International Master of Science in Marine Biological Resources

The International Master in Marine Biological Resources (IMBRSea), is a joint Master's programme organised by leading European universities in the field of marine sciences. It is supported by the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC). IMBRSea covers a wide, yet consistent, range of subjects within the marine sciences and biological resources. With an emphasis on marine biological and ecological processes, the programme links biology of marine organisms and environmental studies with application in marine conservation, management, policy and planning. The programme prepares students for the rapidly evolving demands of the blue bio-economy and research on the sustainable use of marine biological resources.

The IMBRSea curriculum is packed with activities. In the first term, students go to one of six universities where they take the Fundamental Module (each university offers similar common basic course units). This first term is offered by Ghent University (BE), the University of Algarve (PT), the University of Oviedo (ES), the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (IE), the Polytechnic University of Marche (IT) and the University of Western Brittany (FR).

In the second term, students take Thematic Modules and Professional Practices. They choose their course units and compete for various positions offered by our partners for the Professional Practice.
There is also a Summer School (end of July – August) where students have a full research experience at the Tjärnö Marine Station in Sweden.

In the third term students get the chance to follow Specialisation Tracks at different universities. Those are tailored to the current job opportunities for marine scientists in Europe. They also have an online course unit preparing them for their Master's dissertation.

In the fourth and last term, students pursue their own research for their Master's dissertation. They can conduct this research anywhere in the world. At the end of each academic year in June, first- and second-year students attend a symposium to present their Professional Practice and Master's dissertation. It is an interesting opportunity to meet and interact with all IMBRSea students and staff. Each year the symposium takes place at a different partner university.

Student Mobility

Our students live and study in at least two European cities and receive a Joint degree signed by the eleven European universities of the IMBRSea Consortium. The modules are offered at different universities and each term students will have the opportunity to study at a different university. Moreover, students will perform their Professional Practice at one of our partner institutions and undertake their thesis work at one of the IMBRSea partners or members of the consortium or at any other research institute, located all over the world. The amount of different mobility options is one of the great advantages of IMBRSea, allowing students to experience many different realities and meeting people from different institutes, forming a strong network and creating a more global-minded work force.

The EU-Marine Strategy provides an integrated framework for analysing relevant community policies’ contributions to the protection of, and the impact on the marine environment. This EU-Strategy is the basis for the national European authorities and policies on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also informs the global debate regarding policies for Nature protection and Conservation in general. IMBRSea graduates are well-trained to operate immediately within these policy environments. Most of them will use this Master’s degree as a stepping stone to PhD research. Masters and post-docs specialised in marine biological resources can help in the implementation of the strategies for future sustainable use of the natural marine resources, taking into account the natural ecological background of the ecosystems. The added value for IMBRSea graduates is that they can operate on a global scale since there is no restriction in the programme regarding types of biotopes (going from the coast to the deep sea and from poles to poles). Jobs in the academic, governmental, non-governmental, environmental, aquaculture and many more sectors will benefit from Marine Scientists with an IMBRSea diploma.