Study programme

The research project is the most important part of your studies. During this 9 months internship you will be part of a research team, practicing all aspects of research: from designing, planning and conducting experiments, to collecting and interpreting data, drawing conclusions, and writing a report or a scientific publication. 

The research project is carried out in one of the participating Environmental Biology research groups. You will be offered a large number of projects to choose from.  

Profiles take up a big part of your 2^nd year and can be viewed as the minor in your Master’s. They are designed to equip you with skills that you need for your career while studying. You select 1 out of 9 profiles, all with a specific theme and focus. You can choose profiles that provide you with a broad skill set and help you prepare for a business, educational or societal career, or profiles that provide you with in-depth research skills, catering for a research career. The options include:

1. Applied Data Science profile 
2. Bioinformatics profile 
3. Communication profile 
4. Complex Systems profile 
5. Education profile 
6. General Research profile 
7. Life Science and Society profile 
8. Management profile 
9. Translational Science profile 

You devote 15 EC to compulsory courses. All tracks offer courses of which some are compuslory depending on the track that you follow. See the course list below for a detailed overview, including course descriptions.

The elective space can be used to address deficiencies in your previous education, complete additional courses, extend your profile or to do a mini-project if you would like to perform extra research.

The aim of the writing assignment is to perform an in-depth analysis of literature on a relevant topic, that demonstrates your ability to critically evaluate hypotheses and results, and to present your own views on the matter. Alternatively you may choose to write a research proposal, according to formats of financing bodies like NWO. 

This compulsory module is a combination of courses, workshops, seminars, and career events to acquaint you with a wide range of life sciences-related topics.