Admission requirements - MSc Molecular Life Sciences

Purpose and reason for the admission requirements

The admission requirements for the master's programme Molecular Life Sciences are defined in such a way that prospective students should be able to complete the programme nominally in two years. The master's programme Molecular Life Sciences is a combination of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and molecular biology. Therefore, advanced bachelor courses in these fields are required to follow the advanced courses in this programme. Additionally, for analyses of experimental data, a basis in statistics is necessary.

The criterion used for admission is

a WUR BSc degree in Molecular Life Sciences or Biotechnology, or a Dutch BSc in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering, or equivalent.

The norm for this equivalence is

≥70 ECTS in total in the following topics and including one advanced course per topic:

• Chemistry (physical chemistry, biochemistry, organic and inorganic chemistry)
• Biology (cell biology, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, enzymology)
• Physics (thermodynamics, colloid science, biophysics, molecular structures, quantum mechanics, spectroscopy)

And ≥10 ECTS in total in the following topics:

• Mathematics (differentiation, integration, first order differential equations, calculus, linear algebra)
• Statistics (formulate hypotheses for population means, t-tests, confidence intervals)

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

Study programmes of which the graduates may meet the knowledge requirements of Molecular Life Sciences are for example: Molecular Life Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Molecular Science and Technology, Biotechnology, and Life Science and Technology.