The University of Adelaide has joined with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China to offer a dual Masters degree in wine making and viticulture.
Students taking on the dual degree will graduate with a Master in Viticulture and Oenology from the University of Adelaide, and a Master in Agricultural Science from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The program will be taught in English.
“This new degree recognises the growing interest in wine and wine-making in China and the complementary expertise of two leading universities,” says Program Co-ordinator Associate Professor Chris Ford, who is also Interim Head of the University’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine.
“Shanghai Jiao Tong University recognises that the University of Adelaide’s educational programs in grape growing and winemaking are among the very best in the world, and they want to be able to offer students the chance to benefit from our expertise. They will bring strengths in providing an international context to the Masters program, with coursework including an industry placement and research project to be undertaken within the Chinese wine industry.”
Viticulture and oenology students in the Roseworthy-Hickinbotham Wine Science laboratory at Waite
Students on the program will spend the first year of study in China, the second year at the University’s Waite campus, and the last six months back in China. The dual Masters adds to the University of Adelaide’s existing postgraduate education which includes a one-year Graduate Diploma and two-year Masters in Viticulture and Oenology.
The new dual Masters agreement was signed in a recent visit to China by University of Adelaide Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Rathjen with Shanghai Jiao Tong University President Lin Zhongqin.
“Global experience is becoming increasingly important in higher education,” says Professor Rathjen.
“Universities are unique organisations because they bring together innovation, human capital and global connectivity, for the benefit of society and economic advance.”
The first students are expect to start on the dual Masters in mid-2019 in Shanghai.
The dual Masters builds on an existing strong partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University including the Australia-China Joint Research Centre of Grains for Health, in which the two universities are working together to contribute to the national food, water and health targets of their respective countries under four themes: agriculture and wine; land and water; food safety and quality; and health and nutrition.