Is Biology for you?
Want to know if the master in Biology programme is a good fit for you? See the information and activities below to find out.
What does this programme involve?
VUB and Brussels provide a firm foundation for a scientific career thanks to the knowledge and skills acquired, and proximity to potential employers. However, as a topic of global importance, your experience naturally does not stop there. It also goes beyond borders, including a field trip to the Mediterranean, during which you will witness first-hand how culture, history, ecology and evolution have shaped these landscapes and their biodiversity and discover the reality of environmental conflicts, nature conservation and environmental law.
Your master thesis is a major part of the second-year curriculum and our approach at VUB is unique. We have chosen to conceive this thesis as a scientific paper, allowing it to be published afterwards. During the process, you will also enjoy an active role within the research team at our university or allied institute.
Become a professional independent scientist
Regardless of the graduation option you choose, our primary goal is to offer you the best start for your scientific career. Therefore, our graduation options share a number of course units to develop a complementary skillset that meets the current needs of the job market and allows you to become a professional independent scientist: Master’s Thesis in Biology, Project Writing, Professional Internship, and integrated Practicals and/or Field Excursions.
VUB research abroad
Did you know that more than 70% of our students go abroad for their master's theses? Every year, VUB professors organise field expeditions to all corners of the globe and students join to collect data for their thesis.
Why study at the VUB?
Studying at VUB gives you more than a diploma. You learn to view the world with an open mind and without prejudice. You hone your critical thinking, and you learn to express your opinion. You commit not just to study, but to participate in meaningful social projects that make the world a better place. In short, this is where you shape your identity: who you are today and want to be tomorrow.
Spread the study load
Create your own studypath
Within the VUB, we want to maximize our commitment to personal development and give as many students as possible the opportunity to continue their studies and develop themselves. Depending on your personal situation, it may be more difficult to devote full time to your studies. For example, you combine your studies with a job, you do top-level sports, ...   
Students enrolling for the first time in their bachelor are required to take their model track. An exception can be made. More information can be found on this page. For our other programs (preparation programs, switching master programs, etc ...), this requirement does not apply. 
After your first bachelor year, you can take fewer ECTS-credits. You can spread your study load over a longer period. If you have a student visa or VUB student room, you have to take at least 54 ECTS credits each academic year! You ALSO have to take into account your growth package, study grants and funds, study progress rules, etc. Do you want some advise? Contact your study path counselor. Need more info?   
Study and examination flexibility
Reflex status
Do you have a physical disability, learning disability or chronic illness, or are you starting a business or finding it harder to study because of your personal situation? If so, you qualify for Reflex Status.
With this you can ask for a flexible approach to your studies and exams, to maximise your chances of success. You may need access to course materials, for example, or more time to sit an exam, a translator or interpreter, staggered examinations, and so on.
Elite sports and studying
Elite sports and study
Keen to combine your elite sporting career with a programme at VUB? It makes sense, as it strengthens your position in the jobs market after your sporting career ends.
Our Elite Sports & Study department helps you work out a personal study pathway and guides you through to the end.
Studying with a disability
Studying with a functional impairment
Do you have a disability (for example, a learning disability, chronic medical condition, psychiatric or sensory disability)? If so, you qualify for a flexible approach to your studies and exams through Reflex Status, to maximise your chances of success. You may need access to course materials, for example, or more time to sit an exam, a translator or interpreter, staggered examinations, and so on.
Find out more about Reflex Status
For extra support there are other student services to draw on at VUB. For example, a wheelchair-adapted room, study guidance and a personal study-pathway, mental healthcare, medical care, etc.
Study Guidance
Study Guidance
An experienced team of student psychologists, student counsellors and study-pathway supervisors are there to give you personal study advice, guidance and training. At every phase in your study career.
- Individual - Advice on your choice of programme, stress and anxiety training, help with exam planning, help for students with dyslexia...
- Group (workshops, courses) - Choosing a subject for your bachelor's or master's thesis, learning to present, dealing with stress and anxiety...
- Tools - An example of good weekly planning, tips and tricks for a good study method, a step plan to help you choose the right programme...
Combining your studies with a job
The Master in Biology is a daytime only programme. Therefore, there is no option to combine this study with a fulltime job.
Studying abroad
International experiences offer incredible opportunities and make memories that last forever. They can also seriously improve your academic performance and your career prospects. That is why we want our students to go out into the world and become true world citizens. At VUB, the world is your oyster!
During your studies, you will gain a lot of (international) practical experience, both in research labs and in the field. Ecological excursions in Belgium, abroad (Northern France and Southern Europe) and possibly even at sea help you to broaden your horizons.
You can do part of your study programme abroad through the well-known Erasmus+ programme, and there are also many other opportunities both in and outside of Europe. Spend a semester studying at another European university, or do your entire master's thesis or the fieldwork for your thesis abroad? It's all possible. Or, if you prefer, you can also opt for an international internship.