Ecotoxicology, Master Program

Roughly 70 new chemicals are described every hour, and modern society uses more than 100 000 of those for different purposes, for example as pesticides, pharmaceuticals or laundry agents. They are embedded in a broad range of products for industry and consumers. All of these chemicals are being potentially released into the environment at some stage of their life cycle.

Ecotoxicology is concerned with the environmental impact of these substances. It aims at characterizing, understanding and finally predicting the effects of toxic chemicals on plant and animal populations, ecological communities and whole ecosystems. As such, Ecotoxicology is the scientific basis for environmental frameworks such as for example the REACH regulation, the Water Framework Directive or the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Interdisciplinary Science

As an interdisciplinary science Ecotoxicology has strong connections to Biology, Ecology, Toxicology, Biochemistry, Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Statistics and Social sciences. Therefore the Ecotoxicology Programme is run as a collaboration between the Faculty of Humanities, the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology and the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

The programme first provides an overview of Ecotoxicology as a scientific discipline and then you will apply this knowledge in laboratory courses and finally in individual master projects. We will put equal emphasis on theory and practice. The aim is to obtain skills that are necessary for identifying ecotoxicological problems, recognizing essential knowledge gaps and developing appropriate problem-solving strategies.

Teaching methods

Besides providing an education in Ecotoxicology per se, the Master's Programme provides tools for self-study towards a set goal - in a team with supervisors and peers. It teaches on how you can communicate within a scientific and public context. Many of the courses use problem-based learning approaches in small groups and ample time will always be given for discussions, exchange of knowledge, and critical reviews.

Contents

The Master's Programme is structured in three main parts:

1. Introduction: Fundamentals of Ecotoxicology (ES2615) and Environmental Impact Assessment (ES2419)
2. Core courses: Chemical Risk Assessment (ES2413),  Physiological and Molecular Ecotoxicology (BIO435) and Ecotoxicology from an Ecological Perspective (BIO430)
3. Individual master work, 1 year (60 hec) as member in a research team or, alternatively, additional specialised courses at University of Gothenburg or another University plus a 45 hec or a half-year master work (30 hec).

Career

The programme is aimed at students with an interest in environmental sciences that have a basic competence in biology, chemistry or related fields. The programme leads to a Master of Science degree. Successful participants will have the necessary skills to work either with regulatory authorities, environmental consultants or in chemical industry. It also opens up the possibility to further pursue an international academic career in the field, for example as a PhD student.