Courses & curriculum
In the Systems Biology and Bioinformatics programme, you will play a central role in shaping your own education. You are able to choose your own set of courses that fit your specific interests and career ambitions.
Among the courses you can choose from are network biology, metabolic modelling, computational neuroscience, scientific programming and more. You are not left on your own - your academic advisor will assist you choosing your courses so they best match your career ambitions.
Curriculum overview
Year 1
Period 1 and 2: An introduction to Systems Biology and Bioinformatics
You will start with a two-day introduction to Problem-Based Learning. After this, your first compulsory courses will begin. Depending on your background, these will be biology and physiology or nathematics of biological systems. You are obliged to follow the courses: Systems Biology, Modelling Biosystems and Experimental Design & Data Management.
Period 3: Project period 1
It is time for your first research project, examining a real-life challenge. With several fellow students, you will test and enlarge your skills by learning from each other. Still not very sure of your knowledge of mathematics or biology? Undoubtedly your research partners will help you. Often you will do your research with one of the research institutes at UM, like the Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (MaCSBio) which is the scientific hub of many of your teachers.
Period 4 and 5: Tailoring your programme
During Period 4 you will choose two of these three electives: Omics, Cardiovascular Systems Biology or Dynamical Systems & Non-Linear Dynamics. Followed in Period 5 again with a choice of two out of these three electives: Fundamental & Systems Neuroscience, Modelling Metabolism or Machine Learning & Multivariate Statistics.
Period 6: Project period 2
It’s time to finish your first year with your second research project. You will continue to build upon the skills you’ve gained and collaborate with your fellow students, your different backgrounds and knowledge complementing one another.
Year 2
Period 1: Tailoring your programme even more
It’s time to work further on your career ambitions with two out of four elective courses: Computational Neuroscience, Network Biology, Scientific Programming or Commercialisation & Entrepreneurship.
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 or an NGO - in one of the high-tech facilities in and near Maastricht or another country, it’s fully up to you. For those who like working in a lab, this is your chance to combine generating your own lab data and analysing it as a true systems biologist.
High-quality, small-scale and personal education
You’ll be taught by multidisciplinary systems biology experts in a small, international group of students. You’ll also have a personal academic advisor to guide you throughout the two-year programme.
Build your own curriculum
We will teach you the fundamentals of mathematics and biology. This fundamental knowledge is continuously integrated with training in computational, experimental and modelling tools - all essential aspects of systems biology. With various electives, you can tailor your programme to match your interests and career ambitions.
State-of-the-art facilities
The programme is organised by the Faculty of Science and Engineering in collaboration with the Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (MaCSBio). You will have access to the faculty’s and centre’s state-of-the-art computational equipment. Additional practical education takes place at the Maastricht University Medical Centre and the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, as well as at UM’s ultra-modern Scannexus facility.
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