Master of Science in Tropical Medicine

The MTM is composed of three parts and is conceived as a programme with ample opportunities regarding study flexibility: students can spread their studies over several years (with a maximum of 5 years in a part-time track) and alternate study with work. Studying full-time (1 academic year) is however also possible.

The parts are:

• A core course: Research Approaches in International Health and Challenges in International Health (20 ECTS).
• Advanced course components: Tropical Biomedical Sciences (10 ECTS) or Tropical Medicine and Clinical Decision Making (10 ECTS). The other course components are electives and should together total at least 15 credits.
• The thesis project (15 ECTS): Thesis Master of Science in Tropical Medicine

Some possible advanced short courses (with a total of 15 credits or above):

• Clinical Decision-Making for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (5 ECTS)
• Data for Action (5 ECTS)
• Hospital-based Interventions to Contain Antibiotic Resistance in Low-resource Settings (5 ECTS)
• Molecular Data for Infectious Diseases (5 ECTS) 
• Multivariable Analysis (5 ECTS)
• Non-communicable Diseases (5 ECTS)
• Outbreak Investigations and Research (5 ECTS)
• Pharmaceutical policies in health systems (5 ECTS)
• Qualitative and Mixed Methods in International Health Research (6 ECTS)
• Sexual & Reproductive Health (5 ECTS)
• Short Course in Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine + Fundamentals of clinical studies: GCP & beyond (9 + 1 ECTS)
• Sustainable Approaches to Infectious Disease Control and Elimination (5 ECTS)

The structure of the MTM thus allows students to propose a coherent tailor-made study plan.

This provisional study plan is part of an application file. At application students choose:

• between a full-time or part-time study track
• and a provisional thesis topic.

Students who choose the part-time track can also include course components from the broader course offer at ITM (see the Master in Public Health and the Master in Global One Health) and/or can opt for credit mobility and follow course components (modules) at other higher education institutions, via:

• Accredited courses offered in the international tropEd network (http://www.troped.org/)
• Relevant NVAO-accredited courses organised by Flemish/Dutch universities.

The MTM uses established methods for adult learning emphasizing a participatory approach to learning. Teaching consists of interactive lectures, small group sessions followed by plenary presentations and discussion, coached individual or group work, lab sessions and presentations related to assignments. In addition, personal work is required for preparatory and additional reading and for the personal assignments.

Overall, a good balance in methods is obtained within the programme. For a more detailed description of specific teaching and learning methods we refer to the descriptions of the different course components (see under Programme Structure).

The process of thesis writing

Thesis writing is an iterative process that requires exercise, coaching and feedback. Several steps are important during the process. Below a timeline is provided, as a guiding principle for students willing to study in one year:

• When applying for the MTM, students need to submit a proposal for thesis topic, preferably related to the expertise of ITM. The student has to motivate his/her choice for the topic
• September - March (including 2 weeks dedicated to seminar presentation): development of the research proposal and preparation of poster presentation during the seminar
• April - June: data-analysis, drafting the results section, develop a plan for the discussion
• July: thesis defence