Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences

Master of Biomedical Sciences

The Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences offers an English-language research-oriented Master of Biomedical Sciences. You have a choice out of two specialisations: Infectious and Tropical Diseases and Neurosciences. The programmes' research fields are among the key research areas in which the University of Antwerp has built up a sterling reputation.

Detailed information on the study programmes you find on the programmes' web pages.

Do you still have a question that isn't answered? You might find the information you need in the answers to the FAQ below. Please read this information carefully before contacting us!

What are the admission requirements?

If your degree was NOT issued by a recognised educational institution in Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg, OR if you need a visa to study in Belgium, you have to follow the central admission procedure and have to provide evidence of your proficiency in English by submitting an application file via Mobility Online.

You can find detailed information about the admission procedure on the general webpages of University of Antwerp.

If your degree was issued by a recognised educational institution in Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg and you obtained one of the following degrees, you can enroll for the Master of Biomedical Sciences:

Direct access

Bachelor of Science (academic degree, minimum 180 ECTS) in:

  • Biomedical Sciences

With preparatory programme (courses only in Dutch)

Bachelor of Science (academic degree, minimum 180 ECTS) in:

  • Biochemistry
  • Biotechnology
  • Bio-engineering (Belgian degree)
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Biology
  • Medicine
  • Veterinary Medicine

(if diploma awarded in Flanders or The Netherlands)

If your degree was issued by a recognised educational institution in Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg but you did NOT obtain one of the above-mentioned degrees OR you did obtain one of the above-mentioned degrees but you do not speak Dutch, you need the approval from the faculty to enroll by submitting a request in the Helpdesk for International Students.

What prior knowledge is required exactly?

The following prior knowledge is recommended for students taking part in the English-language specialisations of the Master in Biomedical Sciences so that they may have a chance of completing the programme successfully.

General
Good basic knowledge of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology is required.
 
Infectious and Tropical Diseases
Basic knowledge of Microbiology, Immunology and Epidemiology is required.
 
Neurosciences
Basic knowledge of Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology is required.
Basic knowledge of physics is an advantage.

What are the language requirements?

If your degree was not issued by a recognised educational institution in Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg you will also have to provide evidence of your level of English.
 
You can do this in two ways:

  1. by proving that you took classes in English for at least one academic year (60 ECTS) during your Bachelor or Master degree. The selection committee may require additional proof of your command of English.
  2. by submitting your results on a ITACE or TOEFL or IELTS language test, with the following minimum scores
    • paper-based TOEFL: minimum 550
    • internet-based TOEFL: minimum 87
    • IELTS: minimum total score of 6.5 and minimum score of 6.0 for each individual component
    • Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR):  minimum B2.

Results obtained on other language tests will not be accepted.

General information on the language requirements at University of Antwerp you can find on the general webpages.

How much are the tuition fees?

How can I submit an application for admission?

If your degree was NOT issued by a recognised educational institution in Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg, you will have to submit an application file at the Central Student Administration of the University of Antwerp via the online application platform Mobility Online. You can find detailed information on the admission procedure on the general webpages of University of Antwerp.
 
Application deadlines:

  • if you also want to apply for the Master Mind scholarship (regardless of your nationality): 1 February
  • if your nationality does not belong to one of the European Economic Area member states(*): 1 March
  • your nationality belongs to one of the European Economic Area member states (*): 31 May

(*) European Union + Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein

If your degree was issued by a recognised educational institution in Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg but you did NOT obtain one of the required degrees, you need the approval from the faculty to enroll by submitting a request in the Helpdesk for International Students (no application deadline applicable).

What is the procedure at Faculty level?

First you will need to submit a number of documents in the application platform of the University of Antwerp (Mobility Online) and have to fill out an online survey on your competences, then your application will be assessed by the Faculty.

In oder to evaluate your basic knowledge of  biomedical topics, all applicants have to take a MCQ selection test. If you pass the test you will be admitted to the next step of the admission procedure. In some cases you might be invited for an additional (Teams) interview by the Board of Admission. In preparation of this interview, you will receive a review article. During the interview a.o. questions will be asked related to the scientific article. Also your language and communication and motivation will be assessed.

Based on your documents and data in Mobility Online, the selection test and the possible interview, the Faculty will give a positive or negative recommendation on your admission.

In case of a positive recommendation, you will be invited to send legalized hard copies of some documents to the Central Student Administration. If those are in order, you will receive an admission letter.

The full admission procedure could take two to three months time and consists of the following steps:

  1. Create an account in Mobility Online (candidate)
  2. Submit your documents in Mobility Online (candidate)
  3. Complete the online survey on competences of the faculty (candidate)
  4. Administrative check of your documents in Mobility Online (Faculty)
  5. Take the online remote proctored selection test (candidate)
  6. Possibly: (Teams) interview with review article (candidate and Faculty)
  7. Positive or negative recommendation on your admission request (Faculty)
  8. Submit legalized hard copies (candidate)
  9. Control of your legalized hard copies (Central Student Administration)
  10. Final approval or rejection of your admission request (Central Student Administration)

Full information about the central application process, the documents you need to submit and the link to the application platform Mobility Online you find on the central web pages.

All communication about the application procedure shall take place via Mobility Online and the Helpdesk for International Students.

Can I get a scholarship?

No. The University of Antwerp does not grant scholarships.

However, the university does participate in several international scholarship programmes. Check the information on these programmes on the general webpages of University of Antwerp.

Can I get a fee reduction?

Students with good study results from third countries are eligible for reduced tuition fees under certain conditions:

  • You were admitted to the programme.
  • You have a high standard of academic performance which you proved during the selection interview (if applicable) and which can be confirmed by two letters of reference of your former university professors.
  • You need financial support to participate to the programme and you can well motivate your application for a fee reduction.
  • You did not obtain a Master’s or Advanced Master’s degree outside your own continent at the start of the programme (applicants who want to obtain a second Master’s degree outside their continent can not obtain a fee reduction).
  • You did not obtain another grant orscholarship to study or live abroad.

Once you are admitted to the programme, you recieve more information about the application procedure for the tuition fee reduction.

General information on the tuition fees and tuition fee reduction you find on the University's web pages.

Who can I contact if I have a question?

Do you have any questions about the application procedure, your submitted application file or the legalisation of your hard copies? Then contact the Helpdesk for International Students.