Career prospects

During the Master’s programme, you will be challenged to determine which career perspective best fits your talents and interests. We will guide and support you to focus your programme on obtaining all the skills required for a certain career path.

Academic Careers

Since the programme aims to prepare students to pursue a PhD career, the majority of our students (75%) continue with a PhD after graduation. Once they have their PhD degree, some of them continue with an academic career, but the majority find excellent positions in R&D in a company or research institute (see below for examples).

Non- academic Careers 

About 25% of our graduates enter the job market without a PhD title and can be found in various positions in companies, education or other institutions.

Example careers:

Graduates of our programme can be found as:

  • Group leaders in large international companies such as Shell, Albemarle, DSM, Unilever, BASF, Bayer, Philips, etc.
  • Product specialists in small to medium sized companies and start-ups such as Protochips, LionVolt, E-Stone, Ioniqa and Evoqua
  • Researcher at research institutes related to sustainability such as RIVM, NIOZ and Rijkswaterstaat
  • Analyst or manager at banks or financial institutions
  • Research fellow at multinational research laboratories such as Amolf, DIFFER, Max-Planck Institute, FOM, Holst Centre, etc.
  • Teacher in secondary or higher education
  • Examiner at the European Patent Office

Career Services

UU Career Services offers training related to career orientation and job application skills; examples include writing an application letter and CV and participating in a job interview. You can find more information about career services on UU Career Services for Dutch students or UU Career Services for international students.

Careers Day

Once a year Utrecht University organises a Careers Day. The Careers Day offers the opportunity to sign up for workshops and trainings, and to meet recruiters at the careers fair. It’s also possible to join a job application training or have your resume checked.