International Horticulture (M. Sc.)

Information for applicants

The important things about the standard course duration, admission requirements, the skills needed and career opportunities – and also how to apply for a place:

International Horticulture (Master of Science)

Fruits, vegetables, flowers and trees – improving their quality, yield, economic performance and their eco-friendly cultivation are the domain of horticultural scientists. We do research in various fields of plant biotechnology, crop production and horticultural value chains, from molecular plant breeding and plant architecture modeling to the economics of crop production, horticultural value chains and market research.

The two-year Master of Science programme International Horticulture is heavily focused on the master's thesis research project. The twenty-month master's thesis and associated modules make the thesis the main part of the Master of Science programme.

Students can choose thesis supervision and courses from the fields of fruit and vegetable science, floriculture, woody plant sciences, biostatistics, plant propagation, plant nutrition, phytomedicine, plant breeding, molecular plant breeding, biotechnology, molecular biology, plant genomics, plant proteomics, botany, physiology as well as horticultural economics.

For DAAD scholars compulsory business and leadership courses are offered.

Programme objectives

Main goal of the Master of Science in International Horticulture programme is to enable international students to solve a problem through independent research and thus to contribute to the scientific knowledge process. This requires the acquisition of specialist knowledge and the ability to analyse a problem independently, to evaluate alternative solutions, if necessary to acquire new methodological knowledge and to present a final assessment.

The nature of the problem to be solved is usually of secondary importance for the learning success. Graduates often confirm that these skills are an essential basis for their competence to act, regardless of whether they have embarked on a scientific or practical career after completing their studies at Leibniz University.
Communication, which is practiced in numerous colloquia with the presentation of one's own research approaches and later the results of the work, is also important for subsequent professional success. Working in teams is also a learning objective and takes place practically in the respective research groups of the supervisors.

About the course – everything you need at a glance

Two year study plan for English majors

The chart describes elements of the two year study plan for the three English majors in further detail.

Students looking for information about the study plan for the German language Major Gartenbauliche Wertschöpfungsketten, please see the German page.

Module catalogue

International Horticulture (M. Sc.)

Module catalogue [PDF]

Module Overview

The master course is modular in structure: Thematically related courses, e.g. lectures, seminars, experimental exercises and internships, can be combined into one module. The modules are assigned credit points (LP) according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

Credit points reflect the average time spent on course attendance, self-study and exam preparation required to pass the module. An LP/ECTS is awarded for an average workload of 30 hours. As a rule, 30 LPs/ECTS are acquired in one semester.

The Master's programme comprises a total of 120 credit points (LP/ECTS). It consists of compulsory and required elective modules.

For application students decide to study in German or English language. The three majors offered in English language comprise Plant Production and Propagation, Plant Biotechnology, Physiology and Genetics and Economics. The fourth major Gartenbauliche Wertschöpfungsketten is taught in German language.

All courses are listed and described in the Module guide book /Modulhandbuch. A short overview of all modules can be found in the module overview / Modulübersicht.

StudIP shows when and where a course takes place.

Degree course-specific rules

Please take into account that only the German version of the admission and the examination regulation is the legally binding version. English translations of these documents will be provided soon. They will serve only as an aid to understanding.

International Horticulture (M. Sc.)

Admission regulation [in German]

International Horticulture (M. Sc.)

Examination regulation [in German]

International Horticulture (M. Sc.)

Admission regulation [in English]

International Horticulture (M. Sc.)

Examination regulation [in English]

Schedule of Lectures and Timetable

When and where do courses take place?

Stud.IP

For the english majors only:

Timetable

For the current academic year:

Semester dates

Online course catalogue of Leibniz University

Exams and Assessment: timetable, registration and information

Please register each course you want to take in StudIP. Additionally, you must register for every exam in QIS (HIS-LSF) during the registration periods. Look for course titles or lecturers. You can withdraw any time.

For the modules A04 and A05 as well as your master thesis, forms have to be submitted to the Examination Office (Akademisches Prüfungsamt) in the University's main building (Welfenschloss), room F 309 (Mon - Thu 10:00 - 12:30 & Thu 14:00 - 16:00). You can find the forms through the link on the right.

Schedule of exams [PDF]

Audit plans

Registration and examination periods, online services, information and forms

Examination information

People to contact over examination issues

Contact addresses

International Horticulture

Masterthesis, Courses, etc.

Leibniz University

General Services

Master Thesis

One of the major tasks and the core of the research oriented Master of Science program in International Horticulture is the production and completion of a thesis. Chronologically, it includes the drafting of a research proposal and its presentation in a colloquium, the conduct of research in laboratories or in the field, the writing of a research report and its presentation and at the end this is summing up to the master thesis which is defended in a final colloquium.

Consequently, presentation skills will be as well trained during the program by six to seven presentations of the thesis in the course of the two years of study. Students will often present their research within their supervisor’s own research group before presenting in the colloquium.

Topics for the thesis depend on the choice of major and are usually proposed by the supervisor, but students may always propose their ideas and discuss with their supervisors. Since the planning of the work in the three English-speaking specialisations is already presented at the end of the first semester, the choice of topic is carried out as soon as possible after the semester start. Interested students and applicants can visit the supervisor’s website to inform themselves about general topics the research group is working on and recent and past publications.
PhD Studies

Many of the MSc International Horticulture graduates of the past 20 years have carried out a PhD after their studies. Numbers vary between years from 20% to 70%. About one third of those have accomplished their PhD at Leibniz University in Hannover, the majority in Germany and the rest elsewhere.
Alumni Perspectives

Keeping in touch with our alumni contributes to the research of our university and our alumni are the flagship of our degree programme. They often successfully do their doctorates and advertise our degree programme in their home countries and by staying in contact with them we can prove the success of our degree programme with their statements. Alumni contact us in order to establish and maintain their academic network, they meet academics from our university within the framework of DAAD Alumni Workshops, which bring them to Germany or which we conduct ourselves.

Some alumni remain in Germany for some time for various reasons, e.g. to gain a doctorate or work experience. For example, a graduate has been employed by a breeder with the aim of gaining further knowledge before starting his own business in his home country.

Other graduates work in national authorities or industry, or in horticultural production companies in their home countries or in Germany. International organisations and internationally established companies or corresponding departments are also interested in our graduates and their language skills, e.g. to send them to their home countries after a trainee phase and work for the company there. We therefore observe that careers are increasingly circular, especially because the horticulture industry is highly globalized.

General Information: After Graduation

Institutes involved in the delivery of the programme

FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT

Master Thesis' Supervisors

Major Plant Production and Propagation

The major Plant Production and Propagation is offered by the following supervisors:

Institute of Biostatistics

Dr. Frank Schaarschmidt
Main fields of research: Biostatistics, statistical methods in bioinformatics.

Institute of Horticultural Production Systems

Fruit Science section

Prof. Dr. Moritz Knoche
Main fields of research: Fruit growth and development.

Dr. Bishnu Khanal
Main fields of resarch: Mechanical properties of cuticles and their primary determinants

Phytomedicine section

Prof. Dr. Edgar Maiss
Main fields of research: Molecular characterization of plant viruses, genetic engineering, transgenic plants, risk assessment of virus resistant transgenic plants.

Dr. Rainer Meyhöfer
Main fields of research: Development of sustainable plant protection strategies in open land vegetable production, Optimisation of the application of beneficial organisms in the greenhouse, Intraguild predation: mechanisms and impact on populations, Invasive insect species in Germany: threat or enrichment?

Floriculture section

Prof. Dr. Margrethe Serek
Main fields of research: Postharvest physiology and biology, in-vitro propagation and biotechnology of ornamental crops.

Vegetable Systems Modelling section

Prof. Dr. Hartmut Stützel
Main fields of research: Modelling plant growth and development, models for harvest forecast and plant architectural modelling, genomic modelling, mechanical weed control, models for irrigation scheduling, physiology of plant adaptation to drought, physiology and ecology of the nitrogen cycle.

Woody Plant and Propagation Physiology section

Prof. Dr. Traud Winkelmann
Main fields of research: Physiology of propagation of horticultural crops, in vitro culture techniques, propagation of woody plants, interspecific hybridization, genetic transformation, somatic embryogenesis.
Major in Economics

The major in Economics is offered by the following supervisors:

Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Grote
Main fields of research: environmental economics, international trade, regionalism and globalization, policy analysis related to environmental and social labeling, value chain analysis, natural disasters, migration and vulnerability.

Institute of Development and Agricultural Economics

Prof. Dr. Hermann Waibel
Main fields of research: environmental and resource economics, development economics, natural resources management and policy.
Major in Biotechnology, Physiology and Genetics

The major Plant Biotechnology, Physiology and Genetics is offerend by the following supervisors:

Institute of Biostatistics

Dr. Frank Schaarschmidt
Main fields of research: Biostatistics, statistical methods in bioinformatics

Institute of Plant Genetics

Plant Breeding section

Prof. Dr. Thomas Debener
Main fields of research: Plant genetics, marker assisted selection, gene isolation and characterisation, genetic engineering.

Biotechnology section

Prof. Dr. Jens Boch
Main fields of research: Bacterial plant pathogens and their weapons, Genome editing (TALENs)

Molecular Biology section

Prof. Dr. Udo Schmitz
Main fields of research: Extrachromosomal genetics, cytoplasmic male sterility and biochemistry of higher plants.

Plant Proteomics section

Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Braun
Main fields of research: Plant mitochondria, respiration, photosynthesis, proteomics, protein transport.

Institute of Horticultural Productions Systems

Fruit Science section

Prof. Dr. Moritz Knoche
The section Fruit Science is particularly concerned with the physiology of fruits like apple and cherry and covers both, basic research questions as well as strategies for breeding and propagation.

Dr. Bishnu Khanal
Main fields of resarch: Mechanical properties of cuticles and their primary determinants

Phytomedicine section

Prof. Dr. Edgar Maiss
Main fields of research: Molecular characterization of plant viruses, genetic engineering, transgenic plants, risk assessment of virus resistant transgenic plants.

Dr. Rainer Meyhöfer
Main fields of research: Development of sustainable plant protection strategies in open land vegetable production, Optimisation of the application of beneficial organisms in the greenhouse, Intraguild predation: mechanisms and impact on populations, Invasive insect species in Germany: threat or enrichment?

Woody Plant and Propagation Physiology section

Prof. Dr. Traud Winkelmann
Main fields of research: Physiology of propagation of horticultural crops, in vitro culture techniques, propagation of woody plants, interspecific hybridization, genetic transformation, somatic embryogenesis.

Institute of Botany

Prof. Dr. Jutta Papenbrock
Main fields of research: Plant sulfur metabolism, abiotic stress, salt – and drought tolerant plants

Institute of Plant Nutrition

Prof. Dr. Claus-Peter Witte
Main fields of resarch: Nucelotide and urea catabolism, physiological function of genes/proteins involved in nutrient remobilization