First semester
Minor Water Quality Analysis
In the ‘biotic’ part of the programme, you will describe the ecological status of a Dutch water body, according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD), and analyze the results in contrast with outcomes in another EU country. There are courses in: aquatic organisms, ecosystems, project monitoring and future monitoring techniques, the WFD and other relevant directives, and laws and treaties. You will get training in sampling and aquatic species determination, ecological assessment of field data and scientific data analysis and reporting. International experience comes in the form of a field trip to the Harz mountains at the start of the programme and a visit to Brussels to see how the EU works.
Minor Water System Analysis
Although this is the ‘abiotic’ part of the programme, it links to biota. You will study possible future changes for a water system in the EU, by looking into the geophysical features of the system and describing scenarios such as climate change, hydro morphological changes and land-use changes. Besides this, you will follow courses in (a) landscape, geology, geomorphology, soils and land use, (b) climate and climate change, and (c) hydrology, water systems in the EU, and flora and fauna communities. Also, you will receive training in geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS), and in modelling a water balance.
Second semester
Integrated project
In a 5-week project in Portugal, you will work together with other students from Europe. Combining skills and knowledge on water quality and the functioning of water systems, you will create a restoration/conservation solution to a problem presented to you by an official client.
Internship and thesis
This stage incorporates a full-time internship and writing a bachelor of science thesis. During the internship or company placement, you will be challenged to further develop the necessary competencies that you will need in your career. The thesis consists of proof of scientific and academic expertise in researching, writing and defending a thesis relevant to the sector and related to your field of expertise. In some cases, it is possible to carry out both the internship and the thesis at the same company.