How does climate change affect whales and seals? How does overfishing influence marine food webs? How do we restore and protect the Wadden Sea?
This Master's programme had a selection procedure. The application deadline was 15 March 2026. For more information about the selection procedure, please check here.
The two-year selective Master's degree programme in Marine Biology focuses on life in our seas and oceans. Whether you are interested in biological oceanography, conservation of marine mammals, coastal marine ecology, or genomics, we offer plenty of opportunities to receive well-founded, expansive research-focused academic training in marine biology. Together with your mentor (a professor in the marine biology programme) you will design your own tailored study programme fitting your personal preferences and career plans. The programme also offers a business and policy-oriented track.
Our flexible Master's degree programme is open to students with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. We offer several mandatory master courses, taught by experienced staff from several research institutes (GELIFES, ESRIG) at the UG and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ). In addition, we offer elective courses across a wide range of research disciplines, habitats, and skill types.
The Master's programme is heavily research focused. We offer research opportunities with UG staff in the following areas (names of principal investigators in parentheses):
To learn in more detail about the research opportunities at NIOZ and elsewhere, check out the Research Tab (below).
This selective Master's programme in marine biology is designed for students to start in September as part of an annual cohort. Students who would like to start during the academic year are referred to the Master’s programme in Biology.
2-year programme; credits per year: 60 ECTS.
For the complete curriculum, please see: https://ocasys.rug.nl/
We offer students a series of introductory and specialised
courses in Marine sciences (20-30 ECTS).
The courses will facilitate students from various backgrounds to
successfully obtain a degree in Marine Biology. These courses will
cover a large range of topics including chemical, physical and
biological oceanography, marine conservation, marine community
ecology, applied marine biology and marine evolution. Courses will
be taught by lecturers from various research institutes, as well as
external experts (mainly NIOZ).
After a series of compulsory and facultative courses, the students
will start their first research project
| Programme options |
|---|
| Research profile (track) This is a 2-year programme of 60 credits (ECTs) per year. You will start with 4 mandatory courses: Principles of Biological Oceanography, Principles of Marine Biology, Marine Conservation, and Principles of Population Genetics in Natural Populations. These are all 5 ECTs courses. In addition we offer a series of specialized courses in Marine Biology. These courses cover topics including marine community ecology, marine modelling, applied marine biology or marine evolution whereas other courses are geographically oriented (e.g. Polar Ecosystems). Many of our courses are field oriented. Apart from specialized marine courses you can also choose skills oriented (analytical, statistical) courses. Courses will be taught by lecturers from various research institutes, as well as external experts (mainly NIOZ). After a series of compulsory and facultative courses (in total 40 ECTs max), students will start their first research project. The programme is strongly research oriented and students complete two research projects (typically 40 ECTs and 30 ECTs). The first project is executed at University of Groningen or NIOZ, whereas the second project can be executed anywhere in the world (but needs to be discussed and approved by the student's mentor!). In the final stage of their master's programme, students prepare a colloquium (5 ECTs). For the complete curriculum, please see: https://ocasys.rug.nl/current/catalog/programme/60609-5509 |
| Science, Business & Policy (track) Interested in the business side of science? You can combine this Master's programme with the Science Business & Policy profile. The SBP profile includes a six-month internship as a scientific advisor. For the complete curriculum, please see: https://ocasys.rug.nl/current/catalog/programme/60609-5508 |
Exchange: All our science and engineering programmes offer study abroad possibilities at a number of partner institutions, often as a second research project. Our partners include top-100 universities in Europe (for example in Germany, UK, and Sweden) and in the USA, China, South-East Asia, and South America.
| Specific requirements | More information |
|---|---|
| previous education |
Please note: this Master's degree programme has a selection procedure! An academic Bachelor's degree in any field of Biological Sciences including a major in any of the following domains: biology, ecology, evolution, theoretical biology, behaviour, marine biology, molecular biology, genetics. Holders of a Dutch HBO Bachelor's degree have to apply for a pre-master programme Biology and may be selected for Marine Biology after completion of the pre-master programme. Information about admission possibilities and requirements for students from a Dutch HBO institute is published on: https://www.rug.nl/fse/msc-admission |
| other admission requirements |
The Marine Biology research master is selective. Selection will be based on academic performance and motivation to determine if you will be selected for the master's programme. After you have registered via https://www.rug.nl/fse/msc-admission your application will be requested to pass on to the Board of Admissions of the programme. BEFORE YOU APPLY |
| Study programme | Organization | Transition |
|---|---|---|
| Biology | All Research universities |
Additional requirements More information:This Master's degree programme has a selection procedure, please read the information about this procedure. |
This Master's programma has a selection procedure, the Board of Admissions will decide whether you can be admitted to the Master's degree programme.
For a more elaborate explanation of the selection procedure, please have a look here. Please fill out the checklist to describe why you are applying for this Master's degree programme (questions to be addressed are outlined on the form).
Provide two reference letters (non EU applicants) or provide the
names of those we may contact for reference (EU applicants) using
the application form.
Provide a bachelor thesis or another individually written report of
an academic assignment. If such a report is not available an
assignment will be given by the Board of Admissions.
| Type of student | Deadline | Start course |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch students | 15 March 2026 | 01 September 2026 |
| EU/EEA students | 15 March 2026 | 01 September 2026 |
| non-EU/EEA students | 15 March 2026 | 01 September 2026 |
| Specific requirements | More information |
|---|---|
| previous education |
This Master's degree programme has a selection procedure; read the information below. An academic Bachelor's in any field of Biological Sciences including a major in any of the following domains: biology, ecology, evolution, theoretical biology, behaviour, marine biology, molecular biology, genetics. This is merely an indication of required background knowledge. The admissions board determines whether the specific contents of this/these course(s) meet the admission requirements of the master programme for which you applied. |
| additional subject |
The Admissions Office will advise the Board of Admissions on your application, after which the Board will decide if you meet the admission requirements in terms of general level of previous education and specific background knowledge. |
| language test |
MAKE SURE TO VISIT https://www.rug.nl/fwn/fmns-programme/admissions/msc/language-requirements for all the necessary information about required language tests and minimum scores. |
| other admission requirements |
The Marine Biology master is selective. Selection will be based on academic performance and motivation to determine if you will be selected for the master's programme. After you have registered via https://www.rug.nl/fse/education/admission-application/apply-msc/intl-diploma/ your application will be requested to pass on to the Board of Admissions of the programme. BEFORE YOU APPLY |
This Master's programma has a selection procedure, the Board of Admissions will decide whether you can be admitted to the Master's degree programme.
For a more elaborate explanation of the selection procedure, please have a look here. Please fill out the checklist to describe why you are applying for this Master's degree programme (questions to be addressed are outlined on the form).
Provide two reference letters (non EU applicants) or provide the
names of those we may contact for reference (EU applicants) using
the application form.
Provide a bachelor thesis or another individually written report of
an academic assignment. If such a report is not available an
assignment will be given by the Board of Admissions.
| Type of student | Deadline | Start course |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch students | 15 March 2026 | 01 September 2026 |
| EU/EEA students | 15 March 2026 | 01 September 2026 |
| non-EU/EEA students | 15 March 2026 | 01 September 2026 |
During your master, you will conduct two research projects supervised by experienced staff in the relevant research field. The first project is placed at UG or NIOZ. The second research project can be undertaken anywhere in the world or be an internship at a governmental organization, company or NGO (business and policy track). A UG staff member will serve as the internal supervisor to ensure the project meets UG's academic standards..
There is a wide variety of research topics to choose from for your first UG/NIOZ-based research project (~40 ECTs). Apart from the research conducted by permanent UG staff (see Marine Biology Master main page) there are also opportunities at NIOZ. NIOZ has two centers; on Texel (open ocean, North Sea, Wadden Sea research) and in Yerseke (estuarine research). The research opportunities with NIOZ are described in the following link: https://www.nioz.nl/en/education/internships. Projects at NIOZ are mostly supervised by senior staff who hold a Honorary Professorship, or who have a teaching contract with UG. Involved staff include (with their own scientific field in parentheses):
