Management Specialisation
The Management specialisation is offered by Leiden University Medical Center in collaboration with the Faculty of Science. This specialisation encompasses the compulsory components of the master’s programme (at least 60 EC) combined with courses from the Business programme at the Faculty of Science and a management internship. It broadens the student’s perspective predominantly in the field of management (e.g. marketing, finance, project management). The specialisation prepares students for a career outside scientific research, but graduates will also be equipped to pursue a career within scientific biomedical research. The entire programme is taught in English.
Mandatory business courses are: Strategy and Technology, Marketing Science, Strategic Financial Management and Operations Management (15 EC in total). These courses can be combined with elective business courses. Students with prior education in management, business and/or entrepreneurship (e.g. students who have completed the Science Based Business (SBB)/Business Studies Fundamentals course – Bachelor edition) are exempted from following these 4 courses. In this case the mandatory courses need to be substituted by at least an equal number of EC of other SBB/Business studies master courses, or business courses elsewhere. For detailed description of the course modules/components of Business studies, please refer to the website of Business studies directly .
The management internship (26-42 EC) will be executed at an organization/company with a link to the biomedical field. Approval of this internship should be given beforehand by the examination board of the master Biomedical Sciences. Prior to the internship an internship proposal (3 EC) is written.
Please check the list below for a detailed description of the components involved in the Management specialisation.
Communication Specialisation
The Communication specialisation is offered by Leiden University Medical Centre in collaboration with the Faculty of Science. This specialisation encompasses the compulsory components of the master’s programme (at least 60 EC) combined with courses from the Science, Communication and Society (SCS) programme at the Faculty of Science and a communication internship. It broadens the student’s perspective predominantly in the field of communication (e.g. writing for a newspaper, website or science magazine or working for a museum). The specialisation prepares students for a career outside scientific research, but graduates will also be equipped to pursue a career within scientific biomedical research. The entire programme is taught in English. For Dutch students it is also possible to follow writing classes in Dutch and to do an internship in an environment where Dutch is the only or preferred language.
Mandatory SCS courses are: Informal Science Education, Policy & Development in science and Society, Research in science communication, Science Journalism (ENG) / Wetenschapsjournalistiek (NL), Science Communication product development and SCS Scientific Narration and Visualization (23 EC in total). For detailed description of the SCS courses, please refer to the website of SCS directly .
A communication internship (23- 34 EC) will be executed at an organization/company/museum with a link to the biomedical field. The internship should contain a research project related to communication of at least 10 EC. A communication research internship can also be performed separately from a more practical communication internship. A proposal is written prior to the start of the communication research internship. Approval of the internship(s) should be given beforehand by the examination board. Please check the list below for a detailed description of the components involved in the Communication specialisation.
Career Preparation
Career preparation at Leiden University
In addition to offering you a solid university education, Leiden University aims to prepare you as well as possible for the labour market, and in doing so contribute to the development of your employability. In this way, it will become easier for you to make the transition to the labour market, to remain employable in a dynamic labour market, in a (career) job that suits your own personal values, preferences and development.
'Employability' consists of the following aspects that you will develop, obtain, and work on during your master:
Discipline-specific knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills specific to your study programme.
Transferable skills
These are skills that are relevant to every student and that you can use in all kinds of jobs irrespective of your study programme, for example: researching, analysing, project-based working, generating solutions, digital skills, collaborating, oral communication, written communication, presenting, societal awareness, independent learning, resilience.
Self-reflection
This concerns self-reflection in the context of your (study) career, including reflecting on the choices you make as a student during your studies, what can you do with your knowledge and skills on the labour market?
In addition, reflecting on your own profile and your personal and professional development. Who are you, what can you do well, what do you find interesting, what suits you, what do you find important, what do you want to do?
Practical experience
Gaining practical experience through internships, work placements, projects, practical (social) assignments, which are integrated into an elective, minor or graduation assignment.
Labour market orientation
Gaining insight into the labour market, fields of work, jobs and career paths through, for example, guest speakers and alumni experiences from the work field, career events within the study programme, the use of the alumni mentor network, interviewing people from the work field, and shadowing/visiting companies in the context of a particular subject.
Employability in the curriculum of Biomedical Sciences
General
The programme of the master Biomedical Sciences (BMS) contains the mandatory course Career Orientation of 2 EC. The assignments and activities within Career Orientation are designed to stimulate you to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses as well as discover your career options and choices, and are spread out through your whole master programme. You will get to know the broad job market for Biomedical Scientists by meeting researchers, alumni and employers during the various activities within this course. You will practice how to present your professional profile to your network. Entering the job market should feel like a logical follow-up of your activities in the master and this course offers the opportunity to find out what you can and want to do with your master’s degree Biomedical Sciences.
Activities within Career Orientation
In the Brightspace module Career orientation, instructions are provided for all assignments.
First year
Reflection assignment 1: You are here!
Professional Development Plan Junior Research Project (JRP)-1 (part I and II)
Reflection assignment 2: Choosing your direction
Second year
Throughout the master
Activities to prepare for the labour market outside the curriculum of Biomedical Sciences
Every year, various activities take place, within, alongside and outside of your study programme, which contribute to your preparation for the labour market, especially where it concerns orientation towards the work field/the labour market, (career) skills and self-reflection. These may be information meetings on decision moments within your programme, but also career workshops and events organised by the BMS programme, the faculty Career Service, your study association MFLS or other organizations, including:
Leiden University Study abroad festival
Annual Leiden University Diversity Symposium
Conferences, e.g. FIGON Dutch Medicine Days
Career Service, LU Career Zone and career workshops calendar
Faculty Career Service
The Career Service of your faculty offers information and advice on study (re)orientation and master's choice, (study) career planning, orientation on the labour market and job applications.
Leiden University Career Zone
Leiden University Career Zone is the website for students and alumni of Leiden University to support their (study) career. You can find advice, information, (career) tests and tools in the area of (study) career planning, career possibilities with your study, job market orientation, job applications, the Alumni Mentor network, job portal, workshops and events and career services.
Workshops and events
On the course calendar you will find an overview of career and application workshops, organised by the Career services.
