Marine Biology at the University of Groningen

How does climate change affect whales and seals? How does overfishing influence marine food webs? How do we restore and protect the Wadden Sea?

The two-year selective master’s degree program in Marine Biology focuses on life in our seas and oceans. Whether you are interested in biological oceanography, conservation of marine mammals, coastal marine ecology or genomics, we offer plenty opportunity to receive a well-founded, expansive research-focused academic training in marine biology. Together with your mentor (a professor in the marine biology programme) you will design your own tailored study program fitting your personal preferences and career plans. The program also offers a business and policy-oriented track.

Our flexible Master's degree program is open to students with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. We offer a number of mandatory master courses, taught by experienced staff from several research institutes (GELIFES, ESRIG) at the UG and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ). In addition, we offer elective courses across a wide range of research disciplines, habitats and skill types.

The master program is heavily research focused. We offer research opportunities with UG staff in the following areas (principle investigators in parentheses):
• Marine Ecology (Eriksson)
• Marine Evolution and Conservation (Palsbøll)
• Tropical Marine Evolutionary Ecology (van der Meij)
• Marine Conservation Ecology (Govers)
• Marine Phytoplankton Ecophysiology (Buma)
• Marine Polar Phytoplankton (van de Poll)
• Climate and the Marine Carbon Cycle (Bintanja)
• Marine zoology and Biomimetics (Stamhuis)
• Marine Algae and the Sulphur cycle (Stefels)
• Marine environment and policy (Business and Policy track, de Boer)

More information on this programme? Visit the website!

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Marine Biology at the University of Groningen

We offer students a series of introductory and specialised courses in Marine sciences (20-30 ECTS).

The courses will facilitate students from various backgrounds to successfully obtain a degree in Marine Biology. These courses will cover a large range of topics including chemical, physical and biological oceanography, marine conservation, marine community ecology, applied marine biology and marine evolution. Courses will be taught by lecturers from various research institutes, as well as external experts (mainly NIOZ). After a series of compulsory and facultative courses, the students will start their first research project.

Programme options:

• Research profile (track)
• Science, Business & Policy (track)

For more detailed information, please visit the degree website.

More information on this programme? Visit the website!

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Marine Biology at the University of Groningen

About one third of the graduates continue in academic research with the pursuit of their PhD degree in The Netherlands or abroad.
About one third of the graduates continue in various kinds of research and management related to fisheries and coastal zone management. 
About one third of the graduates work in the public sector, for example in journalism, teaching or communication.

More information on this programme? Visit the website!

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Marine Biology at the University of Groningen

Previous education: An academic Bachelor's in any field of Biological Sciences including a major in any of the following domains: biology, ecology, evolution, theoretical biology, behaviour, marine biology, molecular biology, genetics. This is merely an indication of required background knowledge. The admissions board determines whether the specific contents of this/these course(s) meet the admission requirements of the master programme for which you applied.

The Marine Biology master is selective. Selection will be based on academic performance and motivation to determine if you will be selected for the master's programme. After you have registered via www.rug.nl/fse/msc-admission (before May 1st) your application will be requested to pass on to the Admissions Board of the programme.
 

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.

More information on English proficiency requirements can be found on the degree website. The application deadline for starting on 1 September is 1 May of the same year.

More information on this programme? Visit the website!

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Overview of Masters programmes - University of Groningen

		Applied Cognitive Neuroscience
		Arts and Culture
		Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences
		Biology
		Business Administration
		Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology
		Computational Cognitive Science
		Economic Development and Globalization
		Environmental and Infrastructure Planning
		Ethics of Education: Philosophy, History and Law
		Global Criminal Law
		Governance and Law in Digital Society
		History
		Human Resource Management
		International Business and Management
		International Relations
		Literary Studies
		Marine Biology
		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
		Sustainable Entrepreneurship
		Theory and History of Psychology
		Voice Technology
		Human Movement Sciences
		Sport Sciences

More information on this programme? Visit the website!

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Marine Biology at the University of Groningen

Study abroad is recommended for an average of 20 weeks (maximum of 60 EC).
All our science and engineering programmes offer study abroad possibilities at a number of partner institutions, often as a second research project. Our partners include top-100 universities in Europe (for example in Germany, UK, and Sweden) and in the USA, China, South-East Asia, and South America.

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Marine Biology at the University of Groningen

To learn in more detail about the research opportunities at NIOZ and elsewhere, check out the Research Tab on the degree website.

This selective master program in marine biology is designed for students to start in September as part of an annual cohort. Students who would like start during the academic year are referred to the Master’s program Biology.

More information on this programme? Visit the website!

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