Welcome to study in AGERE

Congratulations on being selected as one of our new students for the Master’s Programme in Agricultural, Environmental and Resource Economics (AGERE). We look forward to engaging with you no matter what the future brings.

When starting your studies, a personal study plan is made together with you. It will be followed up during your studies with casual student-teacher meetings a few times a year.

You will receive more practical information about the University of Helsinki from the Admission Services throughout the months before the semester starts, but if you have any questions regarding studies, the courses or need support with planning for your studies, do not hesitate to contact us by sending an e-mail to myself or our study counselor Erika Uusivuori. 

Welcome to our programme and the University of Helsinki!

On behalf of the programme,
Xavier Irz, Director

If you would like to prepare for your studies before the semester starts, there are a couple things you could do.

• R (and R studio) statistical programme is used in several courses, e.g. AGERE-A01. R is a free open source programme. If you are not familiar with the programme yet, it would be beneficial to download it to your computer and look at basic things prior to the courses. Get started with R programme here.  You can find several free tutorials and videos by using Google or other search engines.
  
   
• All our students have one or two mandatory mathematics courses during the first year of their master's studies. These courses are needed in order to study substance courses smoothly. In the math courses, students should know the basics of matrix operations, solving equations and equation systems, differentiation, partial differentiation and optimisation with and without constraints. If there has been a while since you have used or studied these items, it would be good to recall them from your previous studies or senior high school math.
  
   
• You can also visit our two MOOC courses: cost-benefit analysis and sustainable rural social entrepreneurship. Please, register to the Digicampus and enrol to the course. Sustainable rural social entrepreneurship course you can also enter as a guest.

What is it like to study in the AGERE programme? What kind of career opportunities does the programme lead to? How is it to live in the city of Helsinki?

Find out by reading the following articles:

• Jamie Jenkins, now a graduate from the programme, answers questions about the programme together with Timo Sipiläinen, Professor of Agricultural Economics. Read the article.
• Our students Zobayer Hosen and Mariana Monne talk about their experiences in the programme and what is it like to study and live in Helsinki. Read the article.
• A recent alumnus from agricultural economics, Niko Hyppönen looks back at his experiences in the programme and how it helped him in his position as the Operations Manager at MTK Central Ostrobothnia. Read the article.
• Kaisa Kämäräinen, our recent alumna, talks about her past studies and student life, and how they have helped her in her position as Sustainability Consultant at AFRY. Read the article.

You can also chat with our student Zobayer to ask questions about studies and student life. You can find more University of Helsinki students in our chat service or read their blogs to get an overview of student life in Helsinki.

As a student, you benefit from the expertise of numerous inspiring scholars with solid teaching experience and broad researcher credentials. Meet the people in the AGERE programme. 

In 2023 the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry granted its teaching award to the AGERE programme director Leena Rantamäki-Lahtinen, research award to Associate Professor Lassi Ahlvik and influence award to Professor Emeritus Markku Ollikainen. 

Vuorovaikeutus ry (VV for short) is a student organisation for those studying environmental and resource economics. Visit the Vuorovaikeutus ry website.

Markkina-Agraarit is a student organisation for agricultural economics students. You can follow them on social media on Facebook and Instagram (mainly in Finnish).

If you have any questions about the activities all you need to do is ask!

Before the classes begin, there is an orientation week which will take place 26 – 29 August 2025. The AGERE Programme Day will be held on 27 August with information about the programme and the planning of studies.

During these days, you will learn more about the University of Helsinki and the opportunities it offers to you, as well as the practices related to the programme. You will also be assigned to a tutor group led by a senior student, or student tutor. Your tutor will help with questions related to studying, give support with administrative matters and introduce you to the university campuses and facilities.

The detailed schedule and information concerning your orientation and tutoring will be published in the Instructions for students in the summer. Make sure the correct programme is selected on the dropdown menu to access the relevant information.

As a student in the AGERE programme, the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at the Viikki campus will be your home base.

Viikki research farm is part of the campus and serves as a platform for research and education purposes of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The Faculty also has locations in Mikkeli and Seinäjoki, and manages the Hyytiälä research station located in North-Häme as well as the Muddusjärvi research station in Northern Lapland.

Helsinki Think Company brings together students, researchers and people interested in entrepreneurship. One of their workspaces is at the Viikki campus offering free co-working spaces, boot camps, idea accelerator programmes, hackathons, mentoring and a community of like-minded individuals.

The international students in the Master's Programme in AGERE can apply to the UNITalent Programme. It is designed to support international students in building professional networks in Finland and to gain insight into field specific working life. Students take part by attending monthly group meetings with hosting organisation for a period of three months. During the programme, the University Career Services also provides training in career management skills.