Harper Adams University, founded in 1901 as Harper Adams College, is a public university located close to the village of Edgmond, near Newport, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1901, the college is a specialist provider of higher education for the agricultural and rural sector. It gained university college status in 1998, and university status in 2012 when the requirements were relaxed.
The university provides more than 50 foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes to students from over 30 countries. The university is set within a 550 hectare (1360 acre) working farm.
Organisation
Academic departments
Undergraduate courses are offered via 5 academic departments and courses fall under 6 broad subject areas
- Agriculture
- Animal health, welfare and behaviour sciences (including veterinary professions)
- Business and Agri-Food Management and Marketing
- Land, Property and Environmental Management
- Land Based Engineering
- Food Science, Technology and Innovation
Academics
Research
In 2014 Harper Adams University has been recognised for the quality of its research by the Research Excellence Framework.[17]
Areas of research include; management of soil and water, crop disease resistance, agricultural technology, livestock carbon footprint reduction, genetic approaches to improving food quality, bioenergy and renewable sources, agricultural landscape biodiversity, pedagogy and animal welfare.[18]
Research facilities
Facilities for the university’s research work include:
- Elizabeth Creak Building
- Princess Margaret Science Laboratories
- Jean Jackson Entomology Building
- Crop and Environment Research Centre
- Dairy Crest Innovation Centre
- Poultry Research Unit
- Regional Food Academy
Hands Free Hectare
Since 2016 the “Hands Free Hectare” project within the engineering department has been developing robotic farming operations.[19]
Ranking & Awards
Awards
- The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Further and Higher Education, winner of Innovative applications in agricultural engineering and technologies to address UK and global food security, 2017.
Rankings
Sunday Times
- UK University of the Year, runner up 2020
- Top 20 Universities, (ranked 17th) 2019,
- Best Modern University, 2017 and 2019
- Top 50 UK Universities 2011.
- Best University College (The Sunday Times): 2008, 2009. 2010, 2011, 2012
Times Higher Education
- UK’s Best Modern University (Times Higher Education), 2017.
- 1st Student Experience (Times Higher Education), 2017