This minor in ‘Medical biology - Neuro orientation’ gives you an introduction to various topics in medical biology and especially to two or three topics in neurobiology. More information on a specific course mentioned above, can be found in the online course guide. If you scroll down you can find an active course guide link in the section "Learning Goals/Leerdoelen".

If you study a relevant bachelor's programme (see Requirements/Ingangseisen) this minor can replace the mandatory Pre-Master's. That means that with this minor of 30 ECTS, you will be directly admitted to the relevant Master’s specialisation in Medical Biology at Radboud University after having finished your Applied Sciences diploma.

Note that our Master's programme has 3 different specialisations. You need to choose your minor in a good way so that it connects to the Master's specialisation of your choice. In case of doubt contact us.

You will follow three courses per period: one course on Monday/Tuesday, one course on Wednesday and one course on Thursday/Friday. In the schedule below, you can choose a course of your own preference on Wednesday in period 1 and 2 and also on Thursday/Friday in period 1.

PERIOD 1

Monday/Tuesday

• Neural Basis of Motor Control (NWI-BB080C)

Wednesday

• Introduction to R Programming (NWI-BB095)
On campus course

or

• Biology and Society (NWI-BB011B)

Thursday/Friday

• Essentials of Organic Chemistry (NWI-MOL101)

or

• Medical Biotechnology (via application letter, deadline July 31) (NWI-MOL104)

PERIOD 2

Monday/Tuesday

• Neurodevelopment (NWI-BB039C)

Wednesday

• Introduction to R Programming (NWI-BB095)
Self study course

or

• History of Biology (NWI-BB028B)

Thursday/Friday

• Molecular Principles of Development (NWI-BB084B)

Neural Basis of Motor Control: In this course you will learn how the brain generates movements and controls different behaviors. The topics range from muscle actuation to the neural encoding of movement in the brain. You will also learn about the basis of several motor diseases and brain-machine interfaces to let patients control a prosthesis.

Introduction to R Programming: This course provides a gentle and stepwise introduction to the world of R programming. After completion of this course, you will master the basics of programming in R. In particular, you can

1. Create, load and manipulate data
2. Perform exploratory data analysis
3. Visualize your data in attractive graphs
4. Create efficient code by applying functions to series of objects
5. Find help and resources to take your coding skills to a next level.

Biology and Society: In this course the societal role of biology will be addresses: biology plays a role in society and this can cause conflicts, tension and ethical issues.

Essentials of Organic Chemistry: In this course you will learn about the essentials of organic chemistry. You will be taught how organic molecules are built up out of atoms by describing their electronic structure and bonding interactions. This will be followed by a discussion of some basic reactions that molecules can undergo. Additionally, reactions that are commonly observed in biology will be highlighted.

Medical Biotechnology: Medical biotechnology is the application of living cells or cell material in the development or generation of products to prevent, diagnose or treat human disease. Through this course, you will obtain an overview of how interdisciplinary efforts help shaping modern healthcare by developing biotechnological diagnostics and therapeutics for precision medicine. You have to apply via a letter to the teacher (see course guide). There are limited positions.

Neurodevelopment: This course deals with the basic principles of neural development as exemplified by key experiments and observations from past and recent times. It covers all major topics along the way, including the patterning and growth of the nervous system, neuronal determination, axonal navigation and targeting, neuron survival and death, and synapse formation and plasticity.

History of Biology: It may sound like a dreadful cliché, but the aim of this course is to learn from the past. The course will not present you with an endless stream of historic facts or isolated funny anecdotes (although some of the history of biology can be quite entertaining). The stress will be on the interpretation of history: we will try to understand patterns and relations in the development of biology, rather than list who discovered what, where, and when.

Molecular Principles of Development: Cells can be induced to adopt a state of pluripotency, but can also transdifferentiate to other cell types. These discoveries are relevant for regenerative medicine and have spurred a renewed interest in the regulatory mechanisms of embryogenesis. This course links genes, gene products and pathways to the complex processes underlying developmental biology.

See the learning goals of each individual course in the Osiris course catalogue for more detailed information.

Third or fourth year of the Bachelor's of Applied Sciences Universities. In general all medical and molecular related sciences course programmes, such as BML and bioinformatics. Note that the neuro-courses in this programme programme require an understanding of human anatomy. You can read about these prerequisites in the online course descriptions.

See the literature (mandatory or optional) of each individual course in the Osiris course catalogue.

The courses of period 1 are scheduled from September 1 – October 31, 2025. The courses of period 2 are scheduled from November 3 – January 23, 2026.

As soon as you are fully enrolled at Radboud University you will be able to construct your Personal Schedule via the Student Portal by adding the course codes or course name to your Personal Schedule.

For every course there is a first exam and a resit opportunity in the same study year. The first exam is scheduled at the end of the period and the resit is scheduled in the last week of the next period.

See the information in the Osiris course catalogue for more details about exams / products of each individual course.

At the end of the minor when all courses are passed you can request your grade list at the coordinator of the minor programme. More information will be given during the introduction meeting and you will receive emails during the minor to update you on this.