Master’s Programme Environmental Management of Mountain Areas (EMMA)
Are you interested in sustainable agriculture and forestry, applied landscape planning, the cultural landscape in the Alpine region and do you want to understand socio-ecological systems?
This interdisciplinary and international programme is offered in cooperation with the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy. The focus in this programme is to provide subject related topics including Alpine ecology, landscape ecology and planning, agriculture and forestry, wastewater and waste treatment, geoinformatics and environmental and resource management.
Study Code
UC 066 636
Admission
The admission to the study programme takes place by the rectorate. According to the cooperation agreement max. 35 students will be admitted per academic year. Information on the admission and the admission procedure will be found on the website of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and in the Study Manifesto of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.
Tuition fees are to be paid at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.
FAQ
Graduates possess highly specialized knowledge in the fields of mountain ecology, information technologies of landscape planning, ecological renaturation, planning and projecting in mountain areas. They are able to apply their knowledge in the field of advanced materials and at the intersections of other nature sciences by independently formulating and substantiating scientific arguments and finding innovative solutions to problems.
The double degree Master's Programme in Environmental Management of Mountain Areashas an interdisciplinary focus and is offered in cooperation with the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.
The programme is suitable for graduates of the bachelor's programmes in the fields of biology, environmental engineering, natural sciences and technologies, agriculture and forestry and graduates with a thematically relevant bachelor’s degree. A two-year study programme is offered. The official teaching language is English. Elective compulsory subjects are offered in English, German or Italian.
The first study year is to be completed at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and conveys a combination of natural science and technical skills and competences in nine compulsory modules. The second study year at the University of Innsbruck with two compulsory modules and several elective modules, gives students the possibility to focus on environmental and resource management, nature protection, landscape ecology and planning, agriculture and forestry as well as water and waste management. Regardless of the chosen specialization, students learn to research scientifically, to approach target- and results-oriented and to work project-related in the course of their master’s thesis.
The interdisciplinary and research-oriented master's programme opens up a wide range of occupational opportunities for graduates, in particular environmental assessment, monitoring and management of protected areas, projecting and eco-certification in the fields of agriculture and forestry, analysis and natural hazard assessment of hydrogeological origin, and elaboration of development plans of agricultural mountain areas, and scientific careers.
Graduates tracking: Shows which occupational fields students enter after graduation
Faculty of Biology Examination Office Information for students with disabilities
Curriculum
The curriculum is the basis of a degree programme. A look at the curriculum for the Master in Environmental Management of Mountain Areas (EMMA) gives you a detailed overview of the structure, content, examination regulations and qualification profile of this Master's degree.
The curriculum can clarify several important questions before you start your studies. For example, which criteria must be fulfilled for enrolment in the Master in Environmental Management of Mountain Areas (EMMA), how long the programme lasts, which modules must be completed and much more.
The 2014W curriculum currently applies to the Master in Environmental Management of Mountain Areas (EMMA).
Information on the Curriculum (2014W)
The complete version of the curriculum reflects the currently valid version of the curriculum. It is for informational purposes only and is not legally binding. The legally binding version of the curriculum, including any amendments, may be found in the University of Innsbruck Bulletins.
In order to determine which version of the curriculum is applicable in your case, see the Catalogue of Studies,
available at: https://lfuonline.uibk.ac.at/public/lfuonline_meinestudien.studienblatt
Section: Current Curriculum version.
- English version of the curriculum (from October 1 2021)
- University of Innsbruck Bulletin October 6 2021, Issue 1, No. 4 (equivalence list)
- University of Innsbruck Bulletin June 11 2021, Issue 76, No. 850 (modification of the curriculums)
- English version of the curriculum (from October 1 2014)
- University of Innsbruck Bulletin June 27 2014, Issue 36, No. 542 (modification of the curriculum)
- University of Innsbruck Bulletin June 28 2013, Issue 43, No. 361 (modification of the curriculum)
- University of Innsbruck Bulletin June 5 2013, Issue 36, No. 302
Requirements
Relevant bachelor's degrees at the University of Innsbruck:
Proof of general university entrance qualification:
The general university entrance qualification for admission to a master's programme must be proven by the completion of a subject-related bachelor's programme, another subject-related programme of at least the same higher education level at a recognised domestic or foreign post-secondary educational institution, or a program defined in the curriculum of the master's programme. To compensate for significant differences in subject matter, supplementary examinations (maximum 30 ECTS credits) may be prescribed, which must be taken by the end of the second semester of the master's programme. The rectorate may determine which of these supplementary examinations are prerequisites for taking examinations provided for in the curriculum of the master's programme.
Information can be found on the homepage of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.
Recommended Course Sequence
The exemplary course sequence given below is recommended for full-time students beginning their study programme in the winter semester. The table shows one possible course sequence for the bachelor's programme and is not compulsory. Delays resulting from repeated examinations are not taken into account.
The standard duration of the study programme is 4 semesters or 120 ECTS-Credits, whereby according to the Universities Act of 2002, a workload of 1,500 (real) hours per academic year must be fulfilled, corresponding to 60 ECTS-Credits (one ECTS-Credit is equivalent to a workload of 25 hours).
A total of 60 ECTS-Credits must be passed by all students within the first two semesters at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. More Information can be found here https://www.unibz.it/en/faculties/sciencetechnology/master-environmental-management-mountain-areas/.
The following sequence of courses is recommended for the third and fourth semesters at the University of Innsbruck:
7.5 ECTS-Credits: Current Aspects of Environmental Management
7.5 ECTS-Credits: Elective Module*
5.0 ECTS-Credits: Elective Module*
12.5 ECTS-Credits: Master's Thesis › continue 4th semester!
15.5 ECTS-Credits: Master's Thesis
5.0 ECTS-Credits: Elective Module*
7.5 ECTS-Credits: Elective Module *
2.0 ECTS-Credits: Master's Thesis Defence
| Semester | ECTS-AP | Titel |
|---|---|---|
* a total of 22.5 ECTS-Credits from elective modules must be completed, e.g. 3 x 7.5 ECTS-Credits or 3 x 5 ECTS-Credits + 1 x 7.5 ECTS-Credits
Extension Programme
Within the scope of the Study Programme, a Extension Programme corresponding to 60 ECTS-Credits may be passed. Admission to the Extension Programme requires the admission to or the having passed of one of the selected Study Programmes. Detailed information: https://www.uibk.ac.at/studium/angebot/es-informatik/
Information about examination regulations, assessment and grading
Examination regulations
The examination regulation is an integral part of the curriculum, detailed information can be found under the paragraph examination regulations.
The grade distribution table is a statistical representation of the distribution of all successfully completed examinations in a given programme of study or subject (based on all registered students for the programme or subject). The grade distribution table is updated in regular intervals.
| A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austrian grading scheme | Definition | %-age | ||
| 1 | EXCELLENT: Outstanding performance | 59.8 | = 100% | |
| 2 | GOOD: Generally good, but with some errors | 29.7 | ||
| 3 | SATISFACTORY: Generally sound work with a number of substantial errors | 8.2 | ||
| 4 | SUFFICIENT: Performance meets the minimum criteria | 2.3 | ||
| 5 | INSUFFICIENT: Substantial improvement necessary; requirement of further work |
December 2021
Overall classification of the qualification
Not applicable
Explanation: An overall classification (mit Auszeichnung bestanden/pass with distinction, bestanden/pass, nicht bestanden/fail) – is awarded only for examinations that conclude a programme of study and consist of more than one subject (an examination of this type is not specified in the curriculum of this programme of study).
Contact and Information
Examination Office
Standort Technikerstraße 17
Dean of Studies
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Birgit Weinberger
Information portal for Biology Students of the University of Innsbruck
biopage.info:
Information on the Programme (in German only)
Older curricula can be found in the archive Course Catalog
From the field
Biodiversity: climate to become main driver
The most comprehensive look to date into the past and future of global biodiversity is provided by a recent study in the journal Science: intensive land use reduced biodiversity by up to around 10 per cent over the course of the 20th century. By 2050, the climate crisis could become the main driver of further biodiversity loss alongside land use. Lauren Talluto from the Department of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck is part of the international team of authors.
The unknown climate factor from the permafrost
Ecologist Christina Biasi is exploring the conditions under which tiny organisms contribute to permafrost soils emitting nitrous oxide. Her research could be essential for the development of future climate scenarios.
High-alpine animal species need more protected areas
Melting glaciers due to global warming caused by the climate crisis have massive consequences for biodiversity in the Alpine region, as an international team of researchers including the Innsbruck ecologist Leopold Füreder has now shown for the first time for a period between 2020 and 2100. According to the study, numerous invertebrate species are threatened with the loss of their habitats. The researchers call for the expansion of protected areas, also in glacier forelands. The study has been published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The carbon cycle is speeding up
Soil is the largest natural carbon storage in the world. In Northern ecosystems particularly large amounts of carbon are stored, but they are also particularly strongly affected by global warming. A recently published study by an international team led by Michael Bahn of the University of Innsbruck investigated how ongoing warming affects the uptake and release of carbon dioxide in subarctic grassland. The researchers used a geothermally active area in Iceland as a natural „climate chamber”.
