the world.
Lincoln graduates have a 6 percent higher employment rate than those from other New Zealand universities and the number of students graduating from Lincoln is higher than the national average.
Students can choose from a wide range of specialist courses from three faculties and one division – the Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce; the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences; the Faculty of Environment, Society and Design; and the University Studies and English Language Division.
Lincoln has dedicated itself towards undertaking meaningful research that makes a globally positive impact. Its sustainable approach and commitment towards handling climate change issues have attracted many postgraduate students studying at the institution.
The university also engages in other land-based research and hosts a range of research centres, including food research and innovation, land, environment and people, wildlife management and conservation, and soil and environmental research.
The university shares ties with leading organisations as well as research centres, which help students gain additional skills and knowledge through practical learning experiences.
The Lincoln University Students' Association (LUSA) is an active student body that governs a variety of clubs and organisations on campus.