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FORWARD
University
Under review

Master of Science in Agrifood Systems Intelligence

Agricultural transformation programmes across the continent are commissioned, funded and evaluated by people who cannot interrogate the data underneath them. This programme produces the senior analyst who can model a value chain end to end,...

MScHybrid18 months (3 semesters)Intake August 202790 credit units

The four facts

What you actually need to compare

Award and entry
MSc
A
Duration and mode
18 months (3 semesters)
Hybrid. Includes 12 months of paid, assessed cooperative education.
Cost
UGX 3,600,000 per year
Tier 2 laboratory classification. Includes UGX 600,000 annual laboratory premium.
Outcome targeted
Agrifood systems analyst, agricultural programme designer and evaluator, value chain strategist
Reviewed by 2031. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed.
Fee structure Key dates 90 credit units

Pricing Model 5.1 · The Forward Standard

Master of Science in Agrifood Systems Intelligence fee

UGX 3,600,000 per year

Laboratory tier
Tier 2
Annual premium
UGX 600,000
Per semester
UGX 1,800,000
Whole programme
UGX 5,400,000
Approximate USD
≈ USD 1,421

What this fee includes

  • Teaching, practice tutoring, assessment and competency verification
  • The Amagezi platform and AI tutor around the clock
  • All learning materials
  • Every examination, including first resits
  • Identity card, library, guild, sports and basic wellbeing
  • Co-op placement matching and the Capability Passport
  • Graduation and the statutory NCHE fee
  • Online application

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

  • Agrifood systems analyst
  • agricultural programme designer and evaluator
  • value chain strategist
  • agricultural data and digital lead
  • policy analyst
  • corporate sourcing and sustainability manager.

Employer types

  • Ministries of agriculture and planning authorities
  • development banks and donors
  • international agricultural organisations
  • food and beverage corporates
  • agritech firms
  • research institutes
  • and consulting practices.

Target outcomes we hold ourselves to

  • Senior analytical and programme roles with strong donor, government and corporate demand.

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

Read the co-op commitment

Am I eligible?

Check yourself against the published requirements

7 questions written specifically for Master of Science in Agrifood Systems Intelligence. 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.

Question 1 of 70%

What is the highest qualification you hold?

Requirement tested: A completed bachelor's degree in a cognate field, or a recognised equivalent with professional experience.

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

TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY SEMESTER 1Year 1
30 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 501
Applied Intelligence for Professionals
Both
42-2-0
FDC 502
Research Evidence and Method
Both
42-2-0
AFT 510
Agrifood Systems and Value Chain Analysis
Both
64-2-2
AFT 511
Data Science for Agriculture
Performance
63-2-4
AFT 512
Agricultural and Food Economics
Both
53-2-2
AFT 513
Research Design and Causal Inference
Both
53-2-2
TERM 2 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY SEMESTER 2Year 1
30 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 503
Governance, Ethics and Leadership of Intelligent Systems
Both
42-2-0
AFT 520
Geospatial and Remote Sensing Analytics for Agriculture
Performance
74-2-4
AFT 521
Programme Design, Evaluation and Impact Measurement
Both
64-2-2
AFT 522
Climate Risk and Food Security Modelling
Both
53-2-2
AFT 523
Digital Agriculture Systems and Data Governance
Both
53-2-2
AFT 524
Advanced Elective
Objective
32-2-0
TERM 3 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY SEMESTER 3:Year 2
30 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
AFT 530
Dissertation: Applied Agrifood Commission (client verified)
Performance
200-2-38
AFT 531
Agricultural Policy, Trade and Institutions
Both
53-2-2
AFT 532
Research Communication and Policy Translation
Objective
54-2-0

Total credit units: 90

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 Master of Science in Agrifood Systems Intelligence

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

Mandatory live session Flexible bite-sized lesson Optional event

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 SEMESTER 1

Year 1 · this step is worth 30 CU

Cumulative

30

Programme total

90

30 CU of 90 CU completed by the end of this step (33%)

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 Reasoning CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
  • C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 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 Literacy CriticalLevel 3 of 4, Independent
  • C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent

Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. 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.

  1. PLO 1Model an agrifood value chain and locate its binding constraints with evidence.
  2. PLO 2Apply machine learning and geospatial analysis to agricultural and food systems questions.
  3. PLO 3Design and evaluate agricultural interventions with defensible causal methods.
  4. PLO 4Design data and digital systems for agricultural programmes at scale.
  5. PLO 5Assess climate, market and food security risk and communicate it to decision makers.
  6. PLO 6Conduct and report applied research to publication or commission standard.

Why this programme exists

Agricultural transformation programmes across the continent are commissioned, funded and evaluated by people who cannot interrogate the data underneath them. This programme produces the senior analyst who can model a value chain end to end,...

Admission requirements

A Bachelor's degree of at least Second Class Lower Division in agriculture, economics, statistics, engineering, computing or a cognate discipline. 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.