Welcome to your Programme

Welcome to the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) of the University of Groningen (UG)! We are looking forward to meeting you soon. In the meantime, we would like to inform you about the most important issues regarding the start of your BSc degree programme in Pharmacy.

Kick-off Activities

To help you make a great start here at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Groningen and specifically in your programme, we have organized a number of activities around the start of your programme. We strongly encourage you to attend these.

• All newly arriving international students are invited to attend the Welcoming Ceremony of our university on Thursday, 29 August. Visit the above-mentioned website for up-to-date information.
• The FSE organizes introduction events for all first-year Bachelor’s degree students. During these Kick-off Activities, you will be introduced to the faculty, the degree programme, the study association, and most of all, to your fellow students. Please check the schedule and the Kick-off Activities of your degree programme for the details of your kick-off events and additional introductory activities.

Introduction camp

Another great way to get to know your fellow students as soon as possible, is the Introduction camp, organized by the study association of your degree programme. Details and instructions to sign up are provided on the page of the Kick-off activities of your degree programme.

Start of the programme

Your bachelor degree programme will officially start on 2 September, 2024. You can find all locations of our Faculty online. Timetables will be published online as well, usually from 15 July onwards. The programme-specific introduction and other informative sessions throughout the year can be found under the course 'pifa' (programme information Farmacie). To view your complete schedule, select 'program' and choose 'BSc Pharmacy 1st yr'. You will enroll for courses during the first lecture week, with the help of your mentor.

Study books and lab coat

It is possible to order your study books and lab equipment via the study association. More information can be found on the page Books and other materials.

Laptop

We expect you to bring your own laptop. Requirements can be found on the page Hardware and Software.

Preparation for the first course units

The bachelor programme Pharmacy starts with course units on molecular biology of the cell and later physiology and pathology. These course units require prior knowledge in biology and chemistry from pre-university education. When you did not have pre-university education in biology, it is highly recommended to prepare yourself before the start of the academic year.

Book: “Samengevat VWO Biologie” ISBN 9789006078763
To be well prepared the following topics from pre-university education in biology should be studied: protein synthesis, metabolism of the cell, metabolism of the organism, self-organisation of the cell, molecular interactions, cellular interactions, DNA-replication, lifecycle of the cell and reproduction of the organism.

Website: http://www.bozemanscience.com/biology-main-page
This website contains movies that could be studied for students lacking pre-knowlegde but also to refresh your knowledge in biology. For molecular biology of the cell the units 2, 3 and 4 are the most relevant ones. Later during the academic year for physiology and pathology unit 11 is relevant.

Some tips from a former first-year student without pre-university Biology:

• Start in time
• Buy the Samengevat book or take the online course and review relevant chapters in preparation of a lecture
• Buy the Molecular Biology of the Cell by Alberts (ISBN 9780815344643) and read the first 4 chapters
• Don’t give up!

Accommodation

Finding somewhere to live can be daunting, especially if you are moving to the Netherlands for the first time. Around 20,000 students will all be looking for a room at the same time in Groningen so start your search as soon as possible. It is your own responsibility to find somewhere to live. The University of Groningen does NOT provide accommodation for students. We advise that you start looking for accommodation as early as possible since it will be very difficult to secure somewhere to stay if you wait too long. Tips on looking for accommodation can be found on the University website.

We wish you a pleasant summer, and hope to welcome you in August/September!

Best regards,

Petra Huisman, secretary
Stella Banis, programme coordinator
Katja Taxis, programme director
Ingrid Ubels / Leonie Tiben, student affairs
Renske Vonk, academic advisor
Mirjan van Timmeren, academic advisor