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Wageningen University Netherlands, Wageningen

Course overview

The Molecular Life Sciences programme focuses on molecules and their properties. It seeks to discover relationships between the physical and chemical properties of molecules, particularly the role of complex molecules in living systems. It is an interdisciplinary programme that combines chemistry, physics and biology. By combining the power of chemistry, physics and biology, graduates are able to make a signifi cant contribution to fundamental and/or applied research in fields such as bionanotechnology, biotechnology, environmental research, the plant, animal and health sciences, biomedical research, nutrition and the food sciences. Our graduates enter careers at universities, research institutes and industrial laboratories. Many enter PhD programmes, while others become science journalists, managers or consultants in government or industry.

There are three disciplinary pillars to choose from, always combinations of two basic disciplines:

• Biological Chemistry
• Physical Biology
• Physical Chemistry

On top of that, you may choose from another two specialisations that are subject oriented:

• Biomedical Research
• Environmental Chemistry

Career opportunities

Your first job

With a MSc diploma Molecular Life Sciences you are well equipped for the job market. The combination of chemistry, physics and biology is appealing to many employers. There are of course people who use their freshly earned MSc to make a career step, but normally you start your very first job directly after graduation. Goodbye supermarkets and zoo's, now for the real life!

Around 70% of our graduates start a PhD project directly after graduation. This is a reflection of the emphasis on research during your MSc. A PhD project is usually done at an university. This could be in Wageningen, elsewhere in The Netherlands, or abroad. Besides universities, there are also possibilities at institutions or medical centres. Normally, PhD projects are paid jobs for which you have to apply, and take four years. After successful completion of your PhD you earn the degree of doctor (Dr.)

If you belong to the other 30%, you could start your career in industry, or start as a science journalist for papers or magazines, as a policy maker, as a manager or consultant in government or industry, etcetera.

Careers

There are probably no two individuals with the same career. There just are too many possibilities. Here you find some general sketches of possible careers. This gives you also some idea on possible subsequent jobs.

Academic careers

A professional academic career usually starts with a PhD followed by a post-doc. If you are a domestic student, most often you do your PhD in The Netherlands and your post-doc somewhere else, typically in Europe, North America or Oceania. After that you acquire a position at a university or research institute, often in the form of a tenure or habilitation track (depending on the country). The highest rank that you can reach is that of (full) professor. There are professors in microbiology, physical chemistry, cell biology, organic chemistry, biotechnology, etcetera, who did our MSc program in Molecular Life Sciences.

Careers in industry

Usually a career in industry starts after your PhD. At least, as far as the Research and Development (R&D) departments are concerned. If you want to enrol directly in management positions you may well do without a PhD. In a R&D department you do high quality research to develop new products and to improve existing ones. After a few years the decision is made on your career profile. After quite some years of research many people tend to be in for something else. Many welcome the possibilities in industry to enter management positions, while others continue their research as senior scientists.

Other careers

You can find graduates from our program in many places, not restricted to the academia or industry. There are people working for the government, writing articles for (scientific) papers, making policies in all sorts of fields, working for consultancy bureaus, etcetera.