Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences

Admission Requirements

Enrolling for this study plan is possible after having obtained one of the following degrees:

Academic Bachelor's programme biologie

You may also be asked to provide additional documents so we may evaluate your application.

AANBEVELINGSBRIEF / LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION 1
AANBEVELINGSBRIEF / LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION 2
MOTIVATIEBRIEF / LETTER OF MOTIVATION
PUNTENLIJST / TRANSCRIPTS (NIET VOOR VLAAMSE DIPLOMA'S)

Enrolling for this plan is also possible having completed the Preparatory Programme Master of Science in Biology.

Overview of the study plan

Semester 1 (S1): Basic and specialised introductory courses
Semester 2 (S2): In situ experience and specialised field courses
Semester 3 (S3): In-depth specialisation semester
Semester 4 (S4): Joint masters thesis

In the first semester, students start at the VUB/ULB to acquire similar competences. In the second semester field experience and courses will take place in a university in a non-EU country. The third semester will cover a specialisation in a European university, different from the first one. Courses vary at this semester. In the fourth semester students return to where they started out for their thesis research.
In each semester, the student is able to choose a course outside the list and in relation to the specialisation provided approval of the jury and of the Tropimundo Steering Board.

For more information visit the website at http://www.tropimundo.eu


Semester 1 (S1): Basic and specialised introductory courses

The courses of first semester in Paris are all comprised of a number of equivalent basic courses and a limited selection of specialised courses based on local expertise present and on expertise needed in the second semester.

To complete this module, students must obtain 30 ECTS credits.

3ECTS credits - Statistiques et Traitement des Données
6ECTS credits - Sciences de la Nature et de l’Homme: Histoire des Idées
3ECTS credits - Droit du Patrimoine Naturel In Situ et Ex Situ
9ECTS credits - Taxonomie et phylogénie
3ECTS credits - Fondamentaux en biodiveristé et évolution
3ECTS credits - Anatomie comparée
9ECTS credits - Fondamentaux en biodiveristé et évolution
9ECTS credits - Ecologie
9ECTS credits - Ecophysiologie
3ECTS credits - Langue Etrangère
3ECTS credits - Climate et Biotope (c/o Grandes Questions Environnementales)
3ECTS credits - Géomatique, SIG, Télédétection

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Semester 2 (S2): In situ experience and specialised field courses

During the second semester in situ field experience and courses will take place in one of the universities in the south with their specific expertises::
- Université des Antilles (UdA), France: Insular ecology in the tropics (biogeography, terrestrial and semi-terrestrial forests);
- Université de Dschang in Dschang, Cameroon (UDsch): African tropical rainforests and woodlands (sustainable management of forests resources, identification, characterisation and domestication of non-timber forest products, biodiversity evaluation and characterisation);
- Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT): tropical coastal forests, mangroves, seagrasses, coral reefs;
- Université d'Antananarivo (ANIVANTA): Ecology of fauna and flora of Madagascar (systematics, physiology, anatomy, evolutionary ecology and adaptation), socio-ecological and behavioural science (primatology, ethnobotany);
- University of Hong Kong (HKU): Rocky shore ecology (behavioural and physiological adaptations of fauna), coral reef ecology (anthropogenic impacts on coral reefs), mangrove ecology (crab and vegetation ecology), seagrass and subtidal ecology (impact of ocean acidification), terrestrial ecology (entomofaunal ecology), freshwater ecology (pollution and other human disturbance), urban ecology (animal biodiversity in cities and behavioural consequences);
- Technical University of Mombasa (TUM);

The courses heavily depend on the regional and geographic settings of the third-country Higher Education Institutes in the south, which in part shapes the specialisation of the student.

To complete this module, students must obtain 30 ECTS credits.

Compulsory

All courses are compulsory in the second semester of the first year.

From the courses listed below, students must obtain 15 ECTS credits.

3ECTS credits - Geomatics
3ECTS credits - Thesis Proposal
9ECTS credits - Skills and qualifications in tropical biodiversity

Field School

1 optional choice of 15 ECTS-credits depending on the Tropimundo trajectory

From the courses listed below, students must obtain 15 ECTS credits.

15ECTS credits - Tropical biodiversity and ecosystems field school: Malaysian mangrove ecosystems
15ECTS credits - Tropical biodiversity and ecosystems field school: Malagasy forest ecosystems
15ECTS credits - Tropical biodiversity and ecosystems field school: Caribbean insular ecosystems
15ECTS credits - Tropical biodiversity and ecosystems field school: Central African terrestrial ecosystems
15ECTS credits - Tropical biodiversity and ecosystems field school: South-East Asian terrestrial & coastal ecosystems
15ECTS credits - Tropical biodiversity and ecosystems field school: Sri Lankan terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
15ECTS credits - Tropical biodiversity & ecosystems fieldschool: Trop forest ecosyst of Reunion & SWIndian Ocean isl
15ECTS credits - Tropical Biodiversity & Ecosystems Field School: East African Ecosystems

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Second year master: In-depth specialisation semester and Joint masters thesis

During the third semester specialisation will be sought at a European university different from that where the respective student started. The Université de la Guyane focuses on amazonian ecosystems (biodiversity, landscape processes, socio-cultural diversity of Amazonian rainforests and wetlands). The ULB focuses on Mangrove forests (spatio-temporal dynamics, socio-ecology and restoration), tropical rainforests and woodlands (vegetation science, population genetics, termite and ant communities) and the VUB focuses on African Lakes (vegetation science, conservation genetics), mangrove forests (vegetation science, ecophysiology and functional anatomy), coral reefs (biodiversity, phylogenetics).

The fourth semester is entirely dedicated to original research in the framework of a Masters thesis.

To complete this module, students must obtain 60 ECTS credits.

Brussels, VUB and ULB

These are the courses of the third semester in Brussels, ULB/VUB.

5ECTS credits - Behavioural Ecology in Natural and Man-made Environments
3ECTS credits - Conservation Genetics
3ECTS credits - Governance and Policy in Development and Cooperation - Part I
6ECTS credits - Global Change Biology
5ECTS credits - Social-Ecological Systems
5ECTS credits - Plant Responses to Environmental Stress
3ECTS credits - Toxins in Amphibians and Reptiles
5ECTS credits - Scientific Presentation Skills and Career Planning
5ECTS credits - Biology of Animal Societies
3ECTS credits - Scientific Presentation Skills and Career Planning
30ECTS credits - Master Thesis
5ECTS credits - Pédologie et écosystèmes
3ECTS credits - Biogeochemistry
5ECTS credits - Analyse et gestion des impacts environnementaux
5ECTS credits - Climat: sciences et politique
5ECTS credits - Bioéthique et droit de la conservation
5ECTS credits - Economie Écologique
5ECTS credits - Cours ou stage d’Été hors ULB
6ECTS credits - Professional Internship
12ECTS credits - Professional Internship
15ECTS credits - External course (15 credits)
12ECTS credits - Professional Internship
3ECTS credits - Agroecology
6ECTS credits - Terrestrial ecology
5ECTS credits - Tropical Parasitology and Entomology
5ECTS credits - Marine Ecology
5ECTS credits - Freshwater Ecology

Université de la Guyane

These are the courses of the third semester in the Université de la Guyane

3ECTS credits - Introduction à l'environnement tropical
3ECTS credits - Scientific Presentation Skills and Career Planning
30ECTS credits - Master Thesis
5ECTS credits - Origine et maintien de la biodiversité
3ECTS credits - Théories de l'Ecologie
6ECTS credits - Analyse des données biologiques
3ECTS credits - Botanique tropicale
3ECTS credits - Ecologie fonctionnelle
4ECTS credits - Gestion des forêts tropicales
3ECTS credits - Outils pour la recherche
5ECTS credits - Scientific Presentation Skills and Career Planning

Other eligible courses

Provided approval of the jury and of the TROPIMUNDO Steering Board, all other courses listed in a university program and in relation to the specialisation of the student. The total ECTS of the year must not be larger than 64.

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