Student testimonial
At the end of my Master’s Biology I decided to specialise further in Plant Sciences
Student Plant Sciences
Prior Education: Biology, Radboud University
Learn for as long as able and liked, so much the more pleasure it will give later on.
First Master’s: Biology
During my Bachelor’s Biology (RU) I mainly took courses in Environmental Science. After my minor Environmental Sciences I really struggled with the choice for a Master’s. I went to the Information Evening at the WUR to listen to the presentations of Environmental Sciences, Earth & Environment as well as Plant Sciences. All three were very nice, but very different! Ideally I wanted to do a combination. In Nijmegen the Master’s program was really broad and because I didn’t dare specialise that Master’s appealed to me the most at the time.
During my Master’s Biology I took Ecology as well as Plant Science courses. In Nijmegen we were allowed two research internships each lasting six months: in other words two at the university, or one at the university and one at a company in the Netherlands or abroad. My first Master’s research I did at the department of Ecogenomics where I looked at the interactions between Solanum dilcamara, dry test stress and herbivory by the Colorado beetle. The plant research really interested me and I decided to do my second internship at a seed breeding company.
At Bejo Zaden B.V. a whole new world opened up to me. The research that I did there was directly linked to society. Farmers want the best seeds in order to generate the highest possible revenue. I, on a small scale, contributed tot that with my research into the development of a seed coating against fungal infection in the root. This internship was my motivation to specialise further in plant sciences. Hence my choice for the Master’s Plant Sciences at the WUR.
Second Master: Plant Sciences
At the moment I am taking courses in Fytopathology and Ecological and Molecular Bio-interactions. Up un till now it has all been very interesting and directly connected to my previous Master’s in which these topics, however in lesser detail, were also offered. As I have already completed Master’s internships, I only have to take a limited amount of courses and write a thesis. My thesis I am going to write at the departments Nematology or Phytopathology, with the focus on molecular research on plant defense mechanisms against pathogens. At the end of September I expect to be done. I hope that I will have found a good job by that time as PhD student or as researcher at a seed breeding company.
Future
At this moment I am a graduated MSc in Biology, but I am continuing to also become MSc in Plant Sciences. Not only because I find it so interesting, but also to enhance my chances on the job market. Don’t forget: Learn for as long as able and liked, so much the more pleasure it will give later on.