A new degree program will be launched at the Neustadt Wine Campus in September 2020: The dual Master's degree course in Viticulture and Oenology (Franco-Allemand Viticulture et Oenologie, FAVO for short). The course is a joint project between the partner universities HWG Ludwigshafen and the Université de Haute-Alsace in Colmar. Minister President Malu Dreyer welcomed the binational project at the Neustadt Wine Campus with the words: "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 program?"
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 both opened up across borders and sustainably promoted. "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 degree 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 graduates from the fields of viticulture and oenology, 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 semester of study for German students in Colmar is also supported by an Erasmus scholarship.
In the dual Master's degree program in Viticulture and Oenology, 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 towards 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 studies
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 degree programs, but the socio-ecological diversity and typicality of 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 course in Viticulture & Oenology is an Interreg project funded by the European Union, co-financed by EFRE.
You can also find more information on the homepage of the Neustadt Wine Campus at:
https://www.weincampus-neustadt.de/dualer-master-weinbau-und-oenologie
