Requirements

Requirements

Information on knowledge requirements can be found in the Onderwijs- en Examenregeling at Examinations and regulations.

We provide you with ample opportunities to pursue your ambitions and individualise your programme. Still, some requirements apply. That is, your programme must include:

1. Courses and internships amounting to at least 120 ECs, as approved by the Board of Examiners
2. At least 24 ECs of courses delivered by the Radboudumc in the context of the master’s programme in Biomedical Sciences (18 ECs in case of the consultancy or communication profile)
3. Consultancy and communication profile need to take 12 ECs of profile specific courses
4. At least one ≥30 ECs research internship (at least 2 for students of the research profile)
5. At least one ≥30 ECs profile-internship (for students of the communication or consultancy profile)
6. A 6 ECs literature thesis
7. No more than one minor delivered by the Radboudumc in the context of the bachelor’s programme in Biomedical Sciences, provided that this minor has not been completed already in the context of this programme
8. No more than 12 ECs of courses that are not reasonably related to the field of biomedical sciences

9. Students should attend at least 3 Radboud Integrity Rounds during their Master’s programme. More information and subscription: https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/education/events/all-events/9470-research-integrity-rounds

Students that have not completed the bachelor’s programme or pre-master’s programme in Biomedical Sciences at the Radboudumc need to include:

10. The course Thinking critically about science.(as part of the 24 ECTS detailed in point 2)

That’s all! For students with a research profile, the profile-internship is in fact a research internship. This means that they will have to complete a minimum of two internships, at least one of which entails more than 30 ECs. See under ‘Internships’ below for details.

You can find information on the forms for your studyplan here: https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/education/courses/masters-in-biomedical-sciences/for-all-masters-students/examinations-and-regulations

Courses delivered at the Radboudumc

The Radboudumc offers more than 70 courses in the context of the master’s programme in Biomedical Sciences. Please refer to List of BMS courses for an overview. Except for a few courses (BMS11 and BMS12), all courses have a study load of 3 ECs and are delivered half time over a period of four weeks, either on Monday and Tuesday, or Thursday and Friday, Wednesdays being reserved for self-study. This means that you can take two courses simultaneously.

In principle, you can take any course that meets your interests. That is, there are no restrictions. However, you do well ensuring that your courses add up to a coherent whole. Your mentor can help you at this point. The scheduling of the courses is based on what we have predicted to be the most popular and coherent programmes. That is, we have ensured that programmes that are chosen fairly often can be followed efficiently. Please refer to 'List of programme examples' for an overview of these programmes, but understand that you can adjust any of these without losing out on quality or coherence.

Moreover, you should consider the prior knowledge needed to be able to succeed in completing a course. Although there are no formal requirements for subscribing to a course, and none of the courses feature selection procedures, it could well be that teachers assume prior knowledge to be present. Also, some teachers may offer a test shortly before, or at the beginning of a course, in order to enable you to check whether your prior knowledge is adequate. It is your own responsibility to correct possible deficiencies. The prior knowledge per course is explicated on a Blackboard page.

External courses

You can include courses that are not delivered at the Radboudumc in the context of the master’s programme in Biomedical Sciences, but anywhere else in the world, if they meet the following conditions:

1. they are being taught at a university
2. they entail a study load of at least 3 ECs
3. their contents does not overlap significantly with other courses you include in your programme
4. they are reasonably related to biomedical sciences.

An exception to the last condition will be made for a maximum of 12 ECs of courses that need not be necessarily related to biomedical sciences. There is no maximum to the number of courses taken outside the Radboudumc, as long as you meet the requirement of 24 ECs of courses being taken at the Radboudumc. Taking courses outside the Radboudumc requires approval of the Board of Examiners.

Internships

You will need to include at least two internships in your pro- gramme, one of which is a ≥30 ECs research internship, and one involves a ≥30 ECs profile-specific internship. For students with a research profile, the profile-internship is in fact a research internship. This means that they, like all students, will have to complete a minimum of two internships, at least one of which entails more than 30 ECs, but one research internship of 24 ECs and one of 36 ECs is possible for them, too. You may include additional internships, if you feel that is the way to foster your career. It is possible to do longer internships (gaining more credits) but only if approved of beforehand. You can consult with your mentor about this and ask approval from the Board of Examiners. However, internships can only have the following sizes: 16 weeks (24 ECs), 20 weeks (30 ECs), 24 weeks (36 ECs), 28 weeks (42 ECs), 32 weeks (48 ECs) and 40 weeks (60 ECs).

Research internship

A research internship focuses on research and learning objectives that are associated with doing research. You need to complete at least one ≥30 ECs research internship. You can discuss research internships with your mentor.

Profile internship

A profile internship is one that is related to the learning objectives associated with your profile and has a size of ≥30 ECs. If you have a research profile, this simply amounts to a second research internship. If you have chosen for a communication profile, then you will be developing and evaluating a communication strategy to inform specific target groups about scientific insights and perhaps change their behaviour. If you have chosen for a consultancy profile, then you will find yourself developing an advice in the context of a biomedical problem, explicitly involving stakeholders in the process.

To understand what is expected from you, you should have a look at the assessment forms that pertain to the profile internships. In general, an internship is suitable, if it enables you to achieve the learning objectives that are listed there.

Finding a place

An internship becomes presumably more worthwhile when you are truly motivated to do it. Therefore, you ought to spend a great deal of effort on finding a place that suits you.

In principle, you are to arrange your internship yourself. This means that it is up to you to identify suitable workplaces, contact potential supervisors, and negotiate your assignment. Of course, your mentor and\or profile coordinator is there to support you. At least, you should timely consult with him or her in order to assess the appropriateness of your plans.

Here are a few tips for arranging an internship:

1. Developing a vision on what you want to learn and do helps to find a suitable interns You ought to read papers and journals to identify issues that interest you and companies and institutes that are involved.
2. When you have identified a suitable company or institute, you do well investing time in finding the right person to Ideally, this is someone who both knows what projects there are you could participate in and is in a position to appoint you. Often, you may find this person by browsing the website. Alternatively, mentors, profile coordinators, or your tutors may know him or her. It is at this point that you could greatly ben- efit from the network you started to grow by joining research groups and being visible to other professionals. Usually, it is rather ineffective to address human affairs departments.
3. If you write an application letter or e-mail, please ensure that its tone is appropriate, e.g. sufficiently formal. Moreover, you should help hosting organisations establishing an internship by explaining what kind of project you should like to participate in. Of course, your ability to do so is also indicative of your interest. This implies that you have surveyed the companies or institutes you would like to work for.
4. Please allow atleast three months for arranging a national internship and six months for arranging an international internship. In case of international internships, searching for accomodation, requests for visa or work permits, and arranging funding may take even longer. In addition, allow suffient time for your mentor or profile coordinator, as well as the Board of Examiners, to review your proposal.
5. If you plan to go abroad for an internship, you should consult with the Radboudumc International Office about the practicalities involved: funding, housing, visa, and so forth.

You can contact the Radboudumc International Office by sending e-mail to internationalofficestudents@radboudumc.nl, making an appointment at the Student Information Point (StIP), or clicking here to visit the website.