Biology

This Master's specialisation offers an international programme for future water managers, combining ecology, hydrology and socio-economics.

What is the best way to handle invasive species in a river ecosystem? Or how do you protect a city like New Orleans from floods? In this double degree programme, you'll learn to tackle these kinds of problems on the basis of ecological, hydrological and social-economic aspects. We focus on ecological solutions, which are often more effective than technical adjustments. Think of estuaries with sea grass fields breaking the waves instead of reinforcing dikes, or self-purification of drainage-basins, making dredging unnecessary. The Master's specialisation in Transnational Ecosystem-based Water Management (TWM) is partly taught at Radboud University and partly at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. This means that you'll profit from the expertise at two universities and become familiar with different cultures and research approaches. And after successful completion of the programme, you'll receive a German and a Dutch diploma. With that broad background, our graduates often find a job as manager or project leader, with an all-encompassing view in national or international water-related projects.

This Master's specialisation lets you dive into ecological issues on all size scales and connecting scientific findings to societal implications or environmental policies.

In this specialisation you'll be trained to become an environmental expert, analysing the human impact on nature. This might require a change of perspective: whereas biologists are used to argue from a specific organism, we start with a stressor, such as the emission of carbon dioxide or toxic agricultural pesticides. You'll learn to unravel the effects of such stressors on all size scales, from cells to ecosystems. This all-encompassing view is a great advantage at the job market, where there's a great need for environmental experts who can make the connection between science and society. Think of researchers, policy makers, risk analysers or project managers. Because we focus on aquatic ecosystems and wetlands, our graduates have a head-start when it comes to pertaining positions at water boards or within water-related projects. Interested in obtaining a double Dutch-German degree in this field of science? Please have a look at our double degree Master's in Transnational ecosystem-based Water Management .