Program Overview

Overview of the Drug Discovery Sciences Program

The Drug Discovery Sciences program at VU Amsterdam focuses on creating new medicines from a chemical perspective. This innovative program offers a range of career opportunities in medicinal research, the pharmaceutical industry, and hospital laboratories, as well as in research institutes and governmental agencies.

Career Prospects

Graduates of the Drug Discovery Sciences program have excellent employment prospects and can generally expect to earn a good salary. About 50% of VU Amsterdam graduates pursue a career in research, while others work as consultants, managers, or science journalists. The program also offers a specialization in Science Education, which can lead to a career in improving science education.

Curriculum

The program's curriculum is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of drug discovery sciences. The curriculum includes a range of courses, including Advanced Bioanalytical Approaches.

What Can You Do After Your Master's Degree?

After completing the Master's degree in Drug Discovery Sciences, students can start working as medicinal researchers, consultants, or managers in the pharmaceutical industry, or pursue a PhD program. The program also offers opportunities for students to work in research institutes, governmental agencies, or as science journalists.

Start Working

With a Master's degree in Drug Discovery Sciences, students have excellent employment prospects. They can start working as medicinal researchers at hospitals, choose management or consultant functions at pharmaceutical companies, or work for governmental agencies as registration specialists or advisors.

Follow a PhD Program

For four years, students can work on their own research, which will be awarded with a PhD. They can obtain a PhD on various topics, such as the application of nanobodies against cancer or the development of new drugs against neglected diseases like African Sleeping Sickness. After obtaining a PhD, many graduates continue their career in research or find themselves in leadership positions at universities, pharmaceutical companies, or in governmental agencies.

Where Did Our Students End Up?

Some of the program's graduates have gone on to work as PhD students, managers at pharmaceutical companies, or in other roles in the industry. For example, Hany Majeed is a PhD student in BioAnalytical Chemistry, and Jitske Evertse is a manager at a pharmaceutical company.

Admission Requirements

To apply for the Drug Discovery Sciences program, students must check the admission requirements. The program's website provides more information on the requirements and the application process.