Bachelor of Science in Precision Agriculture and Agricultural Robotics
Agricultural robotics has just been named a distinct undergraduate discipline in the world's largest higher education system, and the reason is arithmetic rather than fashion: farm labour is becoming scarcer and more expensive everywhere, i...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Precision agriculture agronomist
- agricultural robotics and machinery engineer
- agricultural drone operations manager
- irrigation systems engineer
- farm data analyst
- agricultural technology sales and support engineer
- plantation technical manager
- agritech founder.
Employer types
- Commercial farms, plantations and outgrower schemes
- agricultural machinery and irrigation distributors
- agritech companies and drone service providers
- sugar, tea, coffee and horticulture estates
- agricultural research organisations
- development programmes
- input companies
- and student founded service ventures.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- A new and rapidly forming employment category with almost no domestic supply, plus a strong self-employment route because drone and mechanisation services can be sold to smallholders immediately on graduation.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Precision Agriculture and Agricultural Robotics. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 110 | Principles of Crop Science and Agronomy Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 111 | Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 112 | Mathematics and Data Handling for Agriculture Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| AFT 113 | Farm Practice and Mechanisation Workshop I Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 130 | Agricultural Engineering Principles and Machinery Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 131 | Plant Protection: Pests, Diseases and Weeds Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 132 | Programming and Sensors for Agriculture Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 133 | Agricultural Meteorology and Climate Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 210 | Precision Agriculture Systems and Field Sensing Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 211 | Irrigation and Water Management Engineering Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 212 | Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems for Agriculture Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 213 | Agricultural Economics and Farm Budgeting Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| AFT 230 | Agricultural Robotics and Drone Operations Practicum Performance | 6 | 1-0-10 |
| AFT 231 | Seed Systems and Crop Improvement Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 310 | Autonomous Field Machinery and Control Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 311 | Farm Data Platforms and Decision Support Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 312 | Machine Learning for Yield and Disease Prediction Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| AFT 313 | Postharvest Systems and Storage Engineering Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| AFT 330 | Commercial Farm Systems Practicum Performance | 6 | 0-0-0 |
| AFT 331 | Livestock and Mixed Farming Systems Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| AFT 410 | Controlled Environment and Protected Agriculture Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 411 | Agricultural Service Business Design Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 412 | Soil and Water Conservation Engineering Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| AFT 413 | Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| AFT 430 | Precision Agriculture Capstone: Farm Commission (client verified) Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| AFT 431 | Agricultural Extension, Advisory and Digital Services Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| AFT 432 | Agricultural Machinery Maintenance and Fleet Management Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| AFT 433 | Professional Practice, Safety and Standards in Agriculture Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 178
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Precision Agriculture and Agricultural Robotics
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems Fluency CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C12Stewardship and Public Contribution CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Stewardship and Public Contribution. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Apply agronomic science to crop production decisions in tropical smallholder and commercial systems.
- PLO 2Deploy sensing, imagery and soil data to diagnose field variability and prescribe treatment.
- PLO 3Operate, maintain and integrate agricultural machinery drones and autonomous field equipment.
- PLO 4Design and manage irrigation and water application systems for African conditions.
- PLO 5Build and interpret farm decision models and yield prediction systems.
- PLO 6Evaluate the economics of a mechanisation or precision intervention before recommending it.
- PLO 7Design services that work for farmers with small plots, low literacy and no connectivity.
Why this programme exists
Agricultural robotics has just been named a distinct undergraduate discipline in the world's largest higher education system, and the reason is arithmetic rather than fashion: farm labour is becoming scarcer and more expensive everywhere, i...
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes from Biology, Agriculture, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry or Geography, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics, English and a science subject. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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