Master's in Forest and Nature Conservation

A general overview of your 1st year:  

• Compulsory courses from the common part: 0-12 ects  
• Compulsory and restricted optional courses for your specialisation: 18-24 ects  
• Electives: 12-30 ects
• Academic Master Cluster: 6-12 ects  

Compulsory & optional courses

In the first year, you take a number of compulsory courses (CS) and restricted optional courses (RO) of the common part and specialisation of your study programme. The compulsory courses and restricted optional courses depend on your background, the specialisation you choose and your future ideas. 

Specialisation

You have to select one of the three specialisations: Society & Policy, Ecology and Management. Courses you follow include, for example, Social and Political Theory, Communities and Conservation, Models for Ecological Systems, and Agroforestry.  

Electives in Wageningen or elsewhere

Additionally you can choose electives from any other MSc programme offered at Wageningen University or at another academic institution.  

Academic master cluster

You complete the 1st year with the academic master cluster (6-12 ects). Together with your study adviser, you adjust your individual programme to your own interests, wishes and needs, your programme is truly tailor-made.  

First year courses.

Your 2nd year you will work on your own research project, your individual MSc thesis of 36 ects (24 weeks) and do an academic internship of 24 ects (16 weeks) at an external organisation.

Thesis 

You conclude your research project with a written thesis, which is graded by your supervisor and an independent staff member. You are also required to present your results during a seminar, the colloquium.

You conduct your thesis in one of the four research groups, depending on your (thesis-preparing) specialisation courses. These four groups are:  

• Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group (FNP)
• Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group (WEC)
• Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group (FEM)
• Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group (PEN) 

Internship 

You conduct an internship related to one of the four chairgroups of the programme. Defining and securing a position is primarily your own responsibility. However, the graduate internship coordinator can help you find a position and check that the work experience is relevant to your own study programme. The internship can be either at a research institute, or another organisation that offers an academic work experience opportunity. 

Second year courses.

Within this master's programme, you can choose one of the specialisations below to meet your personal interests. Each of them trains you to become an expert in that field. Within your specialisation, you choose at which research group you would like to write your thesis. The two major parts of your specialisation are the (thesis-preparing) courses and a thesis. You can extend your specialisation with an internship or a research practice. For a more detailed information on the programme structure per specialisation, visit the MSc Forest and Nature Conservation Study Handbook page.  

Society & Policy  

The specialisation Society & Policy focuses on understanding how people interact with nature in a broad sense. Themes which are addressed in this specialisation are for example policy concerning nature, human-environment interactions and stakeholder processes concerning nature.

Ecology  

The emphasis of this specialisation is on understanding the ecological processes that form the basis for the structure, composition and functioning of forests and natural areas. Within the specialisation, you can focus on a topic of your interest within the scope of the study.

Management  

The specialisation of Management combines theories from both ecology and societal factors influencing nature. In this specialisation you focus on the management of forest and nature areas where you will focus on the scientific basis for nature management. 

Note that you do not need to decide on your specialisation before you begin. You will be set up with an (online) chat with a study advisor prior to starting. This advisor's role is to help you select your specialisation and guide you toward other courses that match your interests. 

• Lectures: a lecturer covers the course material in class.
• Tutorials: you complete an individual or small-group assignment.
• Practicals: you conduct fieldwork
• Academic Consultancy Training (ACT): you work on case with students from multidisciplinary and multicultural background, and execute a project for an external client.
• Self-study: self-study is included in your schedule, but you can also schedule it outside of it. 

At WUR we believe in personal guidance and close contact. With more lecturers, study advisors and student counsellors than most Dutch universities, you always have support to stay on track. This reduces the risk of dropping out and ensures a more personal and enriching study experience, showing our genuine commitment to your success. 

• The master's programme Forest and Nature Conservation focuses on the conservation and sustainable management of forest and nature, and the related international and national policies and societal processes. As a result of this multifaceted approach, this study programme is interesting to both environmental science and social science students.  
• The master's programme Biology Conservation and Systems Ecology specialisation is similar to the MFN Ecology specialisation. However, the focus of the Biology programme is on organisms, molecular techniques, populations and interactions between types. In contrast, the MFN specialisation focuses on the abiotic environment and society; this specialisation looks at the ecosystem, the landscape and the earth as a whole.
• The master's programme Earth SystemSciences also focuses on the abiotic environment, with subjects ranging from soil type microbiology and microchemistry to the earth’s climate. It attempts to clarify those ongoing processes through scientific methods. Forms of life like soil type organisms, plants and, human beings play an important role, which makes this similar to the MFN programme.
• The master's programme Environmental Sciences focuses primarily on finding sustainable solutions to problems like environmental pollution, degradation of ecosystems and climate change. Natural sciences as well as socio-economic processes play an important role. The MFN programme is similar in that it also looks at the natural sciences from a societal perspective however it focuses mainly on the functioning of ecosystems, the management of forest and natural areas, and the conservation of biodiversity.

Check more information on Studiekeuze123.nl. 

The MSc programme Forest and Nature Conservation provides an excellent preparation for Dutch as well as European and non-European jobs. Examples are:

• Researcher or lecturer at universities and research institutes
• Policy officer at government ministries or local authorities
• Specialist at forestry and nature conservation services (state or private)
• Environmental expert at assessment agencies such as the European Forest Institute or Birdlife International
• Conservation officer at NGOs like WWF or RAVON
• Consultant at engineering and consultancy firms such as Royal Haskoning
• Project manager at organisations like the National Fund for Rural Areas
• Professional in forestry companies focusing on sustainable management 

Student Career Services facilitates WUR students towards the labour market. If you need help in your orientation towards your future career. 

Have a look at the Career Booklet for more information about career opportunities.

Interested in the master's programme Forest and Nature Conservation? Find out whether your knowledge and skills match the entry level of the programme.

Purpose and reason for the admission requirements  

The admission requirements for the master's programme Forest and Nature Conservation are defined in such a way that the students should be able to successfully complete at least one of the specialisations in the programme nominally in two years. In order to comply, the student requires sufficient knowledge about nature systems through topics like ecology, forestry, natural resources management and/or about societal aspects such as political sciences or social geography. Lastly, basics in statistics and mathematics is necessary to perform research at the advanced level of the master's.  

The criterion used for admission is  

A WUR BSc degree in Forest and Nature Conservation, or equivalent.  

The norm for this equivalence is  

An assessment of the students' expertise in at least Ecology and/or Forestry and preferably in one of the following topics:  

• Ecology  
• Forestry  
• Natural resources management  
• Soil sciences (land degradation, soil and water management)  
• Political sciences (policy development)  
• Social geography  

And both the following topics:  

• Mathematics (basics)  
• Basics in statistics  

Not all topics mentioned need to be mastered at the same level; they will be weighed by the Admission Board per individual application.

Method of assessment whether this norm is met  

• Transcript of records displaying the content of previous course subjects and project work;  
• Curriculum vitae displaying relevant work, internship and/or project experience on an academic level in a relevant field if applicable. 

Scores attributed by the Admission Board  

Admitted / not admitted / admitted under condition obtaining the BSc or MSc degree / not admitted with offer of pre-master.

You can apply for this Master's here.

The Admission Board may allow and/or suggest compensation of knowledge gaps by:

• a GPA≥7.0* for the previous education for small discrepancies as new knowledge is sufficiently easily acquired;
• a GPA≥7.0* and an individual pre-master's programme for larger discrepancies that can be compensated in ≤30 ECTS and one year of study.

*Check the Application & Admission page for the International credentials evaluation guide for international equivalencies to a Dutch GPA>7.0. This guide includes compensating factors for a slightly lower GPA the Admission Board may include in their judgement. 

Contact us to discuss the possibilities of a pre-master or how to mitigate knowledge gaps if you are still in the process of obtaining your degree.

Find out more about enrolment and fees of a pre-master's programme. 

Admissible study programmes

Study programmes of which the graduates may meet the knowledge requirements are for example: Biology, Environmental Sciences, Natural Sciences, Forestry, Agricultural Sciences, Global Sustainability Science, and Future Planet Studies.

For instance, the WUR BSc Biology often covers the required knowledge when the ecology track is followed.

Compensation of knowledge gaps before application

Discuss with our study advisers through the contact buttons on this webpage which courses you could follow already in the previous education to meet (part of) the mentioned criteria. For instance, by completing either of the related WU minors: Forest and Nature Conservation, Management of Terrestrial Ecosystems, and Wildlife and Biodiversity.

Studying requires money. Interested in what expenses you should prepare for? All information about the costs of this programme can be found on this page.

Student life is more than classes and books. It’s about finding a place to live, joining fun parties and social events, hanging out in cozy pubs, being part of student clubs, or join weekly activities of the study association WSBV Sylvatica. With festivals and sports activities galore, there’s always something happening in Wageningen and beyond. All information about student life in Wageningen can be found on this page.