The master's Forest and Nature Conservation focuses on policy, sustainable management and conservation of forest and nature, i.e. understanding and predicting the effect of phenomena such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, ecotourism, timber production and animal reintroduction. Insights into all aspects of forest and nature conservation are required to address these issues. The study programme represents an integrated approach to natural resource management that can be applied at different scales, to diverse ecosystems and in varying political and social contexts. An outstanding research environment and three comprehensive specialisations contribute to making the programme challenging for undergraduates from both the natural and social sciences.
You read about it every day. Deforestation, ecosystem conservation…. Forest and nature areas are complex land use systems that have come under increasing ecological, social and economic pressure. During this two-year programme at Wageningen University & Research, you will learn about forest management, deforestation, forestry, ecosystem conservation, wildlife management, social aspects of nature and more. Read more about the programme of Forest and Nature Conservation.
The master's programme consist of a Common part and a specialisation. You can choose one of the following Specialisations to meet your personal interests.
The MSc programme Forest and Nature Conservation provides an excellent preparation for Dutch as well as European and non-European jobs. Read more about career perspectives and opportunities after finishing the programme.
Related programmes:
MSc Development and Rural Innovation
MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning
MSc International Development Studies.
Do you want to contribute to solving multidisciplinary and complex issues using Geo- information science, geo-informatics and remote sensing? Then the master's Geo- Information Science is a perfect match for you!
The increasing complexity of our society demands for specialists who can collect, manage, analyse and present spatial data using state-of-the-art methods and tools. At Wageningen University & Research we offer a unique, top-quality programme that blends geo-information science methods, technologies and applications within environmental and life sciences for a changing world. Our Geo-information Science graduates usually have a job waiting for them on graduation. Read more about the background of the programme.
There are no formal specialisations in the Geo-Information Science programme. You can specialise by taking advanced courses in GIS and/or Remote Sensing, and by selecting courses in a range of application fields or geo-information technology. Furthermore, you develop your Geo-information Science profile by completing a major research thesis in one of the following research fields:
Your choice of internship location is another factor in developing your profile and specialisation.
The increasing demand for digital geographical information has resulted in a phenomenal growth in the discipline of Geo-Information Science. The demand for geo-information is the result of an increase in environmental problems and the need to manage the natural and the social environment.The increasing demand for digital geographical information has resulted in a phenomenal growth in the discipline of Geo-Information Science.
The overview below provides more detailed information about the fields and positions taken by our alumni on graduation:
In Research
In Consultancy
In Education
Read more about career perspectives and opportunities after finishing the programme.
Related programmes:
MSc Geographical Information Management and Applications
MSc Forest and Nature Conservation
MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning
The two-year master's International Land and Water Management programme focuses on the scientific analysis of land and water management issues at different scales. An integration of physical, technical, socio-economic and political dimensions in various approaches is sought to critically analyse, understand and tackle land and water management problems.
Students will develop comparative insight into the development of land and water management, apply an academic approach to various research paradigms, and acquire a problem-oriented, interdisciplinary attitude towards land and water management and rural development issues.
The programme devotes its attention on land and water management at different scales, to interactive approaches with actors at the respective levels, to the institutional aspects, and to the multifaceted consequences of the proposed interventions.
On the International Land and Water Management Programme page, you can find the general outline of the programme and more detailed information about courses, theses and internships.
Within the master's programme you can choose one of the following Specialisations that suit your personal interests.
After finalising your MSc programme International Land and Water Management you will be widely employable as a consultant, policy maker, researcher, development worker or project manager in any part of the world. Job possibilities can be found at engineer and consultancy bodies, NGO's, governmental institutions, universities and research institutes. Read more about career perspectives and opportunities after finishing the programme.
Related programmes:
MSc International Development Studies
MSc Development and Rural Innovation
MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning
MSc Forest and Nature Conservation.
During the two-year MSc programme Leisure, Tourism and Environment at Wageningen University & Research you focus on themes such as landscape, space, place, locality, authenticity and sustainability. The increasing number of people that spends a growing proportion of their leisure time and money on travelling, causes new questions to arise: what is the effect of all this tourism on local cultures and economies?
By joining the MSc Leisure, Tourism and Environment programme, you study the underlying issues of the fast growing tourism industry. You look at tourism from a historical and philosophical perspective, learning about social and cultural theory and how to apply these using advanced research methods and analysis techniques. The MSc integrates the role of governmental, business and ‘third sector’ organisations in the innovation process towards sustainable (tourism) development.
On the Programme of Leisure, Tourism and Environment page you can find the general outline of the programme and more detailed information about courses, theses and internships.
Students can choose between four thematic trajectories that each focus on a specific research domain and that is connected to specific societal questions.
The MSc programme Leisure, Tourism and Environment is intended for students who seek a career as an academic professional or as a scientist. Among the professional job possibilities are experts in sustainable tourism or visitor management. Read more about career perspectives and opportunities after finishing the programme.
Related programmes:
MSc International Development Studies
MSc Management, Economics and Consumer Studies
MSc Development and Rural Innovation
MSc Communication, Health and Life Sciences
MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning
The world we live in is an increasingly urban one as cities currently account for half the world’s population. By 2030, it is expected that three out of every five people will live in an urban environment. Sustainable management of the urban environment has become one of the major challenges of the 21st century as you will learn during the two-year master's Urban Environmental Management programme at the university. This development calls for control of the environmental impacts of urbanisation like growing traffic, increasing waste emissions, deteriorating air and water quality, and growth in energy and resource consumption.
Inadequate water supply, sanitation, waste collection and waste management systems are the cause of serious urban pollution and health hazards in many Asian, African and Latin American cities. The MSc programme Urban Environmental Management is an international and interactive programme providing a balanced curriculum of theory, tools and application. It aims to train students like you to guide the future along the path of sustainable urbanisation.
On the Programme of Urban Environmental Management page you can find the general outline of the programme and more detailed information about courses, theses and internships.
Within the master's programme you can choose one of the following Thesis tracks to meet your personal interests.
Graduates from the MSc Urban Environmental Management (MUE) programme are well-equipped with the skills and knowledge to continue academic training (PhD) or continue their career outside the University.
Read more about career perspectives and opportunities after finishing the programme and Career preparation during your studies.
Related programmes:
MSc International Development Studies
MSc Landscape Architecture and Planning
The cities of today are complex with interrelated economic, social, environmental and physical challenges which need to be balanced in the ever-changing urban environment.
The intensive 12-month MSc in Urban Management and Development is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to become competent urban managers by offering an in-depth insight into urban issues, policies and trends around the world through a blend of lectures with case studies, discussions, working groups, group assignments and field visits and field work. More specifically, you will be looking into questions like (but not limited to):
What are the dynamics of urban growth? How do you manage a city in a holistic way? What about creating urban land and space use policies that reflect the “New Urban Agenda” goals? What are the theories that underpin good urban governance? Under what conditions are Public Private Partnerships (PPP) successful vehicles for urban development? How can local governments finance urban infrastructure? What is the right way to assess a social policy in the view of a paradigm shift?
The master programme is divided into three main periods: a core period, a specialization period and a thesis period. Visit our website or download the brochure to find more information about the programme structure and the knowledge you will gain during each period.
Throughout the course, students participate in interactive lectures, workshops and discussions, engage in group and individual exercises, analyse cases, give presentations and write papers and essays which aim to deepen their knowledge about the concepts and theory. The training methodology of the programme includes field visits, fieldwork, simulation games, discussions, best practices and case studies.
IHS, the Insitute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam was honoured in 2007 with the UN-HABITAT Award for ‘leading the way as a global center of excellence and knowledge through its high quality teaching programmes in urban management and planning’ and over 60 years of experience in educating and training local and national governments officials.
This programme involves studying the interaction between and within groups of neurons in the brain, and how they affect our interactions with the outside world.
The brain is no longer considered a passive response device but rather as a network in which we consider ongoing activity before, during, and after a stimulus. The specialisation Brain Networks and Neuronal Communication deals with brain networks; ranging from the smallest scale, the communication between individual neurons, to the largest scale, communication between different brain areas. Using advanced mathematical tools, this specialisation prepares students for cutting-edge neuroscience research.
Students interested in this specialisation are expected to already have a high level of mathematical skills and/or training in physics, engineering or computer science in their Bachelor’s studies.
A large majority of our graduates gain a PhD position, while other graduates find jobs in the commercial sector or at research institutes. Graduates of this specialisation may more readily find a position within a government institution or specialised companies (e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry).
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/cns/brain
- Researchers in Nijmegen combine new techniques for electrophysiological and anatomical measurements of connectivity and activation with data analysis and the experimental application of these techniques. This is done in studies of cognition in not just humans but also non-human primates and rodents.
- Exceptional students who choose this specialisation have the opportunity to do a double degree programme with either Neuroscience or Artificial Intelligence. This will take three instead of two years.
- This competitive programme provides a sound balance of theory and practice. Our selective approach guarantees excellence, especially during the research training period.
If you have successfully completed the Master’s programme in Brain networks and neuronal communication, you will be able to conduct independent neuroimaging and neurobiological research. You will have ample knowledge of the anatomical and neurophysiological aspects of networks in the human brain and the techniques for the computational analysis and modeling of brain networks. This will enable you to conduct independent research into the neurofunctional architecture of key cognitive functions, such as perception, attention, memory, language, planning and targeted actions and develop technologies to measure, characterise and model networks at the whole brain and/or the local cortical circuit level. With this educational background you should be able to find a position with one of the research institutes in the Netherlands or abroad, government institutions or specialised companies (e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry).
Research in the field of cognitive neuroscience is one of the spearheads in the research policy of Radboud University. Here, in Nijmegen, hundreds of scientists from various faculties and top institutes have joined forces to unravel the workings of the human brain, step by step . They work together closely, exchange expertise and share state-of-the-art research equipment.
Nijmegen is one of the foremost centres of cognitive neuroscience in the world. We have a high admission threshold to ensure that all of our students are highly motivated and have the ability to work at an advanced level. Top scientists screen all applications to make sure the new students meet our stringent entry criteria and can maintain the current standards of excellence. Once admitted to the programme, you can expect to be trained as a multidisciplinary scientist in the following two years. The research you will undertake addresses crossdisciplinary challenges. The teachers and supervisors you will meet are all experts in their own disciplines. We hope that with this programme, you will outperform your teachers by being able to combine knowledge from different domains. Alongside language processing and perceptuomotor systems, you may also help improve brain/computer interfaces, a hot topic with applications in medicine and information technology. Apart from being very exciting, it is also logical that various disciplines are merging. After all, everything that happens in the brain is interconnected. In Nijmegen we develop sophisticated cognitive models which we test by means of state-of-the-art imaging techniques, thanks to which you can participate in cutting-edge research that will hopefully lead to new insights into the way the human brain and mind work. Finally, we offer our best CNS students excellent career opportunities in challenging PhD projects.
- Unique multi-disciplinary Master’s programme
Are you also interested in the human brain? Would you like to conduct research into the workings of the brain and join an enthusiastic, international group of top researchers? The Radboud University offers a multi-faculty Master’s programme in Cognitive Neuroscience. The programme takes two years and is of a scientific orientation. There is a strong emphasis on experimental research. This Master’s programme is unique in Europe.
The Master’s programme in Cognitive Neuroscience is primarily focused on training you as a researcher because research institutes and businesses around the world desperately need highly qualified and motivated young researchers. Moreover, since cognitive neuroscience is a rather young discipline, much in this field has not yet been explored. There are many challenging questions that need to be answered. So there is plenty of room for new discoveries!
This competitive programme provides a sound balance of theory and practice. We enroll about 50 students per year. Our selective approach guarantees excellence, especially during the research training period.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/cns/brain
- The connection between the brain and cognition
How does your brain enable you to remember a certain event? What happens in your brain when you listen to music? How does your brain adapt itself to certain changes, such as a haemorrhage or other form of damage? How do you distinguish between important and relatively unimportant information in the world around you? How do you focus your attention on a playing child? How does our consciousness work? These are just a few of the questions that neurocognitive scientists would like to see answered.
- Neurocognition in Nijmegen: the cutting edge
The Radboud University has an outstanding reputation in the field of neurocognition. In 2002, the ultramodern Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (DCCN) was officially opened on campus. This centre draws many young researchers from all over the world and to a large extent determines the nature of the Plasticity and Memory specialisation. In 2008 the DCCN formed together with the Donders Centre for Cognition (formerly NICI) and the Donders Centre for Neuroscience the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour.
- Bachelor's degree
The graduation date of the last attained BA/BSc degree relevant for this programme must be within five years of applying to the programme.
- English skills
The Cognitive Neuroscience Master's programme (MSc CNS) is an English programme: all courses and examinations are taught in English. For the general language requirements of the Radboud University click here. Foreign students please note that the MSc CNS programme requires the following minimum scores: TOEFL: 600 (paper-based test), 250 (computer-based test), 100 (internet-based test); IELTS 7.0 or higher.
- Mathematics & Physics
Students who did not follow physics in their highschool curriculum and/or who have not been trained in mathematics at level B (including concepts such as matrix algebra, differentation, integration, complex numbers), are advised before the start of the programme to work on the assignment in Chapters 1, 2, 7, 8 and 11 (three chapters on physics and two on mathematics) of R.K. Hobbie: "Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology", Springer Verlag, New York, 1997; third edition, ISBN 1-56396-458-9).
If you have successfully completed the Master’s programme in Plasticity and Memory, you will be able to conduct neuroimaging and neurobiological research. You will have ample knowledge of the anatomical and neurophysiological aspects of the human brain and theoretical cognition/neurocognition models. This will enable you to conduct independent research into the neurofunctional architecture of cognitive key functions, such as perception, attention, memory, language, planning and targeted actions. With this educational background you should be able to find a position with one of the research institutes in the Netherlands or abroad, government institutions or specialised companies (e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry).
Research in the field of cognitive neuroscience is one of the spearheads in the research policy of Radboud University. Here, in Nijmegen, hundreds of scientists from various faculties and top institutes have joined forces to unravel the workings of the human brain, step by step and bit by bit. They thereby work together very closely, exchange expertise and share state-of-the-art research equipment.
Nijmegen is one of the foremost centres of cognitive neuroscience in the world. We have deliberately created a high admission threshold to ensure that all our students are highly motivated and have the ability to work at an advanced level. Top scientists screen all applications to make sure the new students meet our stringent entry criteria and help maintain the current standards of excellence. Once admitted to the programme you can expect to be trained as a multidisciplinary scientist in the following two years. The research of which you will become a part addresses crossdisciplinary challenges. The teachers and supervisors you will meet are all experts in their own disciplines. We hope that with this programme you will outperform your teachers by being able to combine knowledge from different domains. Alongside language processing and perceptuomotor systems, you may also help improve brain/computer interfaces, a hot topic with applications in medicine and information technology. Apart from being very exciting, it is also logical that various disciplines are merging. After all, everything that happens in the brain is interconnected. In Nijmegen we develop sophisticated cognitive models which we test by means of state-of-the-art imaging techniques, thanks to which you can participate in cutting-edge research that will hopefully lead to new insights into the way the human brain and mind work. Finally, we offer our best CNS students excellent career opportunities in challenging PhD projects.
- Unique multi-disciplinary Master’s programme
Are you also interested in the human brain? Would you like to conduct research into the workings of the brain and join an enthusiastic, international group of top researchers? The Radboud University Nijmegen offers a multi-faculty Master’s programme in Cognitive Neuroscience. The programme takes two years and is of course of a scientific orientation. There is a strong emphasis on experimental research. After all, what counts is hands-on research experience. This Master’s programme is unique in Europe.
The Master’s programme in Cognitive Neuroscience is primarily focussed on training you as a researcher and if possible, a top researcher, because research institutes and businesses around the world desperately need highly qualified and motivated young researchers. Moreover, since cognitive neuroscience is a rather young discipline, much in this field has not yet been explored. There are many challenging questions that need to be answered. So there is plenty of room for new discoveries!
This competitive programme provides a sound balance of theory and practice. We enrol about 50 students per year. Our selective approach guarantees excellence, especially during the research training period.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/physicsandastronomy/physics
Bio inspired design and science are used for innovations that support a transition to a sustainable, circular economy. The Master’s programme Bio Inspired Innovation (BII) offers a unique blend of knowledge and skill training that will support the search for and development of circular business-models and bio inspired research & innovations.
Nature evolves solutions for the societal challenges we face today. Many birds and butterfly species for example, like peacocks, use light-interacting structures to produce colours and patterns. With the discovery of this biotechnology, scientists and engineers have been able to produce colour through structure. BII is aimed at students with a Bachelor’s degree in Science who want to innovate services, products and production systems, and are interested in using bio inspired design and science. You can become the biologist at the design table and facilitate innovations that take their lessons from nature. You will become a professional that contributes to the transition to a circular economy with Bio Inspired Innovations..
This Master’s programme builds on the excellent research at the Faculty of Science and links research findings to solve societal and business challenges.
First year
The first year is research based, while the second year focuses on the use of research knowledge in innovation. In the first year you will be part of an advanced research environment linking to your area of expertise (major research project). You learn to set up and execute research and discuss and report its outcomes. Moreover you will start to explore and learn about multi-disciplinary innovation, collaborative business modelling and design. You will attend seminars and workshops, some of which you will organise yourself, that allow you to prepare yourself for the second year.
Second year
In the second year you will get in depth knowledge of Biomimicry and other design and innovation methods through courses and an internship.
Although BII is a new Master's programme, it has already attracted a lot of interest. For example, the programme appeared in an item on Dutch television. See the press release with the item (in Dutch). Also, our Master's student Brigit van Brenkwon the 'Changemaker Challenge' with her research on using fungi to breakdown waste in wastewater.
