Program Overview

MSc Plant Biotechnology Program

The MSc Plant Biotechnology program at Wageningen University offers students the opportunity to specialize in one of three areas: Functional Plant Genomics, Plant for Human Health, and Molecular Plant Breeding and Pathology.

Specialisations

• Functional Plant Genomics: This specialisation focuses on the study of genomics and its impact on plant molecular biology and genetics. Students will explore the use of array technology to study gene expression and improve our understanding of the complexity of the plant transcriptome and interactions between genes and gene products.
  • Courses for this specialisation are listed in the online Study Handbook.
  • Thesis research can be conducted at four different Chair Groups within Wageningen University:
    • Laboratory of Genetics
    • Laboratory of Plant Cell Biology
    • Laboratory of Plant Physiology
    • Laboratory of Molecular Biology
• Plant for Human Health: This specialisation provides a fundamental understanding of how plants can be exploited for the production of foreign proteins and metabolites. Students will also study biomedical aspects, including immunology and food allergy, and nutritional genomics and plant metabolomics.
  • Courses for this specialisation are listed in the online Study Handbook.
  • Thesis research can be conducted at three different Chair Groups within Wageningen University:
    • Laboratory of Entomology
    • Laboratory of Nematology
    • Laboratory of Virology
• Molecular Plant Breeding and Pathology: This specialisation focuses on the application of molecular markers and genomics to explore natural variation and the development of transgene technologies to expand genetic variation. Students will also study molecular plant pathology, aiming to understand and exploit plant-insect, plant-pathogen, and crop-weed interactions.
  • Courses for this specialisation are listed in the online Study Handbook.
  • Thesis research can be conducted at several different Chair Groups within Wageningen University:
    • Bioinformatics Group
    • Laboratory of Entomology
    • Laboratory of Genetics
    • Laboratory of Plant Breeding Group
    • Laboratory of Nematology
    • Laboratory of Phytopathology
    • Laboratory of Virology

Program Structure

After being admitted to the MSc Plant Biotechnology program, students must choose a specialisation. The specialisation determines the possible subjects of thesis research and the required master's courses. Study advisors are available to help students make this choice.