Biodiversity and Sustainability Leiden University

Overview

The Biodiversity and Sustainability master specialisation aims to discuss and answer societal relevant biological questions.
The critical importance of biodiversity and the services provided by nature for our society is increasingly endorsed by national and international conventions. However, to implement the right policy measures for creating a sustainable society, a much better understanding of the biological processes involved is essential. By using 'sustainability' as a guiding principle, the programme provides you with an academic attitude by stimulating reflective, independent and creative thinking to support, conserve and manage biodiversity and sustainable ecosystem services.

The master's specialisation Biodiversity and Sustainability is a good match if you are a student with a BSc background in Biology or equivalent, and when you're interested in subjects such as the biological processes in relation with the environment and ecology.

What you will learn

Courses cover a broad range of relevant subjects and provide in-depth theoretical knowledge as well as training in practical skills and advanced research tools.
The programme includes several compulsory components, mostly at the start and the end of the programme, and can be expanded with a wide choice of elective elements. The mandatory components in the 1st semester aim to provide students with the theoretical and practical background needed for an efficient start of the Research Project at the end of this semester.

The Research Projects are the actual core of the MSc programme. Students will be members of a research group of their choice and work full time on a specific project. Each project will be finished with an MSc thesis written in the form of a manuscript for an international scientific journal. At least one but preferably two Research Projects are part of the study programme.

Career prospects

Approximately half of the graduates choose a career in scientific research, many as PhD students. Universities, research institutes and Medical Centers are the major employers. Others work at consultancies or in the public domain as policy-makers, science communicators or teachers. Graduates also occupy management positions or have project responsibility in a wide variety of (non-)commercial sectors, from biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies to software development.

Accreditation

Accredited by NVAO, the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.