Master of Science in Biology: EMJMD Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems

TROPIMUNDO is an EC-funded and excellence-labeled Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems. We bring together expert Higher Education Institutes (HEI), with long-standing worldwide expertise in tropical rainforests and woodlands and in tropical coastal ecosystems. TROPIMUNDO students are able to concentrate on botany, zoology and integrative ecosystem approaches in institutions worldwide in 2 Master years, of which an entire semester is spent in the tropics.

Specialisation is possible on the evolution of tropical flora and vegetation, on faunistic assemblages, on informatics tools to treat and manage biodiversity data and databases (biogeographical, genetical, geographical information systems) including the management and conservation of historic collections such as herbarium sheets, on the study of diversity, dynamics and evolution of tropical and subtropical ecosystems (with a focus on four related systems, namely tropical rainforests and woodlands, mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs, including the interactions between flora, fauna, man and the environment within and between each of these adjacent ecosystems), on conservation and restoration ecology of natural habitats and their biodiversity including competences in sustainable management and governance of biodiversity, and finally, on tropical ethnobotany, exploitation and valorisation of natural resources and conservation of traditional ecological knowledge.

For more detalied information and to apply, go to the TROPIMUNDO website.

Each Trajectory is divided in 4 semesters. Students start their program at the European university of their choice in Semester 1 (S1). The courses in S1 are divided into basic and specialised courses leading to equivalent competences in all three European study poles. During the second period (S2) in situ field experience and courses will take place in one of the universities in the tropics. During S3 specialisation will be sought at a European university different from that where the respective student started. During S3 the courses between the three study poles are very different. Finally, in S4 the student returns to where she or he started from for thesis research.

Participating institutions

EU:

• Université Libre de Bruxelles - ULB (Belgium)
• Vrije Universiteit Brussel - VUB (Belgium)
• Sorbonne Université - SU (France)
• Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle - MNHN (France)
• Università degli Studi di Firenze - UNIFI (Italy)

Non- EU:

• Universtié de Guyane - UdG (Guyane)
• Université des Antilles - UdA (Guadeloupe)
• Université d'Antananarivo - UNIVANTA (Madagascar)
• Université de Dschang - UDsch (Cameroon)
• University of Hong Kong - HKU
• Universiti Malaysia Terengganu - UMT (Malaysia)
• The University of Queensland - UQ (Australia)

For more detailed information, take a look at the TROPIMUNDO website.