2023-2024

Master in Biology of Organisms and Ecology, Research focus

Schedule

regular course
ECTS Credits 120

Presentation
Programme
Teaching profile
Opportunities

Cycle
Block 2

The University of Namur offers the Master 120 in biology of Organisms and Ecology jointly with the UCLouvain.

Full details of the programme are available on the website of the UCLouvain.

To register for the Master's program, please contact UCLouvain.

The University of Namur provides teaching in the following areas:

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	Code	Name	Staff	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
					1	2	3
	SBOEM297	Master thesis

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
SBOEM238	Applied ecotoxicology	24h th.
SBOEM162	Ecotoxicology of Populations, Communities and Ecosystems	12h th. + 12h ex.
SBOEM163	Ecotoxicology	24h th. + 24h ex.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
LBOE2160	<unknown>	24h th.
LBOE2168	<unknown>	24h th. + 12h ex.
LBOE2161	<unknown>	24h th. + 12h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
SBOEM237	Bioindicators of pollution	24h th. + 12h ex.
LBOE2185	Evolutionary Applications	20h th.
LBOE2166	<unknown>	12h th. + 24h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
SBOEM123	Aquatic Biodiversity	12h th. + 24h ex.
SBOEM142	Ecologie des milieux aquatiques naturels et perturbés	12h th. + 20h ex.
SBOEM144	Management of fisheries and aquaculture resources	18h th. + 12h ex.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
SBOEM169	Ecological Proteomics and Epigenetics	30h th. + 18h ex.
SBOEM165	Evolutionary Genomics and Transcriptomics	30h th. + 18h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
LBOE2140	Landscape Ecology	24h th. + 24h ex.
LBOE2150	Movement ecology	24h th. + 12h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
LBOE2141	<unknown>	12h th. + 12h ex.
LBOE2125	<unknown>	24h th.
LBOE2120	<unknown>	36h th. + 12h ex.

<unknown>

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	Code	Name	Staff	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
					1	2	3
	SBOEM124	Molecular Ecology		36h th. + 56h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits/Block
		1	2	3
SBOEM241	Professional project
SBOEM240	Research internship

<unknown>

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	Code	Name	Staff	Credits	Hours/Quarter
					1	2
	SBOEM297	Master thesis		22

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
SBOEM238	Applied ecotoxicology	2	24h th.
SBOEM162	Ecotoxicology of Populations, Communities and Ecosystems	2	12h th. + 12h ex.
SBOEM163	Ecotoxicology	4	24h th. + 24h ex.

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
LBOE2160	<unknown>	2	24h th.
LBOE2168	<unknown>	3	24h th. + 12h ex.
LBOE2161	<unknown>	3	24h th. + 12h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
SBOEM237	Bioindicators of pollution	3		24h th. + 12h ex.
LBOE2185	Evolutionary Applications	2		20h th.
LBOE2166	<unknown>	3		12h th. + 24h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
SBOEM123	Aquatic Biodiversity	3	12h th. + 24h ex.
SBOEM142	Ecologie des milieux aquatiques naturels et perturbés	2	12h th. + 20h ex.
SBOEM144	Management of fisheries and aquaculture resources	3	18h th. + 12h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
SBOEM169	Ecological Proteomics and Epigenetics	4		30h th. + 18h ex.
SBOEM165	Evolutionary Genomics and Transcriptomics	4		30h th. + 18h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
LBOE2140	Landscape Ecology	4	24h th. + 24h ex.
LBOE2150	Movement ecology	4	24h th. + 12h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
LBOE2141	<unknown>	2	12h th. + 12h ex.
LBOE2125	<unknown>	2	24h th.
LBOE2120	<unknown>	4	36h th. + 12h ex.

<unknown>

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	Code	Name	Staff	Credits	Hours/Quarter
					1	2
	SBOEM124	Molecular Ecology		8		36h th. + 56h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
SBOEM241	Professional project	2
SBOEM240	Research internship	28

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
LBIR1328	Climatology and Hydrology Applied to Agronomy and the Environment	6	45h th. + 22.5h ex.
LENVI2011	<unknown>	3		30h th.
LBIR1336	<unknown>	5		30h th. + 37.5h ex.
SGOLM145	Pedology	2	12h th. + 12h ex.
LBIR1334	<unknown>	3		22.5h th. + 15h ex.
SGOLM146	Hydrogeology	3	18h th. + 12h ex.
LBIR1362	<unknown>	3		30h th. + 7.5h ex.
LBIRE2105	<unknown>	3	30h th.
EBIOE2002	<unknown>	6
LBOE2122	<unknown>	2		24h th.
EBIOE2001	<unknown>	6
LBOE2143	<unknown>	2		24h th.
SVETB301	Applied Ethology	3	15h th. + 4h ex.
SVETM209	Molecular Virology	2	15h th.
SBIOM201	Parasitology	2	15h th.
LBOE2148	<unknown>	2	24h th.
SBIOM205	Epidémiologie	2	15h th.
LBOE2292	<unknown>	4	12h th. + 36h ex.
LGEOL2401	<unknown>	2		22.5h th.
SGOLB210	Paleontology	6	24h th. + 40h ex.
SBIOM132	Bacterial Genetics	3	22h th.

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
SFCMM101	Training in animal experimentation at technician level: techniques, alternative methods, legislation and ethics	4		40h th.
WSBIM2290	<unknown>	3	37h th.
SFCMM201	Training of master animal handlers	4	40h th.

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
LBRTI2101A	<unknown>	3	22.5h th. + 15h ex.
LGEO2140	Advanced physical geography	5		30h th. + 30h ex.
SGOGB301	Spatial modelling and GIS	4		20h th. + 30h ex.
LBRAT2101	<unknown>	5	45h th. + 15h ex.
SGOGB201	Introduction to Geographic Information Systems	4	15h th. + 20h ex.
LGEO1343	<unknown>	5	30h th. + 30h ex.
LBIRE2102	<unknown>	4	30h th. + 22.5h ex.

<unknown>

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
LDROP2063	<unknown>	5		30h th.
LDROP2102	<unknown>	5		30h th.
LDROP2101	Management of Intellectual Property Rights	5		30h th.
LDROP2061	<unknown>	5		30h th.
MGESM203_P31637	<unknown>	2		12h th.

International mobility and openness

Students doing the research focus are invited to attend a foreign university, under the Socrates or Mercator exchange schemes, during the second semester of the second year of the Master to do their placement and/or do a part of their dissertation during the dissertation period and possibly also take some optional activities.

For students doing the professional focus, it may be more logical to stay in Belgium, but they may take advantage of the opportunity for an exchange visit during their dissertation. Mobility in the first semester of the first year of the Master may also be possible, providing equivalents for the core subjects and some of the option courses can be found. In the same way, students from foreign universities can come to UCL to take selected activities from our Master programme and/or do a part of their final dissertation.

Teaching methods

Inter-university cooperation between UNamur and UCL, where complementary research in ecology is carried out, means that the range of available courses is much wider than at each individual university. We have built a programme with joint training of 16 credits and four option courses of 22 credits each. These option courses are mainly focused on subjects which cut across the boundaries between the plant and animal and the terrestrial and aquatic worlds. The structure of the programme enables students to diversify and individualize their studies with 18 credits for optional activities. The dissertation begins in the second semester of the first year and is defended at the end of the first semester of the second year: this is convenient for doing field research during the spring and summer. The placement (25 credits) in the second semester of the second year widens experience of scientific research for those doing the research focus and introduces students doing the professional focus to a professional environment. All students must return for the last five credits in advanced training; there is also a debriefing and an opportunity to exchange experiences with the other students.

Aims and objectives

UNamur (Université de Namur) and UCL (Université catholique de Louvain at Louvain-la-Neuve) organize a joint programme, at both sites, for the Master (120 credits) in Biology of Organisms and Ecology, described below.
The aim is to train scientists who can analyse, understand and react when faced with questions or problems relating to the environment and biodiversity, both in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and to the functioning of organisms function in these ecosystems. This involves advanced training, field observation, experimental research both inside and outside the laboratory, and requires the modern methods used by biologists. The Master in Biology of Organisms and Environment (BOE) comprises four option courses : biodiversity, management of ecosystems, interactions between organisms and the environment and biology of plant organisms.

The research focus prepares students to become researchers.Specialized courses deal with issues that are at the edge of human knowledge. There is emphasis on experimentation and academic communication, both written and oral. The programme includes a placement or training in a laboratory outside UCL, preferably abroad.

Assessment

The evaluation methods comply with the regulations concerning studies and exams. More detailed explanation of the modalities specific to each learning unit are available on their description sheets under the heading “Learning outcomes evaluation method”.

Students will mainly be assessed on the basis of individual work (e.g. reading, consultation of databases and bibliographic references, writing monographs and reports, presentation of seminars, dissertation and work placement). Where necessary, students will also be assessed on how much they have learned from lectures. As far as possible, there will be continuous assessment, including regular ‘open book examinations’. Certain activities will not be given a precise mark but will be officially certified. Assessment of the dissertation is in two stages : a ‘progress report’ at the end of the first year of the Master and the final presentation.