UH 066 448 Master programme Applied Limnology

"Water is life" - mankind is depending on ecological services provided by wetlands, rivers, groundwater aquifers and lakes, which are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. National and international efforts, such as European Directives strive to tackle the challenges "protection and recovery of endangered habitats & species" and to bring all water bodies to a "good ecological status".

The Master's programme provides interdisciplinary expertise and professional skills for determining the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems, the assessment of human impacts, the conservation of endangered species and habitats, the development of appropriate restoration measures and the validation of management actions. Study Applied Limnology at BOKU in international class-rooms with students of more than 10 countries from 4 continents. Enjoy the opportunity to spice-up the study programme with modules/courses offered by international network partner institutes, such as Egerton University (Kenya) and a large number of partner universities within and outside Europe.

Admission requirements

The following learning outcome is required for admission of Bachelor degree program graduates:

• Students need to be familiar with scientific basics and skills;
• be able to identify and systematically categorize essential groups of plants and animals, as well as describe their anatomical and physiological characteristics, and to understand similarities and differences;
• comprehend significant interrelations between organisms and their environment on the level of autecology, synecology and population ecology, as well as evaluate their basic roles for the functioning of ecosystems;
• be familiar with the basics of inorganic and organic chemistry, as well as understand essential physiological and biochemical processes;
• be familiar with the general principles of physics and comprehend essential environmental processes (e.g. climate, water cycle);
• master mathematics and the basics of statistics, perform explorative and descriptive data analyses, calculate and interpret simple ecological models;
• hold basic knowledege of geology and soil sciences, recognize and describe types of rocks and soils, as well as understand essential processes of rock and soil formation and its implications for the shaping of the environment, and be familiar with the theoretical basics of geographic information systems and apply GIS software to simple scientific questions.

Career prospects

Graduates of the programme make substantial contributions in the following sectors: research and higher education; environmental management companies; GO's & NGO's; international organisations such as the European Commission, UNESCO, FAO & International River/Lake Commis­sions; development cooperation agencies; national and international environmental associations; and consultancy.