Master in Biobased Materials
Maastricht, Netherlands
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 May 2025*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 2,530 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Deadline non-EU students 1 May 2025 | Deadline EU students 1 June 2025
** tuition fees 2024/2025: EU students 2.530 euros | non-EU students 19.100 euros
Introduction
Our planet is facing incredible challenges. Whole ecosystems are changing and collapsing because of the way we consume and the materials we use in our daily lives. The continuous use of fossil fuels and non-degradable materials is driving climate change at an accelerating rate. However, these challenges also offer tremendous opportunities to make our planet more sustainable and evolve as a society into a circular economy. With the master Biobased Materials, you can play a pioneering role in this green revolution.
You’ll learn how biology provides the building blocks and processes to produce earth-friendly materials that are easily recycled after use, as part of a circular economy. We’ll teach you about advanced functional materials, and how we can develop these from biological resources. Our programme will prepare you for a fascinating career in the research, development, production, and application of earth-friendly materials made from various biological resources.
Admissions
Curriculum
In the master Biobased Materials, you'll play a central role in shaping your own education. You have plenty of room to choose your own set of courses that fit your specific interests and career ambitions. You can choose from courses on subjects like bio-organic chemistry, biopolymers, applied materials science and engineering, molecular engineering, bioengineering.
Year 1
Period 1 and 2 : An introduction to biobased materials
In the first 2 periods of 8 weeks each, we set you up for success by giving you a broad foundation with 4 compulsory courses. We will introduce you to the fundamentals of the different disciplines in the programme: biobased materials, process technology, biology, material science and organic chemistry.
Period 3: Project period 1
After having obtained a solid foundation with the compulsory courses, you’ll gain the complementary skills and hands-on experience with a research project. Over the span of 4 weeks, you’ll work in a small group on a real-life research challenge. This is often in direct collaboration with companies and research institutes like The Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM).
Period 4 and 5 : Tailoring your programme
During the 4th and 5th period it’s time to choose your electives. You have 8 electives to choose from which will enable you to specialize your curriculum to fit your interests and ambitions: Molecular Genetics and Bioengineering, Advanced Macromolecular Chemistry, Applied Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Materials, Plant-derived Building Blocks, Organic coatings, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sustainability of Biobased Materials. We will personally guide you during this process so that you can make a decision that is in line with your goals.
Period 6: Project period 2
You will finish off your first year with another research project. As you and your team members have all gained different additional knowledge and skills during the electives, it’s now time to collaborate to solve the next research-challenge that is ahead of you.
Year 2
Period 1: Tailoring your programme
You’ll start your second year with elective courses. This is also the time where you can choose to further expand your entrepreneurial ideas and ambitions. You namely have the choice from the following courses: Commercialization and Entrepreneurship, Biopolymers, Polymer Processing.
Period 2 - 6
The rest of the second year is devoted to the grand finale, your master thesis. Your thesis project helps you build your academic profile through an integrated piece of research and/or research-based engineering, preparing you for your future career. You can choose to do your thesis project at a company, a research institute, an NGO, in a foreign country or in Maastricht, it’s fully up to you. During your thesis project you’ll have a personal mentor supporting and advising you in the process.
Gallery
Career Opportunities
A major challenge in the transition towards a biobased society is the development of biobased alternatives for materials that are currently used as well as the development of new sustainable materials. Consequently, biobased materials are an important focal point in materials science research.
Universities, research institutes and businesses are joining forces to develop and implement biobased materials in society. There is a growing demand for experts in this field, so the career prospects for our graduates are promising. The multidisciplinary master's in Biobased Materials prepares you for career opportunities at: universities, businesses: R&D, research institutes, governmental institutions, environmental organisations, consultancy firms, start-up companies and NGOs.