Biology

This public information is part of VUB’s quality assurance system and was ratified by the Academic Council on 02/02/2026. This is a translation.

Sources: Peer Review 2025 & Strategic plan 2025-2028

Strengths of the programme

• The programmes have seen a significant increase in student enrolment and have even succeeded in becoming one of the market leaders among the Biology master's programmes in Flanders.
• The Programme Board offers a well-balanced and complementary palette of programmes that are grounded in the department’s research focus areas. The broad curriculum results in broadly educated students.
• The VUB Biology programmes have a strong tradition of excursions and fieldwork. In addition to extended international excursions focusing on large ecosystems, the programme ensures that students also acquire essential basic biological field knowledge and learn to identify local flora and fauna.
• The lecturers are highly approachable.
• There is a good alignment between lecturers: students notice that courses are generally well-aligned, overlap is avoided and lecturers often refer to each other’s courses. 

Opportunities

• Develop a future-oriented plan in which several scenarios are considered, ensuring that growing student numbers can continue to be accommodated without compromising quality.
• Think strategically about the graduation options and the degree of flexibility offered to students. Dare to make choices in this regard.
• Revisit the development of practical and professional skills in the curriculum as part of the future strategy for the programme.
• Sharpen the profile of the VUB Biology programme by incorporating the expertise areas of the new ZAP-members, emphasising the VUB as an urban engaged university and showcasing applications of evolutionary biology treated in the programme.
• Reconsider the organisation of the bachelor’s and the master’s thesis. If necessary, a priority for investment in the supervision of the master’s thesis could be justified.
• Keep organising moments of coordination and internal communication among lecturers. 

Current developments

• Future-proofing the programme. Through an integrated approach, the bachelor's and master's programmes will be jointly evaluated in order to identify all challenges and potential solutions. This exercise will include a benchmarking with other biology programmes both nationally and internationally, an evaluation of the practical and professional skills acquired, and a critical review of the graduation options offered in the master's programme.
• Revisit the organisation of the bachelor’s and the master’s thesis.
• Further elaborate the evaluation policy by providing an overview of major assignments and deadlines and by improving the feedback to students.
• Strengthen the governance and collaborative culture of the Biology Programme Board by establishing a structured and recurrent consultation framework that ensures effective communication, shared decision-making, and continuous monitoring of educational quality. .

Where do we get this information from?  

As institution we routinely ask our students to give their honest opinion about the study programme during their academic career. We also consult our professors and assistants and gauge the expectations in the future field of work. We receive structured feedback from our former students and compare our programmes with others at home and abroad. Through a Peer Review every six years an expert panel endorses the programme’s assets and can recommend some actions. Lastly, the Education Quality Council takes a formal decision about the quality and functioning of a programme.

Quality Cycle

Each programme follows a six-year quality cycle. The timeline below shows the schedule for this particular programme.