University Centre Bishop Burton
UCAS Code: T43F | Foundation Degree in Science - FdSc
Entry requirements
A level
72 UCAS points in a relevant Level 3 Access to HE Diploma
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
T Level
P (C+) required as a minimum
UCAS Tariff
A relevant BTEC Level 3 and significant industry experience. Or UCAS points may be from qualifications such as T Levels, A Levels, BTEC Level 3 Extended Diplomas, Access to Higher Education Diplomas, and City and Guilds Advanced Technical Diplomas amongst others. Please use the UCAS Tariff points calculator to determine the UCAS points value of your qualifications.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
Precision Crop Technology is widely accepted as the future of UK and global farming, helping farmers optimise inputs to feed a growing global population. This course will future proof your learning, preparing you for a career in the ever-changing agricultural sector.
You will learn about a wide variety of components, such as data sensors, connected devices and remote-control tools to ensure you are ready for employment. The course aims to optimise field-level management with regard to crop science (by matching farming practices more closely to crop needs e.g. fertilizer inputs) and environmental protection (by reducing environmental risks and footprint of farming e.g. limiting leaching of nitrogen). You will make use of satellite technology allowing real-time management of crops and fields, to monitor and reduce the environmental impact of farming.
**What will I study?**
Year 1
- Academic, Employment and Professional Skills
- Fundamentals of Business
- Industry Skills for Agriculture
- Precision Crop Technology
- Mechanisation
- Plant and Soil Science
- Crop Production
Year 2
- Robotics and Automated Technology
- Agronomy
- Agriculture and the Environment
- Financial Management and Planning
- Precision Technology in the Wider Sector
- Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
- Introductory Research Analysis.
**Learning and Teaching Approach**
The programme is delivered with a variety of learning and teaching approaches. For all modules, there are theory lectures delivered, aimed to deliver the core content, provide the underpinning knowledge and facilitate further expansion of such concepts by the students, through independent study.
To complement the theory lectures, students have group seminars that are used to reinforce those concepts delivered theoretically. The seminars focus on delivering using a student-centred approach to enhance the independent learning that takes place outside of the classroom
Practical sessions both at the Bishop Burton and Riseholme College Farms are also incorporated into a range of modules on this programme making it extremely applied and prepares students effectively for the workplace. The academic curriculum provided by the programme is supported throughout by the extensive practical facilities offered at both the college’s farms.
**Contact Time**
Contact time includes approximately 12-14 hours a week to include lectures, seminars, practicals and tutorials.
Students are also expected to carry out a significant amount of independent study in addition to contact time (approximately 25-30 hours a week). Independent study includes reading around the subject, preparing for tutorials and seminars, preparing for, and completing, module assessments and revision for examinations; forming an essential part of a student’s learning journey.
**Career Opportunities**
Students graduating from this programme could follow careers in machinery dealerships, machinery operators, as technology programmers and trainee agronomists.
Modules
You will study;
Crop production
Plant and soil science
Mechanisation
Advanced mechanisation
Agricultural and the environment
Research and analysis
Assessment methods
Assessment methods include written assignments, case studies, practical assessments, presentations, project based assessment, time constrained assessments and invigilated exams. Opportunities for feedback on assessments are available prior to the final submission to support student development and achievement. Staff aim to return assessed work within a 20 working day timeframe (not including holidays) so that you can most benefit from the feedback.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
What students say
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Agriculture
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
About 70% of the UK's land area is given over to agriculture, so this is a subject representing an important part of the country's economy. Typical starting jobs for graduates in agriculture include agricultural science, farming and farm management, but graduates also go into other areas, such as the horticulture trade, auctioneering and conservation. Agriculture graduates are also in increasing demand for one of the hardest-to-fill jobs in the country - surveying. Jobs for agriculture graduates are often in rural areas - in 2016, areas like Essex, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire and Kent were all important for agriculture graduates.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Agriculture
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£19k
£22k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Explore these similar courses...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here



