Curriculum
First year
- Business management and finance - 12 ECTS
- Management basics
- Financial accounting and business evaluation
- Economics for the agri-food system - 10 ECTS
- Agri-food economics and policy
- Microeconomics of the agri-food system
- Agricultural and food marketing - 6 ECTS
- Food safety management - 10 ECTS
- Food protection management
- Food risk: analysis and management
- Industrial organisation and strategic decision-making in the food system - 10 ECTS
- Strategic decision making
- Industrial organisation
- Quantitative methods - 12 ECTS
- Applied mathematics and statistics for the agri-food system
- Applied econometrics for the agri-food system
- Research methods in agricultural and food economics - 1 ECTS
Second year
- Agricultural, food and environmental policies of the European Union - 6 ECTS
- Economics of agricultural and food markets - 7 ECTS
- Optional courses* - 10 ECTS
- Final dissertation - 20 ECTS
- Seminars - 1 ECTS
- Soft skills and entrepreneurship - 1 ECTS
A) Track in Innovation Management
- Multi-channel retail marketing - 5 ECTS
- Innovation management in the food industry - 5 ECTS
- Food consumer psychology and market intelligence - 5 ECTS
B) Track in Sustainability Management
- Sustainability budget and corporate social responsibility - 5 ECTS
- Food footprint: the environmental impact of the agro food chain - 5 ECTS
- Economics of sustainability and circularity in food systems - 5 ECTS
* Suggested optional courses:
- Food supply chain management - 5 ECTS
- Agricultural, food market istitutions - 5 ECTS
- Business planning for start-up - 5 ECTS
- Laboratory on big data and artificial intelligence for the agri-food system - 5 ECTS
- Italian language and civilisation for international students (SELDA) (only for non-Italian students) - 5 ECTS
Double degree and exchange opportunities
Double Degree with Wageningen University (the Netherlands)
Degrees awarded:
- MSc in Agricultural and Food Economics (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
- Master in Management, Economics and Consumer Studies (Wageningen University)
The Double Degree is an agreement between SMEA and the Wageningen University (The Netherlands) that gives students the chance to attend the second year at Wageningen University and obtain both degrees, thanks to a jointly supervised thesis.
Thanks to the mutual recognition of ECTS credits and a thesis supervised by professors from both universities, students participating in the Double Degree will receive both degrees.
Admission to the programme is based on merit and knowledge of English, an essential tool to be able to follow courses held in both universities.
For each academic year a maximum of 3 students can enter the programme.
The AFEPA Programme is offered by a consortium of four European partner universities:
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Cremona, Italy
- Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Germany
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden
- Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
There are also three associated partner universities:
- Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain
- University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile
Students in the programme spend the 1st year in Università Cattolica and the 2nd year at one of the European partner universities. They can also take part in a short exchange at one of the associated partner universities. By completing studies at two partner universities, students receive a Double Degree from the universities they attended.
Degrees awarded:
- MSc degree in Agricultural and Food Economics (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
- Master of Science in Agricultural and Food Economics (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn)
- Master in Agriculture and Bio-industries (Université Catholique de Louvain)
Erasmus+/ Exchange programmes
Students enrolled at the MSc in Agricultural and Food Economics at Università Cattolica will also have the chance to join an Erasmus+ or Exchange programme at one of the following partner universities:
- Technische Universität München (Germany)
- North Dakota State University (Fargo, North Dakota)
- University of California (Davis, California)*
- Western Sydney University (Australia)
- Griffith University, Brisbane (Australia)
- Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Australia)
Career opportunities
Some examples:
- managerial positions in agri-food corporations (multi-national food companies, small and medium enterprises, retail chains);
- managerial positions in professional associations linked to the agricultural and food sector;
- consultants for agricultural and food companies;
- professional positions in international organisations;
- research positions in universities or applied research companies.
Programme dates
Classes for the academic year 2024/25 started on September 23rd, 2024.
Find here the calendar of the Faculty of Agricultural, food and environmental sciences for the academic year 204/25.
Participation to the Orientation Event is highly recommended – Find details here!