Admission requirements - MSc Biotechnology

Purpose and reason for the admission requirements

The admission requirements for the master's programme Biotechnology are defined in such a way that the students should be able to successfully complete the programme nominally in two years. Besides a pre-education in Biotechnology, this is possible for students with a solid basis in chemical engineering and for students with applied gene technology skills.

The criterion used for admission is

a WUR BSc degree in Biotechnology or Molecular Life Sciences, or equivalent.

The norm for this equivalence is

An assessment of the student’s expertise in one or more of the following topics:

• Biotechnology
• Chemical engineering
• Environmental technology
• Biology (specifically molecular biology, microbiology, cell biology, and biochemistry)

And in:

• Process engineering
• Mathematics (differentiation, integration)

Not all topics mentioned need to be mastered at the same level; they will be weighed by the Admission Board per individual application.

Method of assessment whether this norm is met

• Transcript of records displaying the content of previous course subjects and project work;
• Curriculum vitae displaying relevant work, internship and/or project experience on an academic level in a relevant field if applicable.

Scores attributed by the Admission Board

Admitted / not admitted / admitted under condition obtaining the BSc or MSc degree / not admitted with offer of pre-master

The Admission Board may allow and/or suggest compensation of knowledge gaps by:

• a GPA≥7.0* for the previous education for small discrepancies as new knowledge is sufficiently easily acquired;
• a GPA≥7.0* and an individual pre-master's programme for larger discrepancies that can be compensated in ≤30 ECTS and one year of study.

*Check the general admissions page for the International credentials evaluation guide for international equivalencies to a Dutch GPA>7.0. This guide includes compensating factors for a slightly lower GPA the Admission Board may include in their judgement.

Contact us through the contact button above to discuss the possibilities of a pre-master or how to mitigate knowledge gaps if you are still in the process of obtaining your degree.

Find out more about enrolment and fees of a pre-master's programme.

Admissible study programmes

Graduates from study programmes that may meet the knowledge requirements for Biotechnology next to those similarly named to the ones above are for example: Chemical Engineering, Biological Sciences, HLO (NL: hbo Biochemistry and Microbiology, Biotechnology) and Life Science and Technology.

Study programmes with knowledge gaps

Study programmes whose students often have to follow additional courses during the previous study programme or a pre-master to fulfil the knowledge requirements are for example: Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Nutrition and Health, and Plant Sciences.

Inadmissible study programmes

Study programmes whose graduates rarely meet the knowledge and skills requirements are pharmacy and veterinary medicine.