Study programme
The courses below are for cohort 2024 onward. If you are already a student at UU and are looking for information about cohort 2023 or earlier, please check our student website.
Earth Surface and Water is a two-year Master’s programme taught in English that includes taught courses and individual research project awarding a total of 120 points in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). On this page you will find information concerning the curriculum, courses, educational methods, examinations and extracurricular opportunities.
Curriculum
The first year is devoted to course work, while the second year is primarily spent conducting independent research and/or a traineeship. The programme offers considerable scope to design your own personal ‘Master’s plan’ matching your interests and competences.
Tracks
Tracks are recommended, coherent combinations of courses from the programme. They are meant to help you design your own curriculum based on your preferred specialization within the Earth Surface and Water programme. The four tracks are:
- Geohazards and Earth Observation
Land-degradation processes and natural hazards in and on the Earth's surface - Coastal Dynamics and Fluvial Systems
Natural and human-induces processes, patterns, and products in the world's coasts and rivers - Hydrology
Movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth - Environmental Geochemistry
Processes that control the functioning of natural environments at the Earth's surface
Courses
Below you can find an overview of the courses per track.
Educational Methods
- Lectures
- Studying text books and papers
- Computer labs with statistics, spatiotemporal simulations, machine learning, remote sensing
- Fieldwork
- Laboratory experiments with flumes and chemistry
- Excursions
Examinations
- Final research papers
- Short papers or written exams
- In-class presentations
- Active participation and concluding reports
- Thesis
Extra opportunities
Utrecht University offers several honours programmes for students looking for an extra challenge. Honours education is followed on top of your regular Master’s programme and goes beyond the regular curriculum. Honours programmes are available at interdisciplinary level and allow you to go deeper into subjects or work on projects that transcend your own discipline.