Students and lecturers from the track Green Life Sciences tell you what to expect from this programme and discuss career opportunities once you have graduated.
Discover the Master's programme & tracks
The Master's programme Biological Sciences offers specialisations in 4 tracks. Green Life Sciences is one of them. The other tracks are:
The study programme
The Master's track Green Life Sciences highlights molecular biology. Lectures and research labs are taught by top scientists who have published in Science, Nature, Plant Cell and Plant Journal. In masterclasses you will have the opportunity to interact with international guest scientists. You will also have full access to the Green Life-Sciences Hub with its R&D for the Top Sector Food & Flowers, the Amsterdam Economic Development Board, Greenport Aalsmeer, NAK-tuinbouw, and the Seed Valley cluster of the plant breeding industry in North-Holland.
Meet the people
How to get to know this Master's programme better than via its students? Read the experiences from students and what they say about Green Life Sciences.
My main reason to choose for the Green Life Sciences Master's programme at the UvA was that it fits perfectly at the interface of molecular biology and ecology. For my first internship I picked the Plant Physiology department where I worked on salt stress signalling in Arabidopsis.Magdalena Julkowska, PhD candidate Green Life Sciences
Take part in research at interface of molecular plant biology, chemical ecology, ecogenomics, biotechnology, biochemistry, plant breeding, phytopathology, pest control, and cell and population biology.
Learn in courses, master classes and your own research projects from top scientists who work in Amsterdam and in famous laboratories anywhere in the world.
Optimize your post-master career chances by developing your master project in collaboration with plant breeding companies, such as those found in the Amsterdam metropolis, the Seed Valley cluster of the plant breeding industry in North-Holland.
After graduation
Graduates of the Green Life Sciences programme have excellent research training that will allow them to pursue their PhD and enter an academic career. Alternatively, graduates are also well equipped to take on positions in industrial labs (plant biotechnology and life sciences).
Is Green Life Sciences for you?
It is, if you:
- are interested in how organisms function at a genetic, biochemical and cellular level and how this translates to their ecology, evolution and usage;
- want to learn how plants cope with abiotic stress such as drought or high salt levels in the soil, which is an increasing problem in agriculture;
- want to investigate how pathogens and plagues (insects, mites) affect the plants' immune system;
- want to study how outbreaks of pests can be predicted and circumvented, and how natural enemies can be used for pest control;
- want to research the underlying mechanisms that lead to an enormous diversity of inflorescence and flower architectures in nature, which is in sharp contrast with the high conservation of gene and genome sequences;
- are interested in the role of epigenetic mechanisms and chromatin structure in gene/genome regulation;
- want to become an independent researcher by taking part in internships with internationally renowned scientists;
- have the ambition to get down to the core of a scientific problem and are eager to discuss this at the highest level with your peers;
- want to design your own study programme for example by following a professional specialisation in entrepreneurship.
Want to see where you will be studying? Explore the campus in our virtual map, or plan a visit and experience it yourself using the interactive app.
