Composing your study programme
You can find a guide on how to compose your study programme here.
Core courses
From the courses listed below, students must obtain 36 ECTS.
- Oceanography (4 ECTS)
- Estuarine and Coastal Systems (5 ECTS)
- River & Lake Ecology (5 ECTS)
- Limnology (5 ECTS)
- Law and Ethics on Conservation of Aquatic Systems (3 ECTS)
- In-situ and Remote Sensing Tools in Aquatic Sciences (5 ECTS)
- Environmental Modelling (3 ECTS)
- Seminars: Case Studies on Biodiversity Management (3 ECTS)
- Integrated Marine Coastal Ecology Field Course (3 ECTS)
Choice 1 Field Courses
Different field courses will be organized from which the student must choose one (3 credits).
From the courses listed below, students must obtain 3 ECTS.
- Integrated Field Course at Sea (3 ECTS)
- Integrated Limnological Field Course (3 ECTS)
- Integrated Estuarine Field Course (3 ECTS)
Choice 2 Monsoon school
From 2018-2019 onwards we will organise a Monsoon school. Students can choose to follow the Monsoon school, to follow another summer school for 6 ECTS, or to follow other courses for 6 ECTS from any Belgian Master programme. From the courses listed below, students must obtain 6 ECTS.
- Monsoon School (6 ECTS)
- Summer School (6 ECTS)
- Free elective courses (6 ECTS) - choice must be approved by exam commission (please fill out and send this form to the Oceans & Lakes office)
Broadening courses
From the courses listed below, students must obtain 12 ECTS.
- Governance and Policy in Development and Cooperation Part I (3 ECTS)
- Governance and Policy in Development and Cooperation Part II (3 ECTS)
- Internship (6 ECTS)
Supporting courses
Based on the student's background and after approval of the chairman of the examination board, students must choose 9 ECTS-credits from the courses listed below. At least the level of 'Advanced Applied Statistics' must be reached.
- Data and Information Management (3 ECTS)
- Introduction to GIS (3 ECTS)
- Introduction to Marine and Lacustrine Biology (only in 1Ma) (3 ECTS)
- Biogeochemistry (3 ECTS)
- Advanced Applied Statistics (3 ECTS)
- Introduction to Data Mining (only in 1Ma) (3 ECTS)
- Analysis of Biological Data (6 ECTS)
- Conservation Genetics (3 ECTS)
- Stable Isotope Geochemistry (3 ECTS)
- Water Quality (3 ECTS)
- Applied Geomorphology (6 ECTS)
- Natural Risk Management (3 ECTS)
- Methods of Scientific Diving (3 ECTS)
Major
One major to choose out of 4 specializations, consisting of 24 ECTS compulsory courses.
Major 1 Global Change Impacts on Ecology and Biodiversity
- Marine Genomics (3 ECTS)
- Marine Food Web Ecology (3 ECTS)
- Ecology of Coastal Seas (3 ECTS)
- Marine Extreme Systems (6 ECTS)
- Lacustrine Systems (3 ECTS)
- Aquatic Microbial Ecology (6 ECTS)
Major 2 Conservation Biology and Ecosystem Management
- Marine Fisheries Ecology and Management (6 ECTS)
- Integrated Coastal Zone Management (3 ECTS)
- Tropical Marine Ecology and Restoration (3 ECTS)
- Conservation Genetics (3 ECTS)
- Environmental Impact Assessment (3 ECTS)
- Law of the Sea and Protection of Oceans (3 ECTS)
- Marine Biodiversity (3 ECTS)
Major 3 Environmental Impact and Remediation
- Environmental Impact Assessment (3 ECTS)
- Aquatic Ecotoxicology and Environmental Monitoring (6 ECTS)
- Ecosystem Based Adaptation to Global Change (6 ECTS)
- Physiology of Aquatic Organisms (6 ECTS)
- Global Change Physiology (6 ECTS)
- Integrated Practicals (3 ECTS)
Major 4 Marine and Lacustrine Geosciences
- Advanced Sedimentology (6 ECTS)
- Paleobiology of Micro-organisms (6 ECTS)
- Integrated Offshore Exploration (6 ECTS)
- Paleoclimatology and Climate Change (6 ECTS)
Master thesis (30 ECTS)
more info
More information on the courses can also be found on the VUB website or on the faculty's website.
