• Do you think that the production of top-quality food cannot be done just carelessly?
• Do you wish to have solid training in Plant Health and Integrated Pest Management with a practical component of at least 40% and which emphasizes respect for the environment and human health?
• Do you want to be certified as an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) consultant?
• Do you like professional field work, or maybe you prefer research work?
• You don't mind working hard as long as you have the support of a crew of teachers dedicated and committed to personalized tutoring?
• Do you want to enjoy a great atmosphere among your classmates, also the result of hours spent in the many field trips you will make?
• Would you like to have the opportunity to participate, with financial support, in the development of our research projects?
• Would you like to live in a sensible-sized city, where walking or cycling is possible, living is relatively cheap and social activities are easy?

Well, you have found the Master's Degree you were looking for: Master's degree in Integrated Pest Management at the University of Lleida.

A survey carried out in April 2021 among graduates of the Master's Degree in Integrated Pest Management, answered by 60% of the total, shows that the percentage of employment is 98% and that the vast majority have found a job within 3 months (some even before finishing the master's degree). More than half are employed in private companies and the rest in public administrations and universities (doing their doctoral thesis or as researchers). In the private sector, most work as consultants in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) or technical services. The private companies that employ the most graduates of the master's degree are the Plant Protection Associations (ADV) and companies involved in plant protection products. 

Crop yield heavily depends, both in quantity and in quality, on arthropod pest, disease and weed incidence. Many references report losses of potential yield from 25 to 50 %. To decrease these losses, using economically feasible, technically efficient, ecologically sound and socially acceptable methods, is the aim of Integrated Pest Management. Agriculture needs, then, crop protection specialists with the necessary technical and theoretical skills for employment within the modern crop protection industry, or within academia.

Pesticides are still the main tool used in Crop Protection, even in the most developed countries. It is well-acknowledged that the indiscriminate use of pesticides is, jointly with fertilizers, the most important source of chemical pollution in agriculture. As a consequence, the decrease and rationalization of their use, and the development of other control methods are among the main objectives of the national and international research funding agencies.