Land Use Transformation (MSc) Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences

This programme is completely taught in English.

This interdisciplinary Master’s programme explores present day challenges and practical solutions for the sustainable use of our land and its resources. It is designed to develop globally-minded problem solvers who can analyse complex questions and fast changing situations and make responsible decisions to help shape sustainable landscapes for tomorrow.

Project-Based Learning

Working together across disciplines, students develop their skills and gain hands-on experience in three large-scale group projects. These practical projects centre on real world problems of sustainable land use, allowing students to develop and test potential solutions and gain experience in shaping the transition towards sustainable landscapes.

Flexible Curriculum

Our curriculum offers students the freedom to chart their own course, according to their individual interests and experience. Students can develop their personal expertise by filling six elective modules with lectures and seminars from the following topic areas and intersections:

• Agriculture & Nutrition Security
• Materials & Resource Management
• Land Use Planning & Spatial Design

In addition, students have the option to spend the third semester studying or completing an independent project abroad.

Skills for Tomorrow

To solve complex global problems like the sustainable transformation of land use, our world needs experts who can effectively work together to find and implement creative solutions. That is why this programme focuses on preparing students for collaborative work at professional and disciplinary interfaces. Our programme enables students to develop specialist knowledge, as well as their skills in communicating across cultures and areas of expertise, creative problem-solving, and managing projects and communication processes.

Potential Career Paths

The knowledge, skills, and competences graduates acquire along their individual path through the curriculum qualify them for diverse career paths in research institutions, NGOs, public administration, policymaking, consulting and advisory services (climate management, water protection, biodiversity conservation, etc.), as well as in private companies in agriculture, food production or trade, and international planning offices, among others.

Starting Summer 2026

The Master’s programme Land Use Transformation has applied for accreditation and is presently undergoing the relevant procedure. It is expected to begin in Summer Semester 2026.

Applications for summer semester 2026:

• Applicants with foreign degree documents apply via uni-assist: 1 August 2025 to 1 October 2025.
• Applicants with German degree documents apply directly at the university: 1 September 2025 to 15 January 2026.

Applications for winter semester 2026/27:

• Applicants with foreign degree documents apply via uni-assist: 1 February to 1 April 2026.
• Applicants with German degree documents apply directly at the university: 1 March to 15 July 2026.

Start: Students can begin this programme in the summer or winter semester.

Projects: In semesters one through three, transdisciplinary projects make up one half of students’ workload (15 of 30 ECTS credit points per semester). In these projects, students work together in diverse groups, across cultural, disciplinary and semester divisions, to understand real world problems and develop potential solutions. The project topics vary each semester, giving students many opportunities for learning by working together.

Coursework: In their first two semesters, students are required to complete three compulsory modules:

• Governance and Transformation (seminar),
• Scientific Work (lecture), and
• Sustainable Transformation (series lecture).

The remaining six modules in the curriculum are elective courses, offering students a chance to develop their personal expertise, according to their own interests and experience. For these elective modules, students can choose lectures and seminars from the topic areas and intersections of:

• Agriculture & Nutrition Security
• Materials & Resource Management
• Land Use Planning & Spatial Design.

Some of these modules include labs and excursions, as noted in the extensive module descriptions available to students.

Optional Semester Abroad: Students may choose to spend the third semester abroad. They have two options for this, described in detail below.

Master’s Thesis: The fourth semester of this programme is dedicated fully to completing the Master’s thesis on a topic of the student’s choosing, with the support of a Master’s adviser.

Optional Semester Abroad: Students may choose to spend their third semester abroad. They have two options for this:

• Semester Abroad – Students may complete coursework at an accredited university outside Germany, such as one of our 60+ partner universities, or
• International Project Semester – Students may complete an independent large-scale project, related to the topic of study, at a university or other organisation outside of Germany.

Both options replace the transdisciplinary project and elective modules of the third semester, enabling students to finish the course of study without delay.

No tuition fees

Approx. 360 EUR per semester

(includes e.g. a semester ticket for free public transport in Germany and a discount on meals in our student canteens)

Legally, you must prove that you have 992 EUR at your disposal per month. This amount can differ from the actual cost of living. In Osnabrück, you will need an estimated 850 to 1,000 EUR per month. Mostly, this depends on how much you will need to spend on housing.

Here's an overview:

• housing: 300 to 450 EUR
• student health insurance: 140 EUR
• savings for the semester fee: 60 EUR
• food (including meals at the student restaurant): 200 EUR
• study materials: 30 to 50 EUR
• public transport: included in your semester fee
• leisure time activities: 70 EUR
• TV fee (mandatory in Germany): 18 EUR

Prospective students must have obtained either a Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent degree in agricultural sciences, nutritional science and home economics, landscape planning, landscape development, open space planning, urban planning, geography, environmental engineering, environmental sciences, applied biosciences or in another suitable previous course of study.

The Selection Committee of the programme decides whether the previous course of study is suitable.

If there are more applicants who meet the admission requirements than there are places available, study places are allocated by the Selection Committee according to a ranking list, based primarily on the applicant’s final grade for the Bachelor’s degree (or comparable degree) (max. 85 points). Ranking points are also awarded for relevant work experience (max. 6 points), work or study experience abroad (max. 6 points), higher levels of English proficiency (max. 2 points) and/or merit-based scholarships (max. 1 point).

If English is not their native language, prospective students must demonstrate English language proficiency corresponding to at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) by submitting a corresponding certificate or passing a written language proficiency test.

Submitted test results may not be more than three years old at the start of studies. Acceptable tests and corresponding minimum scores/grades include:

• Cambridge Certificate B2 First or higher (Cambridge English Scale 160+)
• IELTS (5.5 or higher)
• Pearson PTE Academic (59 or higher)
• telc: telc B2 Certificate
• TOEFL iBT (72/120 or higher)
• TOEFL PBT (543/677 or higher)
• TOEIC Listening and Reading Test (785 or higher) + TOEIC Speaking Test (160 or higher) + TOEIC Writing Test (160 or higher)
• UNIcert: UNIcert II

Applications for summer semester 2026:

• Applicants with foreign degree documents apply via uni-assist: 1 August 2025 to 1 October 2025.
• Applicants with German degree documents apply directly at the university: 1 September 2025 to 15 January 2026.

Applications for winter semester 2026/27:

• Applicants with foreign degree documents apply via uni-assist: 1 February to 1 April 2026.
• Applicants with German degree documents apply directly at the university: 1 March to 15 July 2026.

We offer around 200 Germany Scholarships to our students annually.

International students are also eligible for this type of financial support and can receive 300 EUR per month for one year.

Applications are accepted during the first two weeks of May, and prospective students are invited to apply as well.

If you are planning to apply for both our study programme and a Germany Scholarship, please send an e-mail to international@hs-osnabrueck.de for support if needed.

We offer student assistant jobs at the university. You can also find jobs through our database (PRAXIKO), where local employers look for student workers and interns.

If you speak German well enough, there are many job opportunities in Osnabrück in bakeries, supermarkets, industry, restaurants, etc.

For international degree-seeking students, the university also has a career service that assists you with application checks, contacts to companies and more. Mrs Laetitia Godineau will answer your questions around finding a job during your studies as well as about making the transition into the job market after graduation.

Important: If you need to work to support yourself, you should start looking for a student job as early as possible.

There's no doubt that finding accommodation is a challenge. The best place to start is the Studierendenwerk Osnabrück. They have shared apartments, one- or two-room apartments, and flats for families, with prices ranging from 250 to 900 EUR.

Important: Apply for accommodation as soon as you apply for a study place, as you don't have to submit the university's letter of admission at the beginning of the application process. This is the best advice we can give you, and it has worked for many others.

Need more advice? Just contact the Center for International Students at international@hs-osnabrueck.de.

Our Career Service for international degree-seeking students provides you with support by offering the following:

• application checks
• workshops to advance student employability
• job shadowing for international students
• meet regional employers: events at the university and excursions to SMEs in and around Osnabrück and Lingen
• PRAXIKO job database

In addition, you can also make an appointment for individual counselling in which we will support you in finding a career that suits your area of expertise and your personal situation.

If you are an international degree-seeking student, our Center for International Students (CIS) is available to assist you with any questions you may have, from the moment you decide to apply until you graduate and transfer into the job market.

The CIS will make sure that you have the infrastructure that enables you to study successfully. They cannot solve every problem, but they work with the whole university, the city of Osnabrück and other relevant structures to help you when things get difficult.

Our student assistants organise social events and give you the peer support that everyone needs.

Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences is the largest university of applied sciences in Lower Saxony. We offer more than 100 accredited Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes that enable you to build your future and adapt your education to your needs.

Our students are very satisfied with us, as shown by our top positions in the national rankings of CHE and studycheck.de.

Our wide range of courses includes Bachelor's, Master's and continuing education programmes, from engineering, agriculture, economics and social sciences to courses such as theatre pedagogy, which are unique in Germany.  Our degree programmes provide both theoretical and project-based learning opportunities, enabling you to develop the skills that employers seek.

Our professors bring personal experience from national and international companies, preparing you specifically for your career. And if you are interested in pursuing an academic career later on, that is also possible.

At the same time, the university is a place for networking and socialising. We are closely linked to our local communities in Osnabrück and Lingen and encourage our students to look around and exchange ideas across national borders. Every study programme offers the opportunity to study abroad and we foster close relationships with more than 200 partner universities worldwide.

Osnabrück is a city in Northwestern Germany and easy to reach by plane, train, or car. Nearby cities that you can easily visit by train or car include Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf. You can also reach Amsterdam in the Netherlands within three hours by train.

Our university spreads across four campuses with their own faculties. The three campuses in Osnabrück are Westerberg, Caprivi and Haste. The fourth campus is in Lingen, about 70 kilometres West of Osnabrück.

Each campus has its own special character:

• The Westerberg campus: modern buildings such as the SL lecture theatre building, also affectionately known as the “Frog”.
• The Caprivi Campus: You'll find a lovely mix of sand-coloured barracks buildings, an underground lecture hall complex and the "Plektrum", an innovative building tailored to the needs of the Institute of Music and its students.
• The Haste campus is also known as the “green campus”. Not only is it home to study programmes in the field of landscape, food production and agriculture, but you can also enjoy a walk through its park-like grounds with its flower and plant-filled perennial garden.
• The campus in Lingen is located in a former railway repair plant. Many students there call it "the most beautiful campus in the world" – you'll have to find out for yourself whether this is really the case!

The cities of Osnabrück and Lingen offer a personal, safe, and affordable environment in which you can feel comfortable quickly. Everything you need is close by, so you can easily reach your favourite restaurant, the theatre, or the nearest student party on foot or by bike. There's plenty of nature inside and outside the city for you to enjoy, and our visitors tell us that the people here are quite relaxed and friendly! And if you just have to get out and about, you can use public transport in Germany with the Campus Card for free and take a spontaneous trip, e.g. to Hamburg, Hannover or Bremen.