View source for International Master of Science in Rural Development

{{Short description |Two year full-time master's program}}
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The '''International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD)''' is a two-year full time master's program jointly organized by several universities worldwide alongside the input of several internationally recognized institutions in Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.<ref name=":0" /> The program is part of [[Erasmus Mundus]] and is funded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. The program is jointly organized by six core European partners and nine associated partners from outside Europe.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=IMRD: Our programme |url=https://www.imrd.ugent.be/programme |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=studiekiezer.ugent.be}}</ref> The European partners include [[Ghent University]] ([[Belgium]]), [[Humboldt University of Berlin]] ([[Germany]]), [[University of Córdoba (Spain)|Universidad de Córdoba]] ([[Spain]]), [[Agrocampus Ouest]] ([[France]]), [[University of Pisa]] ([[Italy]]), [[Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra]] ([[Slovakia]]). The partners outside of Europe are the following: [[University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore]] (India); [[University of Arkansas]] (USA); [[Can Tho University]] ([[Vietnam]]); [[Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral]] (Ecuador); [[China Agricultural University]]; [[Nanjing Agricultural University]] (China); [[University of Pretoria]] (South Africa); [[Seoul National University]] (South Korea); [[Korea University]] (South Korea).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=IMRD: A worldwide partnership between 15 universities |url=https://www.imrd.ugent.be/universities/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Vliruos |language=en}}</ref>
The program starts in early September every year at [[Ghent University]]. The program prepares students to address challenges in socio-economic, natural resource, and agricultural sectors in rural communities. It employs a multi-disciplinary approach, utilizing comparative studies of EU and non-EU rural development models. The program also offers study options that expose students to different rural development models globally.<ref name=":1" />
IMRD is a two-year (24 months) MSc. course program divided into 5 obligatory modules through which the students are required to obtain at least 120 ECTS upon graduation, The master's dissertation accounts for 30 ECTS.". With regard to the thesis, students are encouraged to collect data in their home country, or in one of the non-European IMRD-VLIR partner universities and countries.<ref name=":1" />
The International MSc in Rural Development methodology consists of training in technical, economic, and social sciences, divided over three study periods: a case study of one month in the European summer period and an individual master’s dissertation research project in the fourth study period. Non-European students study mainly in the European Union, and European students study within and outside the EU.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-25 |title=International Master of Science in Rural Development – Erasmus Mundus Scholarship |url=https://internationalscholarships.ca/international-master-of-science-in-rural-development/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=International Scholarships |language=en-US}}</ref>
All tracks are also open to self-sponsoring students or students with other scholarships. For all tracks specific scholarships are awarded each year by the IMRD consortium.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
==References==
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==External links==
* http://www.imrd.eu/
* http://www.imrd.ugent.be/
==See also==
* [[Erasmus Mundus]]
[[Category:Education in Belgium]]
[[Category:Education in Europe]]