New Franco-German Master's degree program in viticulture & Enology
A new degree program will be launched at the Wine Campus Neustadt from September 2020: The dual Master's degree program in Viticulture and Enology (Franco-Allemand Viticulture et Enology, FAVO for short). The course is a joint project between the partner universities HWG Ludwigshafen and Université de Haute-Alsace in Colmar. Minister President Malu Dreyer welcomed the binational project at the Wine Campus Neustadt, saying: "The coronavirus crisis has posed major challenges for cross-border cooperation. But despite all the necessary restrictions in personal contact, we naturally continued to work on the prospects with our partners in Alsace. I am therefore delighted with this good news. Because where, if not here, is the right place to launch a Franco-German degree course?"
The binational Master's program will create a new form of cross-border promotion and strengthening of the Upper Rhine region . For the first time, the labor market of the Upper Rhine region's defining wine industry, which is an important economic and cultural factor in all sub-regions of the Upper Rhine, will be simultaneously opened up across borders and promoted in a sustainable manner. "This program is unique in the region and an excellent offer for students and winegrowing businesses, especially through cross-border cooperation," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Maren Scharfenberger-Schmeer, head of the new Master's program. Partners from the field of higher education in Germany and France as well as cooperating companies in the wine industry in Germany, France and Switzerland are working closely together on the new Master's course.
The new course is aimed at Bachelor's graduates from the fields of viticulture and Enology, agricultural sciences, natural sciences and engineering. Language courses are offered at the start of the course to prepare for studying abroad. This makes it possible for students with little knowledge of French to join the course.
One course, two degrees
Thanks to the jointly coordinated curriculum of the partner universities HWG Ludwigshafen and Université de Haute-Alsace, graduates receive a degree from both universities. Students therefore have the opportunity to complete two Master's degrees (Double Degree Master's) in just four semesters. Studying in Colmar and Neustadt is free of charge - no tuition fees are charged. The study semester of the German students in Colmar is also supported by an Erasmus scholarship.
In the dual Master's degree program in Viticulture and Enology, students are enrolled simultaneously at the two responsible universities, the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG) and the Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA), at the beginning of their studies. Depending on the initial language skills in German and French, the first place of enrolment is either Neustadt or Colmar. The requirement here is that students must be proficient in one of the two languages at level B2 and the other language at least at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The course is divided into attendance phases, which are geared to the seasonal characteristics of viticulture (no attendance events in the labor-intensive harvest period of September / October) and a total of three phases, which are completed in practice.
Practical study
The first practical phase will take place in a German- or French-speaking winery in Germany, France or Switzerland, while the second and third phases will take place in a winery and a region of the language being studied. The Swiss wineries play a very important role here. As no explicit location for face-to-face courses in Switzerland is planned for the course, but the socio-ecological diversity and typicality of the wines in the Upper Rhine region are to be taught holistically, i.e. including Switzerland, a stay in companies in Switzerland is strongly recommended. For this purpose, companies in Switzerland have already been recruited in advance and the acquisition of new partner companies will initially focus increasingly on Switzerland.
Students can choose from a pool of cooperating companies in Germany, France or Switzerland, which have contractually agreed to supervise students on the dual Master's degree course.
The binational Master's degree program in Viticulture & Enology is an Interreg project funded by the European Union and co-financed by the ERDF.
For further information on the binational Master's degree course in Viticulture & Enology, please contact Prof. Scharfenberger-Schmeer and Ms. Cécile Esch.
You can also find more information on our homepage: https: //www.weincampus-neustadt.de/dualer-master-weinbau-und-oenologie
Picture credits Photo: Stephan Presser Photography\Wine Campus Neustadt
