About Rural Development (bsc (hons)) in University College Cork

This web-based course targets people involved in rural development in a professional or voluntary capacity. It provides the knowledge and skills to manage all aspects of local/rural development initiatives.

The BSc degree is an access qualification pathway for mature students active in the development of rural areas. Graduates will learn the skills necessary to initiate and manage local rural development.

Participants can qualify with a diploma after two years of part-time study. After successful completion of the first level of the course, student may continue to earn a degree with a minimum of a further two years of study.

Topics covered include:

• Rural Development
• Marketing for Rural Enterprise
• Setting up a Rural Development Organisation
• Stimulating Rural Enterprise
• Interpersonal Communications
• Designing & Managing an Area Development Plan
• Gender Equality Issues in Rural Development
• Fieldwork Project
• SME Development
• Project Planning & Development
• Information Technology
• Public & Social Policy Processes
• Rural Labour Markets
• Community Education
• Socio-Economic Research

Why Choose This Course

This course is an access qualification pathway for mature students, aimed at people who are active in the development of rural areas. It is a web-based distance-learning degree course.

Skills and Careers Information

Graduates of this course will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge, understanding and application of the theory and practice underpinning sustainable rural development;
• Describe and appraise the current framework for rural development policy, the process for policy formulation and trends within a local, national and European context;
• Research rural problems, interpret contemporary challenges facing rural communities, and propose and implement appropriate solutions;
• Apply participative, socially inclusive practices of rural development;
• Demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills required to establish and manage a successful rural enterprise;
• Identify and evaluate issues of equality, social inclusion and poverty in the context of rural development;
• Understand the economic, environmental and social criteria that may be used to determine sustainability (for agriculture and more generally rural development).

Academic qualification equivalents

 1.    All India Senior School Certificate 

 2.    Higher Secondary Certificate / Standard 12 

 3.    Indian School Certificate (Year 12) 

Band 1 Programmes

Minimum average of 90% + in any of the recognised secondary school qualifications.

Band 2 Programmes

Minimum average of 80-89% in any of the recognised secondary school qualifications.

Band 3 Programmes

Minimum average of 75-79% in any of the recognised secondary school qualifications.

Additional Requirements

Where Maths is required for a specific degree programme, a minimum score of 85% in Maths is required.

Where a Lab Science subject is required for a specific degree programme, a minimum score of 85% is required in the appropriate Lab Science subject.

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS: 6.5  Minimum individual sections 5.5
• TOEFL: TOEFL 90  Listening - 17; Reading - 18; Speaking - 20; Writing 17
• PTE: 63 Minimum individual sections 51

University College Cork Highlights