Ecology and Evolution

Which organisms are able to adapt to global change? How do birds decide when and where to migrate? When and why do individual differences in physiology or behaviour evolve? How can we best conserve nature and bend the curve of biodiversity decline?

This Master's programme has a selection procedure. The application deadline is 15 March 2025. For more information about the selection procedure, please check here.

During the two-year Master's programme Ecology and Evolution, you will gain insight into the living organism in relation to its environment. Ecology and evolution are strongly interdependent: without ecology, we cannot really understand natural selection; and without evolution, we cannot really understand the properties of organisms and their interaction with the environment. Ecology and evolution are relevant for all domains of the life sciences.

Ecology and evolutionary biology play a crucial role in facing the grand challenges of our time. This includes the development of realistic plans for coping with the implications of global change, for stopping the alarming biodiversity loss, for designing evolutionarily stable strategies to set up a sustainable society, and for developing evolution-informed medical treatment. The research fields of ecology and evolution are highly dynamic. Powerful new techniques (e.g. GPS-tracking of birds and mammals over the whole planet; remote sensing; tracking of individual cells in a culture of micro-organisms; genome-wide sequencing; individual-based simulations; new methods to analyse ‘big data’) allow us to resolve long-standing puzzles.

These new approaches lead to new insights and concepts that change our way of thinking, including a range of new integrative disciplines (e.g. evo-devo; evolutionary medicine; evolutionary community ecology; ecological immunology; evolutionary systems biology; adaptation and conservation genomics; evolutionary psychology). With this Master's programme, we aim to educate the new generation of scientists in ecology and evolution, both those who want to study the big fundamental questions in all domains of the life sciences and those who want to contribute to solving the grand challenges of our time.

The Master's degree programme Ecology and Evolution is offered by the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), which conducts internationally recognized research in a unique diversity of areas relevant to ecology and evolution, including conservation biology, community ecology, microbial ecology, marine biology, evolutionary genetics and genomics, evolutionary systems biology, ecophysiology, neurobiology, chronobiology, evolutionary medicine, behavioural ecology, animal personality research, social evolution, and theoretical biology. We study a wide array of species, from microbes, algae, plants, and insects to vertebrates such as fish, birds, rodents, marine mammals, large herbivores, and humans.

The selective Master's programme offers 2 specialized research tracks:

1) Evolutionary Biology, which is strongly research-oriented and designed to provide optimal preparation for a subsequent PhD and eventually a career in academic research;

2) Ecology and Conservation, to educate the new generation of ecologists to contribute to understanding and solving the global ecological problems, as a scientist and practitioner in the field. In this programme, you will learn how organisms, populations, and communities are affected by changing environmental conditions, and how this knowledge can contribute to successful ecological conservation and restoration programs, as well as to sustainable land-use and a nature-positive society.

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Ecology and Evolution

Why study this programme in Groningen?

Combination of in-depth training and the opportunity to design a tailor-made programme in ecology and evolution.
Many opportunities to conduct fieldwork in diverse environments (on all five continents), including the nearby Wadden Sea (on the UNESCO World Heritage list), the tropics, and the arctic regions.

Students form collaborative cohorts and frequently interact with their supervisors & teachers
Coaching by personal mentor.

Broad spectrum of research projects, tailored to the individual preferences of the student, ranging from microbes to whales, and from molecules to ecosystems. Research can be conducted in the field or in the lab and theoretically as well as experimentally.
Our faculty is the home of the 2016 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, Ben Feringa, and GELIFES is the home of the 2014 Spinoza Prize winner, Theunis Piersma.

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Ecology and Evolution

Graduates of the programme who have chosen for the selective research master often enter a PhD programme, join a research team in a company or research institute, are active as ecological consultant, or work for a nature conservation organization.

For an overview of the different fields our students find jobs in: https://www.rug.nl/(...)job-ees-students.png

Job examples:

• PhD research position
• R&D in a company or research institute
• Scientific advisor, project officer or ecological consultant

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Ecology and Evolution

Dutch diploma

International diploma

Registration procedure

This Master's programme has a selection procedure, the Board of Admissions will decide whether you can be admitted to the Master's degree programme.

For a more elaborate explanation of the selection procedure, please have a look here. You will need to fill out the checklist to explain why you are applying for this Master's degree programme (questions to be addressed are outlined on the form).

Provide two reference letters (non EU applicants) or provide the names of those we may contact for reference (EU applicants) using the application form.
Provide a bachelor thesis or another individually written report of an academic assignment. If such a report is not available an assignment will be given by the Board of Admissions.

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Ecology and Evolution - Impressions of your Masters study

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Overview of Masters programmes - University of Groningen

		Applied Mathematics
		Applied Physics
		Artificial Intelligence
		Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences
		Biology
		Biomedical Engineering
		Biomedical Sciences
		Biomolecular Sciences
		Computational Cognitive Science
		Computing Science
		Ecology and Evolution
		Energy and Environmental Sciences
		Industrial Engineering and Management
		Marine Biology
		Mathematics
		MSc Astronomy
		MSc Mechanical Engineering
		Nanoscience
		Physics
		Systems and Control
		Accountancy and Controlling
		Applied Cognitive Neuroscience
		Arts and Culture
		Business Administration
		Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology
		Economic Development and Globalization
		Environmental and Infrastructure Planning
		Ethics of Education: Philosophy, History and Law
		Global Criminal Law
		History
		Human Movement Sciences
		Human Resource Management
		International Business and Management
		International Relations
		Literary Studies
		Marketing
		Media Studies
		Molecular Medicine and Innovative Treatment
		Philosophy, Politics and Economics
		Philosophy, Science and Humanities
		Population Studies
		Religion and Cultural Heritage
		Religion, Conflict and Globalisation
		Sport Sciences
		Sustainable Entrepreneurship
		Theory and History of Psychology
		Tourism Geography and Planning
		Voice Technology

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Student of Ecology and Evolution 

Life at the university is totally different from my home country China . My Ecology and Evolution programme gives me a lot of freedom, which means I can schedule my time the way I like. We work in projects a lot, so I get the chance to practice my applied skills. You learn to solve problems by yourself and work independently. But at the same time my classmates, the professors and the university staff are always there when I'm in need for help or advice!

I love the fact that the study programme allows me to do an internship as a project. An internship gives me the chance to familiarize with our scientific work in real companies and institutes. This experience is really valuable for my future career. A piece of advice to future students would be to inform about possible projects before you arrive here. It gives you an advantage when you've already found a suitable project and supervisor.

I would recommend Ecology and Evolution, and the city of Groningen as a whole, to any prospective student who wants to enjoy a quiet, cosy and academic studying experience abroad! The University has a great 400 year history , the residents are lovely and friendly, and all speak English at a high level. Other than that, I really enjoy riding my little cute bike to anywhere I want in this city! it's convenient and safe.

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