Courses

You can find courses by looking at our online Study Handbook and Schedule and viewing either the Study Handbook itself (there is a button to access it) or the Course Planning excel file (there is a button to access it). Most courses at WU are 6 ECTS.

Reading the subject code

Every course has its own subject code, e.g. AEP-20306 Economics of Agribusiness. The three letters in this code indicate the chair group offering the course. The next part of the code indicates the level of the course. Digits 1 and 2 indicate introductory (bachelor) level and digit 3 and above a more advanced level course. If the first digit is more than a 3 it no longer means that a higher digit is a more advanced course. Courses with a first digit of 1 are sometimes offered in Dutch only. The last two digits indicate the number of ECTS credits the course is worth.

Looking for courses in the Study Handbook

There are various ways to look for courses in the Study Handbook using the different tabs:

1.    Per BSc or MSc programme: this is always a good starting point to find possible interesting courses within your field of study and to get acquainted with the some of the Chair Groups that teach in the particular programme.

2.    Per minor: this is a good way to find an interesting minor and get a feeling of what areas of teaching are covered in Wageningen.

3.    The Courses tab then allows you to search by Department (so by Chair Group); this is very useful if you have particular interest in the work and teaching of certain Chair Groups. This is a very good starting point as you get a good overview of everything on offer within a particular department/chair group and thus specific field of study. You can also use the Courses tab to search per Period and then you can specify to look for courses in different parts of day (MO = morning; AF =afternoon; WD = whole day).

When you have selected a specific course you will see the course schedule; staff involved; language of instruction; assumed knowledge; continuation courses; contents; learning outcomes; activities; examination; literature used. You will also see at the bottom of the page whether the course is part (either compulsory or restricted optional) for particular BSc or MSc programmes or minors.

Looking for courses in the Course Planning excel file

The Course Planning file contains a list of courses that you can sort per period and part of day (MO = morning; AF =afternoon; WD = whole day). You can also sort courses according to language of instruction. It is a very useful tool to make specific detailed selections and come to a plan before the detailed schedules are published per course (these are accessed through the Study Handbook). In cases where the information of the course planning differs from the Study Handbook, use the information in the Study Handbook.

Language of instruction

Always check carefully whether you are able to follow the course. All the subjects of our MSc programmes are taught in English as well as most of the 3rd year BSc courses. We have several international BSc programmes that are fully taught in English.

Teaching methods

Different methods of instructions are used for each course. The most commonly used teaching methods are lectures and practicals. (Group) assignments, presentations, literature studies and case studies are often involved. Also fieldwork and excursions can be part of a course. The final mark for a course is based on the different elements.

Maximum number of participants

Note that some courses have a maximum number of participants (this is indicated in the Study Handbook). We never advise exchange students to take these courses as they do not get priority to participate.