Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research is a public university in Wageningen, in the central Netherlands, focused on agriculture, food, the environment, and the life sciences. It began in 1918 as a national agricultural college (Landbouwhogeschool) and later combined the university with applied research institutes under the WUR name. It is a specialist life-sciences institution rather than a comprehensive university.

Teaching is organized through departments in plant sciences, animal sciences, environmental sciences, agrotechnology and food sciences, and social sciences. Graduate students work in university chair groups and in affiliated institutes on food, livestock, marine, and environmental topics. Shared laboratories, experimental farms, and greenhouses occupy the campus on the north side of town.

The university enrolls about 13,000 students. International students are a large share of the total, especially in English-taught master's programs that draw from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Faculty and research staff number in the thousands across the university and institutes. Alumni work in agronomy, food companies, environmental agencies, and international agricultural organizations.

Graduate study is known for two-year MSc programs and the PhD, pursued in graduate schools under a promotor. Master's programs mix coursework, internships, and a thesis; doctorates are research appointments. The year follows the Dutch academic calendar. Many PhD candidates are employed by the university. Wageningen is a small town on the Rhine, and graduate life is concentrated on campus and in the town center.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, Wageningen University & Research lists 17 graduate programs across 8 subjects: 15 master's programs and 2 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in biology, environment, climate & sustainability and agriculture, food & forestry. Wageningen University & Research holds rank 149 in the GSN Overall University Ranking.