International Master of Science in Soils and Global Change (Physical Land Resources and Global Change)

Increased population pressure, industrialisation and intensive land use are causing depletion of natural resources and are limiting the performance of land with respect to its functions such as biomass production, carbon sequestration, water purification, etcetera. The additive effects of climate change and the above-mentioned aspects of global change influence the capacity of soils to regenerate and may even cause soil degradation. The future capacity of soils to support (human) life is at stake. Programmes have been developed to protect the environment and to increase ecosystem resilience. Numerous directives on soil response to external pressures have been developed and implemented. A wealth of scientific knowledge is available but dispersed due to the specialisation of research groups, which makes it difficult for students to follow a focused curriculum on soils and global change at any individual university.

Master's Programme
2 year 120 credits
Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
English
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About the programme
Programme summary
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After graduation

Application Deadline (for International degree students)

More information on programme specific application procedures and deadlines for both Belgian and international students.

Enrolment

Information on enrolment at Ghent University.

Enrolling institution(s)

  • University of Göttingen
  • University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
  • Aarhus University
  • Ghent University

Organising institutions

This course is jointly organised by:
  • Ghent University
    Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25
    9000 Gent (Belgium)
  • Aarhus University
    Nordre Ringgade 1
    8000 Århus C (Denmark)
  • University of Göttingen
    Wilhelmsplatz 1 1
    37073 Göttingen (Germany)
  • University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
    Gregor Mendel Straße 33
    1180 Vienna (Austria)

IMSOGLO is a joint Erasmus Mundus Master programme, organized by Faculty of Bioscience Engineering (FBE) of Ghent University, Aarhus University, University of Göttingen and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Vienna). The first semester is taken by all students at UGent, depending on the specialization, students will either go to Vienna and Göttingen or to UGent and Aarhus University in the 2nd and 3rd semester. The 4th (thesis-)semester is at one of the 2 Universities that organize the specialization. Additionally, two Associated partners are the Joint Research Centre (JRC, Ispra, Italy) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS, Nanjing, China). JRC co-organizes the summer school in the second semester, while CAS organizes a field work in the second semester. Both institutes are also partner for thesis research.

For IMSOGLO, a Consortium Agreement (CA) has been compiled. This CA will be finalised and signed by all Partners during the Academic Year 2018-2019, before the start of the programme. The CA contains chapters on:

  • Objectives, structure and content of the programme;
  • Organisational structure and responsibilities;
  • Educational responsibilities, specifying the role of the Partners in education and the invitation of scholars;
  • Administrative organisation of IMSOGLO, including application and selection procedures for academic admission, specification of the academic enrolment at the Partners, participation cost, scholarships, mobility and insurance. It also describes the credit transfer and exam rules. Furthermore, it specifies how the quality assurance is organised;
  • Costs and financing of the programme;
  • Specification of Intellectual Property rights, confidentiality and liability and of procedures to activate and terminate the agreement and to settle dispute.

 

General admission requirements

The following Bachelor’s degrees qualify students for admission to the Master’s degree programme in Soils and Global Change:

Academic Bachelor degree (minimum 180 ECTS credits) in pure or applied sciences (e.g., chemistry, biology, geology, civil or agricultural engineering, environmental or agricultural sciences, etc.) or an equivalent level from a recognized university or Engineering College.

 

Sufficient academic knowledge (at least 40 ECTS in total) in Natural Sciences is required, where Natural Sciences are specified as: physics, chemistry, mathematic, ecology, biology, geography, environmental sciences and agricultural sciences.

English language requirements:

Official language test (English language test with minimum requirements below)

TOEFL IBT 90

ACADEMIC IELTS 6,5 overall score with a min. of 6 for writing

ESOL CAMBRIDGE English CAE (Advanced)

 

The master’s programme is completed with a master’s dissertation - the study load of which equals 30 ECTS credits.

 

Access to further study

The Master degree qualifies students for a professional career and scientific work e.g. for a doctorate or the PhD (ph.d.) degree.

Tuition Fee

More information on tuition fees.

More information about scholarship opportunities.

Programme contact

Ghent University
Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
International Training Centre
Coupure Links 653
9000 Gent
applications.itc@ugent.be
imsoglo@ugent.be

Learning path counsellor
Mevr. Isabelle Vantornhout
studietraject.coupure.bw@UGent.be

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