Overview 2022
This course may not be available to international students. Please see the list of distance courses (i.e. online and taken outside Australia) that are offered to international students
View archived years for this course
For years prior to 2015, please view the Course and Unit Handbook Archive
View the current year's course page
As part of her degree, Georgia undertook work experience with Macquarie Franklin and Sheep Connect Tasmania and says having the opportunity to develop her practical business skills and make connections in the industry was incredibly valuable.
“People severely underestimate the number of careers in agriculture. I know people who have gone onto jobs in forestry, aquaculture and even banking.”
Our Agriculture and Business degree has been created to meet the demands of Australia’s thriving agricultural sector through a powerful combination of knowledge and skills in science based agriculture, production and farm management with the business world of marketing and economics.
While food and fibre production is a large component of the Australian agribusiness sector, getting that produce into the hands of consumers requires an extensive supply chain, including packaging, distribution, and related sectors such as finance, insurance and risk management, as well as governmental policy.
Agribusiness studies emphasises the business, process, and entrepreneurial side of the global agriculture enterprise. You studies combine agriculture production with marketing, economics, management and distribution, providing multidisciplinary skills that will equip you to work in a variety of careers, from the family farm to multinational companies.
Our campuses have unparalleled access to Tasmania’s natural environment and thriving agricultural sector, enabling you to explore key questions about sustainable resource management and productive landscapes. Beyond our location, you will be learning from our dynamic team of researchers at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, many of whom are internationally renowned and exporting best practices in sustainable agriculture from Tasmania to the world.
Scholarships for Semester 2 2020
Professor George Wade Scholarship in Agricultural Science
Available to a student commencing first year in the Bachelor of Agricultural Science or Bachelor of Applied Science (Agriculture and Business) in Semester 1, 2020 or Semester 2, 2020. Learn more
For information on general scholarships available at the University of Tasmania, please visit the scholarships website.
Course objectives
You will gain knowledge, understanding and skills in the principles and practices of agricultural production and how they contribute to best-practice change. There is an emphasis on understanding the value chain and business environment that is fundamental to the economic performance of agricultural industries and enterprises, which is why work experience is offered in the third year of the degree and there are significant other opportunities to engage directly with the vibrant and dynamic Tasmanian agricultural industry.
The course includes theory and practical activities around agricultural production, economics, marketing, finance and communication. Together these are used to understand the real-life and complex problems facing agricultural production, practice change and agribusiness.
Areas of study covered in this course include:
- Agribusiness
- Agricultural production and technology
- Animal science and principles of breeding
- Crop production
- Crop protection and microbiology
- Economics, finance and marketing
- Soil science
Learning Outcomes
Practical experience
Tasmania is an agriculture powerhouse, punching well above our weight in terms of output volume, diversity of what we grow and create, and especially the quality of both our products and natural resources.
Engagement with industry throughout your degree
Our Agriculture and Business course turns the agriculture industry into your classroom through a range of hands-on experiences including field trips to leading agricultural businesses in the state, and the opportunity for development of skills in practical classes.
You will have the opportunity to visit thriving Tasmanian small to medium enterprises such as Westlands nursery, Cracknell Tomatoes, Reid Fruits, and Shambles Brewery. Industry experiences also include research companies such as Peracto, and Tasmanian agronomy companies focused across a wide range of crops all grown locally.
You will also gain valuable and highly relevant knowledge by hearing from industry guest lecturers.
Several of the advanced level units provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate self-directed learning, such as small group projects and industry placement.
The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) and the University farms
The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) is a specialist research and teaching institute at the University of Tasmania specialising in impact-driven research to support prosperous, innovative and sustainable agriculture and food sectors, and a healthy bioeconomy that supports communities around the world.
TIA maintains four farms around the State including dairy, vegetable and grain farming. These provide essential teaching and research links.
The dynamic team of 130+ scientists and technical experts, many of whom are internationally renowned and your lecturers, have developed collaborative links with scientific and business communities, including cooperative research centres in fields such as separation science, geological research, food safety, ocean monitoring, climate and ecosystems.
Overseas Educational Experiences
Our international educational programs offers opportunities to study at universities around the world, and it counts towards your degree. Exchange can allow you to have an affordable educational and cultural experience in a foreign country for a semester, or a full year. To facilitate this, we offer a range of scholarships and financial assistance. You may also be eligible for OS-HELP Loans or scholarship funding to assist with their airfares, accommodation and other expenses.
Find out more about Student Exchange.
Work placement
A work-integrated-learning business placement is offered as part of this degree, providing you the chance to connect with Tasmania's vibrant and dynamic agricultural businesses, facilitated by the strong relationships that the University of Tasmania have with industry. You will get hands-on experience in the industry, and develop networks with potential employers while studying, building valuable career connections before you even graduate.
This week-long placement during your third year generally taking during semester break. Combined with sector wide demand for graduates, these placements give you a great opportunity to gain employment opportunities before you graduate.
Career outcomes
"The best part about the degree for me is learning about all the new industries that are happening in Australia and globally as well. We did a trip up the North West coast of Tasmania, which was really exciting.
We learnt about some amazing industries there and I think that was really important for me. It opened my eyes to what I can take back to the family farm and where the future of farming is going, not just in Tasmania, but Australia as well."
The University of Tasmania collaborates closely with industry and organisations – both locally and internationally – to give you exciting, challenging opportunities to further your career and to contribute to the local and global community.
We have been closely entwined with the Tasmanian state government for many years through the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA), helping ensure best practice and cutting edge technology and production in all aspects of agribusiness.
This degree will provide you with a solid foundation for career opportunities in agribusiness-related consulting and management in the public or private sector. Employment opportunities include:
Agricultural Entrepreneur
Our increasing interest in quality, niche food products has enabled Australia’s agricultural sector to become one of the world’s great food tourism destinations. Studying agriculture and business will provide you with hands on skills in agricultural science and farm management, combined with the business world of marketing and economics.
Agribusiness Consultant
Currency exchange rates, subsidies, tariffs, consumer preferences, climate and interest rates are just a few of the things that influence the business decisions that make Australia’s farming enterprises profitable. A career in agribusiness will enable you to help both primary producers and business lenders make smart business decisions.
Postgraduate study
If you successfully complete this course, you may be also be eligible to apply for a range of other postgraduate courses including Graduate Certificates and Graduate Diplomas and Masters by coursework and research. Filter the Course list on the Agriculture study theme page by Postgraduate to view the current courses available.
Course structure
Year 1
Compulsory Units
Finance is a discipline that deals with the sources and uses of money by individuals, businesses and governments. Financial institutions and markets are the structures through which individuals and organisations access finance. These institutions and markets are therefore an effective…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 |
View all details for BEA112 Fundamentals of Financial Markets and Institutions
This unit can provide you with an introduction to chemical principles sufficient to be used as a pre-requisite for first Year chemistry units that are part of a chemistry major at the University of Tasmania. It is not designed to…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
Launceston | Semester 2 | ||||
Launceston | 5 Week Session Jan A |
Student electives
Experience and Engagement/Student electives (introductory)
Experience and Engagement electives are your choice of units from any study area across the University, subject to meeting relevant prerequisites and quotas. You may choose to enrol in additional discipline/study area units or a study area from another degree.
Unit list
Breadth units
Breadth electives (introductory)
Breadth - Introductory level units
Do you want to make a difference to something in the world you care about? Would you like some time and space to consider, develop and test your approaches in a safe environment, supported by experts in the field? Following…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 |
View all details for XBR102 Developing your Creative and Entrepreneurial Potential
The challenge of ensuring adequate and sustainable food production and equitable access to food for a diverse human population in the 21st century is crucial and profoundly complex. This unit helps you contribute to meeting this challenge. The interdisciplinary skills…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Hobart | Semester 2 |
Ever thought of yourself as one in a million?Universities Australia notes that in 2017 Australia has more than one million students enrolled in Universities across the country. That is more than one million potential graduates entering the workforce over the…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
View all details for XBR110 Discover your potential: Leadership, Service and Employability
Earth is a lively and dynamic planet that is undergoing rapid changes wrought by the activities of humans. In what ways are these changes impacting on us and other species? Are we precipitating another mass extinction; the 6th major mass…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 |
This unit is an elective of the Diploma of Sustainable Living course and explores the interlinked scientific, technical, environmental, economic, social and political factors that have shaped society's energy usage and which will impact on future energy policy and decision…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 |
Year 2
Compulsory Units
Marketing is the practice of managing an organisation’s market offerings to createvalue-laden customer exchanges. Adopting a market orientation means organisationsallow their marketing practices to be responsive to opportunities, and threatspresented in the business environment. This responsiveness enables them to competeeffectively…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Launceston | Accelerated Study Period 2 | ||||
Launceston | Accelerated Study Period 3 | ||||
Cradle Coast | Accelerated Study Period 2 |
This unit equips students with the skills they need to conduct a detailed analysis of an industry and use this analysis to identify and communicate potential market or technical innovations with a variety of target audiences. These target audiences might…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 |
Student electives
Experience and Engagement/Student electives (advanced)
Experience and Engagement electives are your choice of units from any study area across the University, subject to meeting relevant prerequisites and quotas. You may choose to enrol in additional discipline/study area units or a study area from another degree.
Unit list
Experience and Engagement/Student electives (intermediate)
Experience and Engagement electives are your choice of units from any study area across the University, subject to meeting relevant prerequisites and quotas. You may choose to enrol in additional discipline/study area units or a study area from another degree.
Experience and Engagement - Intermediate level units
Experience and Engagement/Student electives (introductory)
Experience and Engagement electives are your choice of units from any study area across the University, subject to meeting relevant prerequisites and quotas. You may choose to enrol in additional discipline/study area units or a study area from another degree.
Unit list
Breadth units
Breadth electives (advanced)
Breadth - Advanced level units
The fast-paced development of new digital technologies provides powerful resources for addressing today's social and environmental challenges. Combining the perspectives of business entrepreneurship, regional science and information systems, this breadth unit will uncover the potential of digitally connected social entrepreneurship…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
View all details for XBR302 Social Entrepreneurship in the Digital Age
Breadth electives (intermediate)
Breadth - Intermediate level units
This second-year unit Working with Communities will give students in a range of conceptual and practical tools to understand the complex idea of community and skills to work effectively with diverse communities in their professional practice. The focus is on…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
Naturally hazardous events do not necessarily result in natural disasters, rather, natural disasters are measured by the impacts of the event on people. This unit will introduce the natural earth systems that create natural hazards, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami,…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 |
This unit introduces students to the world of social research. It answers questions about how to produce knowledge through empirical research, and discusses the methods used to solve practical problems. The unit covers a wide range of social research methodologies and approaches,…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
View all details for XBR212 Interdisciplinary Social Research
Breadth electives (introductory)
Breadth - Introductory level units
Do you want to make a difference to something in the world you care about? Would you like some time and space to consider, develop and test your approaches in a safe environment, supported by experts in the field? Following…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 |
View all details for XBR102 Developing your Creative and Entrepreneurial Potential
The challenge of ensuring adequate and sustainable food production and equitable access to food for a diverse human population in the 21st century is crucial and profoundly complex. This unit helps you contribute to meeting this challenge. The interdisciplinary skills…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Hobart | Semester 2 |
Ever thought of yourself as one in a million?Universities Australia notes that in 2017 Australia has more than one million students enrolled in Universities across the country. That is more than one million potential graduates entering the workforce over the…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
View all details for XBR110 Discover your potential: Leadership, Service and Employability
Earth is a lively and dynamic planet that is undergoing rapid changes wrought by the activities of humans. In what ways are these changes impacting on us and other species? Are we precipitating another mass extinction; the 6th major mass…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 |
This unit is an elective of the Diploma of Sustainable Living course and explores the interlinked scientific, technical, environmental, economic, social and political factors that have shaped society's energy usage and which will impact on future energy policy and decision…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 |
Agriculture Major
Agriculture (BAppSc(AgrBus))
Year 1
Introductory units - compulsory
Approximately two thirds of Australia's agricultural commodities are exported each year, generating $50 billion. This unit provides an understanding of historical developments, current status and future opportunities and challenges of the dominant agricultural and horticultural industries in Tasmania and Australia.…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Launceston | Semester 2 |
View all details for KLA100 Food and Fibre Production in a Global Market
The unit explores human population growth and the impending global food crisis by introducing agriculture as a managed ecosystem, from the earliest shifting cultivation systems to the most intensive systems currently practiced today. The ecological, economic and social sustainability of…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Launceston | Semester 1 |
Year 2
Intermediate units - compulsory
This unit introduces soils of Tasmania and their formation, fertility, and hydrology. The unit links to concepts important in agronomy and horticulture and it aims to develop an understanding of land and soil resources as assets in Tasmanian landscapes. It…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 |
This unit introduces you to the disciplines of entomology and plant pathology. It explores the classification, diversity, structure, function and general biology of insects and examines the concepts of plant disease and diagnostic procedures for plant pathogens (including viruses, bacteria,…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 |
View all details for KLA255 Introductory Entomology and Plant Pathology
Year 3
Advanced units - compulsory
In this unit we study the principles behind the management of agricultural pest insects, weeds and diseases. The unit includes modules on (1) Biosecurity, (2) Weeds, (3) Pest & disease monitoring and decision making, (4) Chemicals in crop protection,(5) Cultural…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 |
Examines the status of agronomy, including developments in breeding, physiology and management. Farming systems research is also examined through a study of topics such as seasonal forecasting and climate change, crop sequence, crop simulation modelling and precision farming, Practical work…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
This unit links your knowledge in agronomy, horticulture and business to the area of agricultural land resource assessment. We will develop your understanding and land management skills via practical experiences with SE Tasmanian soil and land resources. This unit will…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Launceston | Semester 1 |
Advanced units - choice
Welcome to Insect Ecology & Behaviour. This unit is research focused in its contentand assessment. We will explore three key research areas in depth: these are insectmating systems, insect natural enemies and insect-plant-interactions. In each of theseareas we will ask…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
The focus of this unit is on advanced topics of plant disease biology and management. Concepts will be illustrated with diseases caused by viral and virus-like agents, phytopathogenic bacteria and fungi in agricultural and horticultural systems. Topics include infection biology,…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 |
Entry requirements
Detailed Admissions Information
Detailed admissions information and advice for all undergraduate courses, including comprehensive, course-level student profiles, is available from UTAS Admissions.
Fees & scholarships
Domestic students
This is a full-fee course, which means you’ll need to pay the full amount for your studies. Commonwealth Supported Places are not available in this course. However, there are still support options available for eligible students to help you manage the cost of studying this course.
You may be able to fund all or part of your tuition fees by accessing a FEE-HELP loan from the Australian Government. FEE-HELP is a loan scheme that assists domestic full-fee students to pay for University, which is repaid through the Australian Tax System once you earn above a repayment threshold. This means you’ll only have to start repaying the loan once you start earning above a specific amount
Our scholarships and prizes program also offers more than 400 scholarships across all areas of study. You can even apply for multiple scholarships in one easy application.
Further informationDetailed fee information for domestic students is available at Scholarships, fees and costs, including additional information in relation to the compulsory Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF).
Scholarships
Scholarships for domestic students
Each year, the University offers more than 900 awards to students from all walks of life, including: those who have achieved high academic results, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, students with sporting ability, students undertaking overseas study, and students with a disability.
The Agricultural industry are desperate for graduates, and as a result there are currently more scholarships available for Agriculture students than any other discipline at the University of Tasmania! Over $300,000 in scholarships and bursaries are available, including:
- Agriculture and Food Systems Scholarship ($4,000 per year for four years)
- Bruce Wall Scholarship ($5,000 per year for four years)
- City of Devonport Lions Club Taste the Harvest Scholarship
For information on all scholarships available at the University of Tasmania, please visit the scholarships website.
Applications for most awards commencing in Semester 1 open at the beginning of August and close strictly on 31 October in the year prior to study.
Scholarships for international students
There are a huge range of scholarships, bursaries and fee discounts available for international students studying at the University of Tasmania. For more information on these, visit the Tasmanian International Scholarships (TIS) website.
How can we help?
Do you have any questions about choosing a course or applying? Get in touch.
- Domestic
- 13 8827 (13 UTAS)
- International
- +61 3 6226 6200
- Course.Info@utas.edu.au
- Online
- Online enquiries