MSc in Rural Development Engineering

MSc in Rural Development Engineering

Last modified: 13. December 2025

The aim of the program is to train agricultural engineers specializing in rural development. Graduates will acquire the knowledge necessary to oversee production, distribution, and control processes, ensuring optimal resource utilization. They will also be skilled in organizing and managing production and service activities.
Students gain in-depth knowledge of rural and regional development in Europe and Hungary, particularly the role of agriculture in sustaining and advancing rural areas. Graduates are prepared for careers as planning and development engineers, researchers, and managers, and they are eligible to pursue doctoral studies.

Qualification of the degree:

  • level of degree: Master of Science (MSc);
  • qualification: Rural Development Engineer.

Length of program: 4 semesters
Work schedule: full-time (HU, EN) or correspondence (HU)
Financial options: state scholarship or self-funded
Program Leader: Dr. habil. Tibor Farkas associate professor (Szent István Campus)
Deputy program leader: Dr. László Péli associate professor (Szent István Campus)
Cooperative Program Coordinators:

  • Dr. Kinga Szabó (Kaposvár Campus)
  • Dr. Gábor Koncz (Károly Róbert Campus)
  • Dr. Ernő Kovács (Georgikon Campus)

Training sites

  • Gödöllő 
  • Kaposvár 
  • Gyöngyös 
  • Keszthely 
  • Szarvas
  • Csíkszereda 
  • Zenta 

Language of conduction:

  • Szent István Campus: Hungarian, English
  • Károly Róbert Campus: Hungarian
  • Georgikon Campus: Hungarian
  • Kaposvár Campus: Hungarian 
  • Csíkszereda: Hungarian
  • Zenta: Hungarian

Characteristics of the correspondence training program

The curriculum, the progression of knowledge, and the final examination requirements are identical to those of the full-time program. The nature of instruction, the organization of subject groups, and certain methodological aspects may vary depending on the location of instruction.
Classes in the correspondence training program are held on Fridays and Saturdays at all training locations.

Off-campus, cross-border training
The curriculum, course structure, and requirements of the cross-border Rural Development Agricultural Engineering program are identical to those of the domestic correspondence program. A key difference is the inclusion of country-specific knowledge in the curriculum. The program is organized under the coordination of the deputy head of the program, with the assistance of designated Consultation Centers.
Consultation Centers:

  • Csíkszereda, Pro Agricultura Hargitae Universitas Foundation
  •  Zenta, Pro Scientia Naturae Foundation

The Consultation Centers provide facilities for weekend consultations, offering classrooms equipped with teaching tools, subject-specific demonstration materials, a specialized library, a reading room, and a computer lab.
At each Consultation Center, a designated local coordinator organizes the consultations and practical sessions within the respective region and maintains direct contact with the university:

  • In Csíkszereda: Dr. Zsuzsanna János (e-mail: office@pahru.ro)
  • In Zenta: Dr. László Lengyel (e-mail: proscnat@gmail.com)

The teaching of the courses specified in the curriculum is supervised by visiting instructors appointed from the relevant university departments. These instructors hold consultations several times each semester at the Consultation Centers and are responsible for the objective assessment of the course material in accordance with the prescribed requirements of each subject.
 

Professional practice

The professional practice is an opportunity to apply the acquired knowledge and practical skills together, to combine theoretical and practical knowledge, to get to know the workplace and work processes, to practice professional competences, in the workplace and in the job, for the duration specified in the training and outcome requirements of the Master's degree program, in the workplace and in the job corresponding to the qualification. Students are required to complete a practice report (diary).
Practice for full-time work schedule students
In principle, the practice can be carried out in the following types of sites:

  • in the places of practice offered by the Institute;
  • the placements found by students themselves in agreement with the institute;
  • Erasmus placements.

Skills and Competencies Acquired

Holders of a master's degree in rural development engineering are able to:

  • understand and form a professionally founded opinion on domestic and international economic policy and social events related to the agricultural and rural economy, and to formulate and defend their own views in debates on general social, agricultural and specific issues related to the field.
  • follow in a comprehensible and analytical way the most relevant national and international literature on spatial economics and to synthesize professional knowledge.
  • independently interpret and apply the legislation related to their professional activity, to define, plan and organize the system of rural development activities, to ensure the conditions necessary for the implementation of the management activities defined, to continuously manage and control the implementation.
  • put into practice the different functions of leadership, motivate managers, evaluate their performance, and manage conflicts in a legal and effective way.
  • design and manage a team or project, to formulate and evaluate cross-sectoral, contextual and complex analyzes of the agricultural and rural economy.
  • communicate in written and oral form in Hungarian and in foreign languages, to participate in debates, to use modern information technology tools, to communicate professionally and effectively in oral and written form, and to promote environmentally friendly solutions that support the health of individuals and society in engineering.

Conditions of obtaining pre-degree certificate (absolutorium)

  • completion of: all the compulsory subjects of the program, the required number of optional credits according to the curriculum and the number of credits for the preparation of the thesis, for a total of 120 credits.
  • completion of the professional training of 30 credits.

Final exam

Eligibility for the final exam:

  • Obtained pre-degree certificate (absolutorium)
  • Approved thesis submission
  • No outstanding financial obligations to the university

Final exam components:

  • Comprehensive subject exam
  • Thesis defense

Final Exam Subjects (from 2021/22 Academic Year):

  • Theory and Practice of Local Development
  • Development of Local Society
  • Agricultural Economics (Advanced)
  • Applied Research Methodology
  • Alternative and Ecological Farming
  • Rural and Agrotourism
  • Integrated Regional Development
  • Integrated Rural Development
  • Environmental Economics and Policy
  • Economics of Agricultural Markets
  • Agricultural Business Management Systems
  • Project Management
  • Regional and Settlement Marketing
  • Settlement Development and Management
  • Economic and Settlement Sociology
  • Geoinformatics
  • Rural and Agricultural Policy
  • Rural Economy

Evaluation of final exam and qualification of degree from 2020/21 academic year

Accordingly, to Final exam and Degree certificate.

Model curriculum of the program