MSc Systems Biology - Education and Covid-19
We are busily preparing for on-site education taking into account all COVID-19-related preventive measures, as well as developing online options for students who cannot yet come to Maastricht due to COVID-19 restrictions.
In this blog, you can follow our progress for the master's programme Systems Biology. See you soon: on campus if you can, online if you need to!
The newest updates will appear at the top. To make sure you can keep track, we have highlighted a few particularly important messages that you can directly view using the menu below.
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Questions? Contact us!
- For questions about admissions: sb-admissions@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
- For questions related to educational modality for the fall, contact Programme Director: Julia.sewall@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
- For questions about courses, credits and schedules, contact the Office of Student Affairs: sb-studentaffairs@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
UM COVID-19 Safety protocol
Everyone | 14 August 2020
UM wants to provide its students and employees with a safe working and learning environment during this pandemic. This protocol shows how (the possibility) of spread of COVID-19 at UM can be prevented as much as possible.
International (non-EU) students Visa information
(prospective) students | 9 July 2020
The steps to apply for a Dutch visa and residence permit can be found here. If you have questions about Visa applications, especially for applications processed outside the usual deadlines, please contact the Visa Office.
As a reminder, the Sciences master's programmes are providing flexibility for traveling to Maastricht by offering both online and on-campus education options. This applies to students with delays in their visa application process.
"Soft cut'' Admission to the Sciences master's programmes
Prospective students | 8 July 2020
The Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science is making it possible to admit students to a Dutch master's programme for the academic year 2020-2021 under certain conditions, even if these students have not yet completed their bachelor's programme. This type of conditional admission is also referred to as a ‘soft cut’.
Students from an UM bachelor's programme
In order to be able to enter UM (pre)master programmes for academic year 2020-2021 based on the 'soft cut' admission criteria, a standard of at least 80% of the ECTS from year 3 of the bachelor's programme needs to be obtained (i.e. a maximum of 12 ECTS from year 3 of the bachelor's programme may be missing, year 1 and year 2 need to be fully obtained).[1]
Students from an external bachelor
When a student from a bachelor's programme from outside UM wants to enrol in a (pre)master's programme at UM based on the 'soft cut' admission criteria, this will be done via the above-mentioned standard[2]; the UM master's program will assess whether the student in question can be enrolled conditionally, bearing in mind the 80% standard.
Other applicable exceptions
Exceptions of the 12 ECTS will be made when applicants that have pending Bachelor thesis credits (usually higher than 12 ECTS). In case a student has yet to complete their bachelor thesis, the Admissions Committee will ask the student for a description of their thesis status. For cases in which the student has started their bachelor thesis but are missing advance components to obtain credits including defence, written thesis submission, or pending minor data collection, admission will be granted provided the student is not missing credits from other courses and thesis completion is realistically obtainable within the first half of the academic year 2020 - 2021.
[1] Exception: The student still has to complete 1 or more course units of year 3 of the bachelor's programme that covers more than 12 ECTS and of which it is feasible for the student to complete these course units within the academic year 2020-2021.
[2] Exception: In the case of a four-year (foreign) bachelor's degree, a maximum of 20% of the ECTS from the last year of study may be missing.
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Update: Educational format coming academic yearEveryone | 26 June 2020 - updated 9 July Our aim is to provide education on-site if we can, online if you need to with a lot of interaction between students and teachers. We will make the most of the space we have so that you can safely come together in the ‘international classroom’ to collaborate, socialise and interact. In this update, we would like to inform you on several educational aspects of the coming academic year. Please note that these educational formats are set for the first 2 periods of the academic year 2020-2021 and will be adjusted accordingly taking into consideration the developments of COVID-19:
Does this mean that I am not required to be in Maastricht? When do I need to communicate whether I will be in Maastricht by September? |
Looking forward to 2020-2021
Everyone | 18 June 2020
The Master's programmes team is working hard to start education in the fall, on campus if you can, online if you need to. This flexible modality will allow you to participate in our staple “international classroom” while accommodating traveling of physical distancing restrictions. We're looking forward to welcome you soon and in the meantime, stay safe!
Dr. Julia Massimelli Sewall
Director of master's programmes Sciences:
MSc Biobased Materials & MSc Systems Biology
Corona-proofing Paul-Henri Spaaklaan 1 ("PHS1)
Everyone | 18 June 2020
Although education last took place at our PHS1 building in March, I've been on site almost every day. There's a few reasons for that: construction work on the communal areas never stopped (more about that later) and we're also working on implementing and testing the necessary health measures.
So far, we have figured out and indicated the maximum room capacities, outfitted every entrance with hand sanitizer, figured out seating plans, assigned walking directions in hallways, opened up unidirectional staircases and more - all to ensure we comply with the latest rules and regulations. You can see some pictures of our progress at the bottom of this page. Although no one knows exactly which measures will apply in September, we will continue to ensure that our building stays up to date and safe.
Roy van Kessel
Building manager Paul-Henri Spaaklaan 1
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Save the date: MSc Systems Biology Introduction DaysProspective students | 28 May 2020 Save the date! Our master's Introduction Days will take place on Thursday 27 & Friday 28 August 2020. During these days, you will receive valuable information about studying at Maastricht University and life in Maastricht. |
Ivanka Dzon
Event coordinator
<a name="phs1"></a>Corona-proofing Paul-Henri Spaaklaan 1 (June 18, 2020)
The first thing you see when you enter the building - whether you come from the main entrance, side entrance or bike parking - is a hand sanitizer station.
Corridors and staircases which are too narrow to keep 1.5m distance from others now have designated walking directions: one way only.
We've calculated and indicated the maximum room capacities based on a number of parameters, including ventilation properties and floor area.
Apart from maximum capacities, lecture halls now have designated seating. We're still trying to see how we can optimize this, while ensuring you can keep a safe distance from others at all times.
