Biology

Do you want to become an all-round biologist, or explore connections between different domains in biology to develop an interdisciplinary profile? If so, Biology in Groningen is the master's degree programme for you.

Integrative Biology Research Profiles
With five pre-designed research profiles in Integrative Biology focused on interdisciplinary areas such as Evolutionary Medicine and Biological Data Science and Modelling, a Science, Business, and Policy track, as well as the option to design a tailor-made program, the MSc Biology offers unlimited flexibility to shape your personal study program.

Two Distinct Career Tracks
The MSc Biology program has two tracks that prepare you for a variety of career paths:

Integrative Biology Track: This research-oriented track prepares you for a career in scientific research, either in academia or a company's R&D department. This track includes substantial individual research projects where you will learn to conduct scientific research from start to finish. You will develop skills such as exploring scientific literature, formulating hypotheses, designing and performing field or lab experiments, executing computational analyses, and presenting your research results. Before starting your research projects, you will gain in-depth knowledge in your chosen area of specialization by selecting one of the available Integrative Biology specialization profiles or a tailor-made program of electives from Ecology and Evolution, Biomolecular Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, or other disciplines.
Science, Business & Policy Track: This track combines a solid foundation in biology with skills-oriented training on how to connect science to real-world issues in society. In addition to an academic research project in biology, this track includes a six-month internship focused on applying scientific insights in business, policy, consultancy, or administration.
Personalized Mentorship at the Frontiers of Research
Throughout the programme, you will interact with teachers who are active at the frontiers of biological research. You will be able to select one of them as your personal study mentor; s/he will help you find the most interesting study route among the many available options and coach you throughout your master's programme.

Visit Us!
Intereted in our MSc Biology programme? Find out more during the Master's Week! More information: rug.nl/masterweek

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Biology

Why study this programme in Groningen?

• Combination of in-depth training and the opportunity to design a tailor-made programme
• Specialize in an Integrative Biology programme or in Science, Business & Policy
• Focus on the study of causes and consequences of Animal Behaviour
• Coaching by a personal mentor
• There is a possibility to enroll in the Master's degree programme four times a year (every half-semester, please contact academicadvisor.MScBIO@rug.nl)

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Biology

Graduates of the Master's degree programme in Biology who have chosen the Research track Integrative Biology often enter a PhD programme or join a research and development team in a company or research institute. Students who have chosen the Science, Business and Policy track find jobs (e.g. as science advisor) in a variety of fields, such as governmental organizations, research institutions, museums, publishers, or companies.

Job examples:

PhD research position
R&D in a company or research institute
Science advisor

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Biology

Dutch diploma

Specific requirements previous education

Bachelor's degree in Biology or a related field. For admittance to the track Modelling in the Life Sciences, you will need a degree which contains enough courses relevant to this field.

Information about admission possibilities and requirements for students from a Dutch HBO institute is published on: https://www.rug.nl/fse/msc-admission

Other admission requirements

Dutch students can start in September, November, February and April.

BEFORE YOU APPLY Make sure to visit 'MSc Application Procedure' at https://www.rug.nl/fse/msc-admission for all the necessary information about the procedure and admission requirements.

In your application procedure, you will need to describe your previous education. For this, please fill out this checklist.

For admittance to the track Modelling in the Life Sciences, students have to show that their Bachelor's degree contains enough courses relevant to this field. The Admissions Board will decide whether a student can be admitted to the Master's programme.

New curriculum: https://www.rug.nl/fse/education/ter/

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Biology - Impressionen zum Masterstudium

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Übersicht der Masterstudiengänge - University of Groningen

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Student of MSc Biology

Upon completing my Bachelor’s degree in Zoology at Bristol University, I was eager to improve my skills in coding and modelling to compliment my ecological knowledge and skills. The MSc Biology programme at Groningen stood out to me as a comprehensive mix of theoretical and empirical work, which I believe lays a solid foundation for any aspiring biologist's future academic pursuits.

I found a similar Masters’ programme in the UK, however there the programme is only one year. As I wanted to focus on both theory and research skills, I found that the University of Groningen was a better fit for me.

The Master in Biology is very broad. In my track, we needed to take courses in Mathematics, Biological Model Analysis, and C++. Next to these courses, I chose to expand my research projects.

My first project focused on theoretical modelling. In the research group of Charlotte Hemelrijk on dominance hierarchies in primates. We wanted to investigate whether ecological factors could have influenced the differences we see between chimpanzees and bonobos. To do this, we built an agent-based model and analyzed the emergence of female dominance.

Currently, I am working on publishing the results of my second Master's research project' Together with the research group of Hannah Dugdale, we investigated the effect of rainfall on partnership stability in the Seychelles warbler . In short, climate change is becoming more radical, which has an effect on the stability of relationships, which may lead to more divorces.

My next step would be to do a PhD programme. Preferably, this would be a double PhD. Here, I can combine theoretical and empirical research in different institutions. Luckily, the University of Groningen has a lot of collaborations. After this, I would like to focus more on conservation.

The added value of my programme here is the freedom that I got in my research. We had a small, tight-knit community in the Life Sciences department. This meant that we had a lot of time and interaction to discuss a wide range of topics. This opened up doors to subjects that I normally would not choose to do. Furthermore, I could work independently on my research, which reflects a PhD research programme. As for the courses, the coding level is very high.

I really enjoy my time here in Groningen. Next to having a small class where I met my new best friends, I followed my love for music. I found a lot of creative people to jam with. The vibe here in Groningen is similar to Bristol: there are a lot of students, it feels almost like a big village and there is always something to do.

In my future work, I would like to focus more on the effect of climate change on animal behaviour. When I was a child I always wanted to work with reptiles, but now I am more open to other species.

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