Masters Degrees in Nursing & Health, Netherlands

MSc Health and Society Specialisation

If you are interested in solving societally relevant, complex health issues, then Wageningen is the place to be! In the specialisation Health and Society students become context-sensitive experts in the domains of science and health promotion. Health and Society studies the social and behavioural aspects of health and health promotion, but also other factors that affects health, for instance the organization of the food system and the interaction between individuals and the physical environment.

Programme summary

Health is a resource that enables people to lead an individually, socially and economically productive life. For many centuries, the care for individual and population health has been the domain of medical sciences. However, it is widely acknowledged that contemporary health problems are complex and cannot be solved by simply extending existing health services. Chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes are important contributors to the burden of disease; as are communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmittable diseases.

There is no single cause to such health problems. Biological factors aside, lifestyle and the social and physical environment are major contributors in both a positive and negative way. Many diseases are related to the way in which people behave and take care of their own health, for example, substance abuse (smoking, alcohol, drugs), nutrition, physical exercise, and sexual behaviour. Lifestyles are often rooted in the social environment of family and friends, the neighbourhood, and the school and working environment. Aspects of the physical environment also affect individual and population health including housing conditions, environmental pollution, the availability of green space, and the availability and accessibility of health services. Moreover, societal changes, such as demography (e.g. aging populations, single parent families), consumption patterns, communication technology developments, globalisation and commercialisation influence the health status of individuals and populations.

Since health is influenced by such a diversity of interconnected factors, the development of cross border public health policies is essential. Within the health care system, organisations and professionals have to increasingly work together in the provision of care, prevention and health promotion. The set-up of the programme reflects its focus on societal issues in the domain of health, health promotion and health care systems. The programme covers a niche in the Netherlands by primarily taking a sociological approach to this domain, centralising the link between health and human relationships. Here, human relationships are interaction patterns and dependencies both differing in nature, scope and intensity. In conjunction with this sociological approach, anthropological and social psychological approaches are key to the social scientific analysis of health within the program.

The study programme takes a comparative perspective with respect to the empowerment of individuals, communities and populations. In other words, to what degree do people have the (financial) means to arrange their lives and are they able to use facilities for health protection and health improvement. This way, emphasis is on the societal embedding of health and activities of health promotion in relation to social processes, structures and institutions. Together with sociology, the programme combines the domains communication science and health promotion but also includes perspectives from economics, management and public policy.

Specialisation

The Health and Society programme is already a specialisation. However, depending on education background and personal interests, the programme schedule may vary.

Your future career

The Health and Society study domain is becoming more and more relevant as a consequence of changing patterns in health problems and the factors influencing health. Policymakers are becoming more aware of the impact of health policy; and recent national and international policy documents have emphasised the importance of health promotion. The improvement and sustainability of acceptable levels of health remains a major challenge. This specialisation prepares you for careers as researchers, health promoters, health policy advisors or managers of health-oriented organisations.

Student Sofia Sutherland Borja.
Sofia comes from Chile where she finished her BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics. In her MSc internship at the Standing Committee on Nutrition at the United Nations in Geneva, she worked on policies related to Public Health Nutrition. “For me, this has been a great opportunity to experience at first-hand how nutrition promotion policies are developed, and also meet influential people in the field I’m passionate about. Health and Society was the perfect complement to my background in Nutrition and Dietetics, because I can now approach nutrition problems from both a medical and social perspective.”

Related programmes:
MSc Management, Economics and Consumer Studies
MSc International Development Studies
MSc Applied Communication Science
MSc Development and Rural Innovation

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MSc Nutrition and Health

The Nutrition and Health programme studies nutrition and health at the (sub)cellular, individual and population level.

Programme summary

Nutrition and Health focuses on the role of dietary and lifestyle factors in human health and disease. This role is studied from a biomedical perspective at the individual and population levels. In addition, the mechanisms underlying beneficial and adverse effects are studied at the sub-cellular (DNA), cellular and organ/ organism levels. Human nutrition is a multidisciplinary field of expertise. To solve problems in nutrition and health, you must consider chemical and biochemical characteristics, physiological and biomedical aspects, the social and behavioural context of nutrition, and the relationships between these factors. Solving problems in this domain requires multidisciplinary biomedical knowledge and skills as well as an interdisciplinary approach to communication with experts in human nutrition and other fields.

Specialisations

The specialisations within Nutrition and Health are:

Epidemiology and Public Health
Epidemiologists try to determine causal relationships in large groups of people, such as the elderly or people with cardiovascular problems; between food, lifestyle and the development of diseases. Research results act as starting points for health advice and lead to a greater understanding of cause and effect. If you know that certain behaviour leads to a disease, that behaviour can be addressed, and the effectiveness of the efforts to do so can be measured. You will be helping to improve the overall health of people and may be able to prevent food-related diseases from developing.

Complete Online Master
From September 2015, Wageningen University started the specialisation "Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health" as the first complete online Master of Science. For more information go to http://www.wageningenuniversity.eu/onlinemaster

Nutritional Physiology and Health Status
In this specialisation, you will study various age groups and situations, such as growth, pregnancy, and food consumption behaviour. You will also review special situations including serious diseases (clinical food), during sports and activity. You may also research the food consumption behaviour and habits of individuals and how you may be able to influence that, for example, through portion sizes. In short, you will review different aspects and will learn what the effects are of food consumption patterns and the physiological processes on the body and what that means for the status of its health and illness.

Molecular Nutrition and Toxicology
In this specialisation, you will learn to use techniques, at molecular and cellular levels, to discover the mechanism driving the relationship between food and health. In toxicology, you will learn to study the possible poisonous effects of substances present in food. For instance, new ingredients in food products and additives, but also natural substances present in our food. The relationship between food consumption, food and medicines can also be researched and through this research, you will find many new leads to improving our health.

Sensory Science
This specialisation is positioned at the interface of the programmes Food Technology and Nutrition and Health. Sensory scientists deal with the way humans perceive the world and act upon sensory input. They address how sensory systems function, from stimulation and perception to cognition and behaviour. You will work with humans and products in different contexts and study the way in which product properties affect, for example, sensory perception. The study always keeps a link to the application of this knowledge in the fields of human health and the design, production and consumption of attractive healthy foods.

Your future career

Many of our graduates begin working as researchers or PhD students. Another group becomes advisors, trainers or take up other jobs in the private sector. The majority of graduates finds employment at universities (including university medical centres), research institutes (TNO Nutrition or RIVM), in the public sector (national, regional and local governments, Netherlands Nutrition Centre, District Health Authorities) or companies involved with nutrition, pharmacology and toxicology (Unilever, Nutricia, Friesland Campina, Danone Research, Novartis). As graduates progress in their careers, they usually advance to a (more) managerial level.

Alumna Pascalle Weijzen.
Pascalle did a thesis in Epidemiology and Sensory Science. After her graduation, she did a PhD project on the dynamics of food choice and sensory specific satiety. She joined FrieslandCampina afterwards, as a Researcher Sensory & Consumer Science, where she has been responsible for innovation projects aiming at strategies to stimulate healthy food choices. “I really feel I can contribute to profit for the company and to public health at the same time. In this job I still benefit from the broad nutrition and sensory expertise, the strong academic level of thinking, and the worldwide expert network which I built up during my MSc and PhD degrees.”

Related programmes:
MSc Food Safety
Health and Society (specialisation)

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ONLINE OPEN DAY: 17 MARCH 2016

Would you like to know more about the Master programmes of Wageningen University, join us for the Master online open day on 17 March 2016! During the online open day you can meet the staff and students of the Master programmes, experience Wageningen University and check out the innovative campus. You can also ask your questions about application and admission, scholarships, the education system and much more, all online!

sign up now

http://www.wageningenuniversity.eu/masteronlineopenday

MSc Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health

This is an online Master specialisation within the MSc Nutrition and Health.

Online Master

The online master specialisation is designed for part-time study (approx. 20 hrs/week) to combine work and study or in the context of Life-Long-Learning. A course-programme of 2 years will be followed by a tailor-made internship and Master thesis. The internship and thesis will together take up either 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time. During the courses, you will closely collaborate with lecturers, tutors and fellow distance learning students using a virtual learning platform. The course programme includes a short stay of one week on Wageningen Campus together with the other students in this programme. There are options to organise the academic internship and Master thesis in your own professional context, either parttime or full-time.

Programme summary

Do you think it is interesting to study the role that nutrition and lifestyle play in the development of diseases? Epidemiologists try to determine such relationships in large groups of people. Epidemiology is the basic science of public health. Research results are the starting points for health advice and lead to a greater understanding of cause and effect. If it is known that certain behaviour leads to a disease, then you can quantify the impact of that behaviour and establish effective measures for disease prevention. The acquired knowledge can be used in health policymaking and intervention programmes in both developing and developed countries. You will be helping to improve the overall health of people and may be able to prevent foodrelated diseases from developing.

The master specialisation Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health addresses the design, implementation, analysis and interpretation of epidemiological research, both interventional and observational. It focuses on the aetiology and prevention of diseases, with specific reference to dietary patterns, nutritional factors and lifestyle. Central issues are assessment of exposure, risk factors of disease, biomarkers for health status and analysis and interpretation of major study designs. Since you need expertise and competences in both nutritional epidemiology ànd public health to be able to fully understand this domain, the study programme consists of different courses and trainings combining these two fields.

Nutritional epidemiology courses focus on the design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of epidemiological research, both in the clinical domain and in free living population groups. Concerning health outcomes, the emphasis is on dietrelated diseases and conditions, such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and certain infectious diseases. Nutritional epidemiology is closely related to clinical research and causal inference in the biomedical domain, relevant to underpinning public health interventions in dietary patterns and lifestyle. The acquired evidence from epidemiological research has to be translated into public health policies and health promotion programmes, both at the local, national and international level. Public health courses address the design, organisation, implementation and evaluation of intervention programs that address the lifestyles of individuals (e.g., behaviour, food choice, physical activity, well-being) and/or societal context (e.g. work, school, media, policies). Public health has close relationships with methods and theories from psychological, social, economic, agriculture and political research.

Read more about the programme on our website: http://www.wageningenuniversity.eu/omnh

Your future career

Graduates of the Master Nutrition and Health greatly value the research skills they acquired in the programme. After graduation, many of them begin working as researchers or PhD students. Another group becomes advisors, trainers or take up other jobs in the private sector. The majority of graduates finds employment at universities (including university medical centres), research institutes, in the public sector (WHO, NGO's, national health services) and some find employment in companies involved with nutrition and health. Graduates work in both developing and developed countries.

Alumnus Santiago Rodas.
Santiago always wanted to work with nutrition in developing countries. He worked for UNICEF and was the chair of a national nutrition programme. But then he felt the need to obtain a master’s degree in public health nutrition: “This master taught me how to use the up-to-date scientific evidence for programme design and implementation. From the courses, I acquired the technical skills to do research and from my thesis and internship at the World Food Programme (WFP) I learned how to put research into practice. Now I work as an international consultant of the Policy, Programme and Innovation Division of the WFP at its headquarters in Rome.”

Related on-campus programmes:
MSc Food Safety: http://www.wageningenuniversity.eu/mfs
MSc Food Technology: http://www.wageningenuniversity.eu/mft
MSc Nutrition and Health: http://www.wageningenuniversity.eu/mnh
Health and Society (specialisation): http://www.wageningenuniversity.eu/mhs

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Biofabrication

Creating functional tissue models with 3D printing technologies: Biofabrication combines advanced fabrication techniques with biological systems to prepare designed tissue constructs.

Tissue constructs can be applied for tissue engineering, as 3D in vitro biologic models or as medical therapeutic products.
Biofabrication is a truly multidisciplinary area of research. It requires an understanding of chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, robotics and computer science. In this respect, few researchers entering the biofabrication field have been trained in such a diverse range of subjects.

Students enrolled in the Biofabrication programme at Utrecht University will complete their coursework required for the degree in Utrecht at Utrecht University / UMC Utrecht, as well as a research project that fills the first year. A total of 60 EC including a research project will be undertaken in Australia in the second year, at either Queensland University of Technology or University of Wollongong. Both institutions have a strong reputation in the field of Biofabrication and are in the forefront of 3D printing with biomaterials. A European Union-subsidised mobility programme will financially support these overseas secondments

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Developing an eye for the diversity in backgrounds and for the difference in treatments and policies these diversities require.
Girls discuss the same problems differently to boys. Immigrants frequently exhibit pathology different to natives. How can this be? And how do you deal with this? This Master’s specialisation focuses on the diversities in youth care. Diversities in the area of ethnicity, religion, gender and social-economic class. You will develop an eye for the diversity in backgrounds and for the difference in treatments and policies these diversities require.
The Master’s specialisation in Diversities in Youth Care challenges you to look differently at care giving and welfare policies. You will gain specific knowledge and develop a sixth sense on the health care needs of young people. You will broaden your vision. How come fewer immigrants accept (certain forms of) help? How can you make homosexuality a subject of discussion in certain cultures? You will look beyond your own values and differentiate between your own ethical beliefs and cultural values and universal beliefs.
Upon graduating you will be an expert in the area of diversities in youth care. Besides plenty of knowledge, skills and – if you want – experience abroad, you will have a dose of cultural relativism. Why do we do it like that? How could we do it differently? You can use this in your work as remedial educationalist or policy maker. After graduating you will be able to work in and outside of the Netherlands at (development) organisations and institutions in the fields of youth care, education, adoption and refugee relief.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/youthcare

Why study Diversities in Youth Care at Radboud University?

- You may pick electives from different Master’s programmes like Religious Studies, Cultural Anthropology and Management Science. These electives fit in well with the programme Diversities in Youth Care. More information can be found on the programme outline page.

- There is plenty of opportunity to go abroad for an elective or an internship. Our network includes a university and relief organisations in Bangladesh, foster homes and orphanages in Romania and the Ukraine and schools in several African countries.

- Radboud University has the only education and research institute in the Netherlands within the field of social sciences which specialises in gender and sexuality: Institute for Gender Studies (IGS). This means you will have access to the latest and most relevant research.

- The programme collaborates with the knowledge centre Sekse en Diversiteit in Medisch Onderwijs (SDMO) (i.e. Gender and Diversity in Medical Education) of Radboudumc. We exchange case studies and give one another guest lectures. You will profit from this exchange of knowledge!

Change perspective

This programme will continually challenge you to adjust your point of view. To look beyond your own values. What is the dividing line between your ethical beliefs and those of the other people? And at what point have universal values been seriously affected?
You are taught to look at it from the point of view of a child growing up in poverty, of a homosexual youth, of someone with a Moroccan father and a Dutch mother, of a child living in a reconstituted family or in a family with strong religious beliefs. You are taught to continually look at issues from someone else’s perspective. In other words, to be flexible when it comes to making judgements and having expectations. Changing your perspective is the very core of this programme.

Career prospects

Upon completing this Master’s specialisation, you will be an expert in youth care concerning diverse backgrounds and personal traits. There is a large need for professionals who know how to deal with homosexual immigrants, with children who don’t speak the local language or youths that have been traumatised by war. Such knowledge and experience are gained in this programme. You will have a flexible view of diverse backgrounds and be critical of your own area of expertise. After graduating you will be a remedial educationalist or policy maker with an expertise that organisations are desperately in need of!

Job positions

As a professional in Diversities in Youth Care you can work in and outside of the Netherlands in the area of youth care and development. You can work as a policy maker or researcher in organisations as Unicef, adoption agencies, the EU, local governments or research institutions. You can also work as a remedial educationalist for mental health care organisations, refugee centres or with specific groups of children like refugees or LGBT children.

Our approach to this field

The political and media interest for problems regarding ethnicity, gender and sexuality is huge. How do you deal with it? How do you develop policies? This requires specialist knowledge. Knowledge that goes beyond the borders of a country, a culture and a set of beliefs. The Dutch have a very individualistic approach to happiness while other cultures believe that a happy family unit is more important for one’s own happiness. You will not learn what is wrong and what is right, but how things can be different. This will ensure that the policies you will develop will also be different.

The Master’s specialisation in Diversities in Youth Care will train you to become a specialised caregiver. The programme focuses on social issues in the area of diversity. You can develop a clinical or policymaking approach within youth care and diversities of youth. After graduating you will have knowledge on the role of different backgrounds. Whether it’s about culture, religion or gender, you will be flexible enough to identify various problems and to judge and treat them from the right perspective.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/youthcare

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The European Master Care and Technology is a two-year programme for professionals in health care provision. It provides students with the theoretical ability and hands-on expertise to drive innovation in their place of work.

YEAR 1

During the first year, students are introduced to the field of care and technology. They learn about methods for user-centred design and development. In addition, they gain insight in user-orientation, business and innovation. Focusing on a topic of their choice, students start working on a research and development plan. This is the groundwork for a Master’s thesis that is to be completed at the end of the programme.All practical assignments are related to the student’s own workplace. This means students acquire highly relevant knowledge and skills.

YEAR 2

During the second year, students focus on strategies and methods for implementation. These are demonstrated and used during group assignments on different subjects relevant to the student’s place of work. Students fine-tune their research and development proposal and execute their research and development plan. Next, they write their Master’s thesis. Students conclude the programme with a thesis defence in front of a committee.

THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAMME

Throughout the programme, students conduct research on a topic that is relevant and important to their own workplace. As a result, their Master’s thesis is a valuable document for their organization. It reflects the rich and varied learning environment from which the students benefit during the programme. They develop close relationships with fellow students from a wide variety of backgrounds and nationalities. They spend seven one-week periods at the campuses of partner institutions participating in the programme. This provides them with first-hand insight into the differences in the area of health and technology within Europe.

Expert in care and technology

The core theme of the European Master Care and Technology is: “Link insight in human functioning to knowledge of technological developments in an innovative and scientific approach using strategies of co-creation to develop new approaches in - long term - care.”

A student who has successfully completed the programme, qualifies as an Expert in Care and Technology. This title reflects the wide range of skills acquired in order to contribute to all phases of the product innovation cycle. Graduates are competent professionals who are able to initiate and implement innovative approaches to health care delivery. They help their organizations move forward.

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The European MSc Midwifery is a project developed by five universities and funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union.

Glasgow Caledonian University, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Academie Verloskunde Maastricht, Zuyd University Maastricht and University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland are partners in this exciting venture.

The programme is delivered jointly by the five institutions and students registered at any one of the institutions are able to undertake modules both at their home institution and at any one of the partner institutions.

The programme aims to offer midwives the possibility of studying midwifery at an advanced level. It aims to stimulate a European exchange of theory and practice and to consider the contents of the study course from a European perspective. The coordination of the European MSc Midwifery is being carried out by Glasgow Caledonian University which has extensive experience running MSc Midwifery programmes.

Programme

The programme offers midwives the chance to gain internationally accepted and accredited additional skills. These will qualify them for leadership positions in midwifery research, education and practice. This programme offers midwives opportunities to strengthen personal professional competencies and to undertake further study in such areas as clinical research, modern management methods and recent teaching and learning strategies.

Students can select modules which are offered by any of the partner institutions.

The programme lasts for two years when undertaken on a full time basis and can be prolonged up to five years when on part time. Recognition of prior learning is possible but does not accrue an actual mark only credits. Please have a closer look at the regulation of those universities which admit students (Hannover, Glasgow).

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The cell is the building block of life, the smallest unit with the molecular characteristics of living systems. Increased knowledge of the mechanisms of the biomolecular and biochemical processes in the cell can lead to better medicines, new methods for combating diseases.

What does this master’s programme entail?

The basis of the two-year master’s programme in Life Science and Technology is formed by research carried out in the life sciences and chemistry groups of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC). Researchers take a science-based approach in finding tailored solutions for complex societal problems as encountered in personalized medicine, systems biology and sustainable use of biological sources. Starting from day one, and during the whole master programme you are a member of a research team in the LIC. Guided by a personal mentor, the student assembles a tailor-made educational programme for optimal training to become a life sciences professional.

Read more about our Life Science and Technology programme.

Why study Life Science and Technology at Leiden University?

• You can design your own tailor-made programme adjusted to your own interests and ambitions related to Life Sciences, biomedicine and Chemical Biology.
• You have the possibility to be part of research training projects within the Faculty of Science, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Erasmus Medical Center or abroad.
• You will receive personal guidance by a mentor of choice, who is a member of one of our international and young research groups.

Find more reasons to study Life Science and Technology at Leiden University.

Life Science and Technology: the right master’s programme for you?

If you are interested in Life Science and you are looking for a programme with ample of opportunities to assemble your own study path, our Life Science and Technology programme is the right choice. The programme addresses societal problems on a molecular and cellular level. You can also choose a specialisation where you combine one year of Life Science and Technology research with one year of training in business, communication or education.

Read more about the entry requirements for Life Science and Technology.

Specialisations

• Life Science and Science Communication and Society (MSc)
• Life Science and Education (MSc)
• Life Science and Business Studies (MSc)
• Life Science Research and Development (MSc)

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Which factors induce environmentally harmful behaviour and what motivates us to act pro-environmentally? What determines the impact and acceptability of interventions that aim to encourage pro-environmental actions and a sustainable energy transition?

Climate change has been labelled as the greatest threat to our future and that of generations to come (Obama, 2015). In recognition of this threat, almost 200 nations agreed to fight this environmental problem caused by human behaviour. So which factors induce environmentally harmful behaviour and what motivates us to act pro-environmentally? What determines the impact and acceptability of interventions that aim to encourage pro-environmental actions and a sustainable energy transition?

Questions like these that are essential for reaching our environmental ambitions are addressed in the Master's programme 'Environmental psychology'. In this unique programme you will acquire theoretical knowledge and methodological skills that enable you to understand the human dimension of environmental and energy-related problems. The programme focuses on the relationships between humans and the built and natural environment , and the human dimension of environmental and energy problems . After completing the programme, you will be able to develop theory-based strategies to promote environmental quality. You will learn to work in interdisciplinary settings and apply the acquired knowledge in practice. You will be challenged to critically reflect on scientific knowledge and you will be offered possibilities to join ongoing research projects with other universities, governmental organisations, companies, and industry.

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