Biology

Concerns about how organisms and the environment affect each other is an issue of modern global society. How humans, animals and plants adapt to their environment is the central question in Nijmegen's Master's in Biology. The mechanisms that lie underneath this adaptation are studied at all levels, ranging from the smallest living entities, such as molecules, cells and pollen until larger entities such as ecosystems, river courses and entire populations.

Tracks within the Master's in Biology

You can choose one of the following specialisations:

• Adaptive organisms
• Communities and Ecosystems
• Microbiology
• Transnational ecosystem-Based Water Management (double degree programme in cooperation with the University of Duisberg-Essen)
• Water and Environment (Environmental Sciences)
• Science in Society
• Science, Management and Innovation

Rich programme

The MSc. programme not only covers a multitude of organisms and places interactions between them into context, it also integrates all levels of organisation from the molecule and the cell up to ecosystems and the landscape. This combination of experience results in a rich and coherent MSc. programme of Master's courses and exciting internships with state-of-the-art research. It prepares you for a career in science, both fundamental and applied, but also provides the necessary knowledge for innovative evidence-based applications in nature and water management.

Personal tutor

This programme offers you many opportunities to follow your own interests under the guidance of a personal tutor. In close collaboration with the academic hospital UMCN St. Radboud and several research institutes in Nijmegen (Institute for Water and Wetlands Research, Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences, Donders Institute) Radboud University offers you a multitude of research fields to choose from which allows you to specialise in a field of personal interest. Our top scientist are looking forward to take you with them on a challenging and inspiring scientific journey.

You can choose one of the following specialisations:

Adaptive organisms

This track has its prime focus on processes at the sub-organismal level. Using the latest molecular and physiological tools the adaptations of organisms to environmental stresses are studied. The regulatory mechanisms are understood, including the genetic constraints, the physiological plasticity and the evolutionary history of the responses of organisms that we see.

Communities and Ecosystems

This track focuses on the ecology of units of interacting individuals, in populations, communities and ecosystems. The biodiversity is analysed and functionally related to the hydrology, nutritional status and landscape configuration of the ecosystem. Ecogenomics tools are applied to obtain information on unknown components such as microbial composition or evolutionary history of populations.

Microbiology

This track focuses on the interface between fundamental and applied ecology and medical microbiology specifically looking at the functioning of microorganisms and their potential for improving our health and the environment. This programme contains extensive hands-on experience in microbial research.

Transnational ecosystem-Based Water Management (double degree programme in cooperation with the University of Duisberg-Essen)

This international programme is set up together with the University of Duisberg-Essen and combines ecology, hydrology and socio-economics. It focuses on ecological solutions to problems, which are often more effective than technical adjustments. Think of estuaries with sea grass fields breaking the waves instead of reinforcing dikes, or self purfication of drainage-basins, making dredging unnecessary. 

Water and Environment (Environmental Sciences)

This track focuses on the insight needed to tackle problems such as climate change, flooding, eutrophication, chemical pollution, habitat fragmentation and bio-invasions. We provide you with the laboratory, field and assessment tools needed to protect ecosystem and human health in the context of multiple environmental pressures. If you wish, you can specialise in Transnational Water Management (TWM), an international program set-up together with the University of Duisburg-Essen, or in Human and Environmental Risk Assessment (HERA) of chemicals, carried out together with the Radboud University Medical Centre.

Science in Society

This specialisation focuses on equipping students with the tools and skills to become a professional intermediary between science and society whilst getting a broader societal perspective that will be useful in a scientific career. It will teach you the skills and knowledge you'll need to build a bridge between scientific expertise and societal practices, with issues connected to your own scientific background. 

Science, Management and Innovation

This specialisation focuses on gaining proficiency in what happens in the world of business and public administration: how innovation is managed in company strategies, how goverment designs policy and how that interacts with societal challenges. It will take you out of the lab and into the heart of society to brodaden your knowledge in scientific skills and learn skills that can be used to make a direct contribution to society. 

Admission requirements for students with an international Bachelor’s degree

1. A completed Bachelor's degree in Biology or related area.
   Your degree has to be equivalent to a Dutch university diploma. The Admission's Office will determine if an international student has the required knowledge to be admitted. The Admission's Office will also indicate if the student is required to follow specific courses from the Bachelor's programme to eliminate possible deficiencies.

1. A proficiency in English
   In order to take part in this programme, you need to have fluency in both written and spoken English. Non-native speakers of English* without a Dutch Bachelor's degree or VWO diploma need one of the following:
   1. A TOEFL score of >575 (paper based) or >90 (internet based)
   2. An IELTS score of ≥6.5
   3. Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) or Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) with a mark of C or higher

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

There are various scholarships available for studying at Radboud University Nijmegen. Please check which scholarship is applicable in your case.

Radboud Scholarship Programme

Open to talented prospective non-EEA students - the scholarship consists of a partial tuition waiver.

Orange Tulip Scholarship

Open to students from Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and China - offers a tuition fee waiver of 6,750 euros and exemption from visa and health insurance costs.

Fulbright-Radboud Scholarships

Open to excellent American students - the grant will be paid in 12 monthly instalments of 1,050 euros, international travel and the cost of the residence permit will be covered.

Erasmus Mundus ERANET

Open for Russian candidates - applicants may be undergraduate exchange students, Master's students, doctorate and post-doctorate candidates, as well as academic and administrative staff.

Sino-Dutch Bilateral Exchange Scholarship

Open to students from China - the Dutch contribution to the scholarship consist of monthly allowance 1,000 euros, international travel costs 1,400 euros, tuition/research fee 1,906 euros, it also covers the cost of visa, insurance and other.

DIKTI-Neso Scholarships

Aimed at lecturers at higher education instituations in Indonesia who wish to pursue a PhD or Master's at a university in the Netherlands. A DIKTI scholarship includes allowances for living expenses, insurance, travel costs, tuition fees and more.

StuNed

Open to Indonesian students - the main objectives of StuNed are to strengthen the human resources in Indonesian organisations and the bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia at the same time.

Dutch Student Finance

EU/EEA students and Swiss students under 30 years of age are eligible if they are working at least 56 hours per month in the Netherlands, or have been living in the Netherlands for five years or more. Dutch student finance consists of four components: a basic grant, a supplementary grant (depending on the parental income), a student travel product, and a loan.