HX-DS-07
BSc Agricultural Data Science
Turn field data into decisions a grower can act on: sensors, satellite imagery, modelling and the awkward last mile of making it useful.
Overview
The scarce skill in agritech is not the model. It is the question.
This degree is for students who are equally comfortable in a spreadsheet and in a vineyard row. You will learn to design a data collection campaign, clean the mess that arrives from the field, build a model that survives a bad season, and then explain it to someone who has 40 hectares and a pump to run.
Two thirds of the contact time is applied: the sensor network on our research plots, drone imagery from partner farms, and cold-chain data from two exporters feed directly into your coursework. In your final year you spend 12 weeks embedded with an agritech company or a producer group, solving a problem they actually have.
- Programming in Python and R, taught on field data from the first term
- Sensor networks, telemetry and data quality assurance
- Multispectral and thermal imagery for crop monitoring
- Modelling, forecasting and decision support for irrigation and harvest
- Data ethics, farmer data ownership and the sociology of adoption
Curriculum
What the three years look like
Year 1
Foundations
Applied mathematics and statistics · Introduction to programming (Python) · Soil and plant science · Agritech systems overview · Field practice I
Year 2
Sensing and modelling
Sensor networks and telemetry · Remote sensing and image processing · Databases and data engineering · Irrigation and water accounting · Field practice II
Year 3
Decisions in the field
Machine learning for agriculture · Decision support and dashboard design · Agri-business economics · Industry placement (12 weeks) · Capstone project
Entry requirements
Bachelor of Science · NQF 7
- National Senior Certificate with an APS of 28 or above
- Mathematics and Physical Sciences (both at level 4 / 50%)
- English or Afrikaans at level 4; the other language is supported
- No prior programming experience required
Where it leads
BSc Agricultural Data Science
- Data scientist at an agritech or precision-farming company
- Farm data manager for a producer group or packhouse
- Remote sensing analyst for a commodity or insurer
- Postgraduate study in agricultural data science or remote sensing
Next step
Applications for 2027 are open
Applications close 30 September 2026 for the February 2027 intake. Late applications are considered while places remain.