Agricultural Engineering (Hons)

Overview

The agri-food sector is one of Ireland's most important indigenous manufacturing sectors, accounting for the employment of around 170,000 people. Enterprise Ireland (EI) has identified Agricultural Machinery as one of the dominant engineering sub sectors within Irish Engineering, recognising this area as having significant growth potential in the coming years. 

If you have a particular interest in the design, manufacturing, operation and maintenance of agricultural machineries, then the Agricultural Engineering (Hons) degree from the Atlantic Technological University is for you.

What you'll study

Students will gain transferable knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• Design

• Manufacturing

• Agricultural Sciences

This degree is very hands-on with weekly practicals classes, workshop practice, individual and group projects as well as work placement experience. Over the duration of the programme, each student will receive, on average, 24 hours of tuition per week. Students will be based between the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at GMIT Galway campus and GMIT Mountbellew campus (at MountbellewAgricultural College).

The Level 8 programme has been approved as one of the qualifications which meets the requirements for 'Young Trained Farmer Status' for the purpose of farm inheritance, grant aids, and tax exemptions. In order to comply with the requirements, students will complete an additional 5 credits per year.

Job Opportunities

It is envisaged that graduates from the programme will be employed in a wide diversity of agricultural engineering related disciplines both nationally and internationally, namely;

• Technical/engineering drafting, field technicians

• Agricultural engineering design/systems design

• Agricultural systems (destructive and non-destructive testing)

• Agricultural processing, engineering sales, service etc.

• Cognate disciplines which involving heavy machinery design (i.e. Forestry, Peat &  Mining)

• Bioenergy/biomass sector

Some graduates may also become self-employed.