MSc in Biology-Biotechnology
Where biology teaches us to understand nature, biotechnology gives us the chance to use it.
With an MSc degree in Biology-Biotechnology, you have the insight and the tools to revolutionise the work within health and diseases in humans, animals and plants.
You are, for example, able to innovatively use biology and biotechnology to develop commercial products such as drugs. Or you can study how stem cells can be used to prevent diabetes, or how plants and microorganisms can be used to produce cancer drugs.
Read an interview with the student Jakub Zbigniew Kaczmarek.
Content:
Admission requirements
Profile
Career opportunities
Structure
Teaching
Student life
Application
Contact
To get admitted to the MSc programme, you must have a degree from a relevant BSc programme.
The BSc programme in Biology-Biotechnology gives direct access to the MSc programme in Biology-Biotechnology.
In addition, the following BSc programmes may give access:
• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Another BSc degree in natural science corresponding to the same level as a BSc in Biology-Biotechnology
Read more about the specific admission requirements here.
On the MSc programme in Biology-Biotechnology, you learn how to identify and solve problems in relation to biological production.
Biotechnology is an international research area, which means that graduates from the programme are equipped to work in biotech companies and research laboratories around the world.
With an MSc degree in Biology-Biotechnology, you are, among other things, able to:
• Use living organisms such as plants and animals to produce non-allergenic foods or biomedicine as an alternative to chemically produced medicine.
• Make organisms more resistant to the future environment and climate.
• Switch on and off genes which increase the utilisation value of plants or animals for food, energy etc.
• Develop biomedicine, bioactive components and solutions which benefit health.
• Map biological processes in living cells through changing the organism’s genes.
• Discuss ethical issues relating to the latest developments within the natural sciences.
The programme provides good opportunities for study stays abroad.
With an MSc degree in Biology-Biotechnology, your knowledge, communication skills and your experimental competences ensure that you have good career opportunities within many areas both in Denmark and abroad:
• You can work within research and development in both public and private companies such as Novo Nordisk, Chr. Hansen and Novozymes.
• You can work in companies producing foods, enzymes, drugs, textiles, new energy resources or environmentally beneficial processes.
• You can also work with management, risk analysis, teaching and communication in either public or private companies.
• And there are good opportunities for continuing your research at the Faculty of Life Sciences as the faculty’s biotechnological research is at a high, internationally recognised level, particularly in the molecular field within foods, plants and animals.
Read interviews with:
Anne-Mette Severinsen, consultant with NNE Pharmaplan.
Lene Nørby Nielsen, PhD student.
Structure
In addition to a compulsory course on biotechnological innovation, the programme consists of a wide selection of elective courses, which makes it possible for you to compose a profile matching your personal interests.
During the introductory compulsory course, you work with all phases of biotechnological product development, from initial idea to finished product.
Subsequently, you can, for example, choose to specialise within:
· Specific organisms (animals, plants or microbes).
· Methods such as bioinformatics, nanobiotechnology or bioprocess technology.
· A specific subject area such as, for example, pharmacology, toxicology, enzymology, genetics or cell biology.
No matter what you choose as your area of specialisation, you will get an education which develops your analytical skills and, via solid experience with laboratory work in cutting-edge research facilities, enables you to find innovative solutions to specific problems in collaboration with the industry.
The structure of the programme is as follows:
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Year 1 |
Block 1 |
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| Block 2 |
|
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| Block 3 |
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| Block 4 |
Advanced Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Rights |
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Year 2 |
Block 1 |
Thesis (60 point) |
| Block 2 |
| Block 3 |
| Block 4 |
En blok er normeret til 15 point, 9 uger.
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The dark fields are the compulsory course and the thesis |
| |
The medium-coloured fields are courses selected from a list of core courses |
| |
The light fields are elective courses |
The programme equals 120 ECTS and consists of the following:
- Thesis, 60 ECTS
- Core courses, 30 ECTS
- Elective courses, 30 ECTS
The structure of year 1 may vary. See the various courses in the curriculum for the MSc in Biology-Biotechnology.
Thesis
The programme is concluded with a thesis where, over a one-year period, you have the chance to work in depth with a biotechnological issue that you are enthusiastic about. It is a good if you have an idea for a subject that can be the focus of your thesis early on. Then, in collaboration with your supervisor, you can select the elective courses that will match the academic profile you are developing.
You have the opportunity to work both in laboratories and with data analysis, and your thesis may relate to your supervisor’s research or can be prepared in collaboration with other research institutions or relevant companies.
Recently completed projects have, for example, been done in collaboration with Novo Nordisk, Chr. Hansen and Oxford University. These projects have studied the significance of genes for diabetes or obesity as well as the use of plants and microorganisms for the production of drugs and other therapeutic products.
Other examples of thesis subjects:
- Bacteria that produce vanilla
- Frost-resistant tomatoes – genetic engineering of enzymes from arctic fish
- Genes in grass – producing grass specially for golf courses
- Cell recognition and drugs for specific cells
- Non-slurry smelling pigs with biotechnology
Instruction is in the form of lectures, seminars, practical and theoretical exercises, and there will be a good deal of project work. You will be working both independently and in project groups.
There is a well-established collaboration between the students and the business community that ensures excellent prospects for internships or project collaborations, providing you with a unique experience and a good network.
In order to prepare you for the international labour market, the programme is taught in English. This means that lectures are in English, as are your reports.
You will also be in contact with the real world as you will be working with the challenges that are also important outside the University’s walls.
Student life at LIFE is absolutely unique – both with regard to the physical and the academic environment. The Gardens, which are part of the Frederiksberg Campus, are popular among both students and locals. In the summer months, you can drop by Café Væksthuset located in an old greenhouse for a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a delicious sandwich.
As a student, you can join student clubs and societies of a more or less academic nature. Regardless of whether you are interested in choral singing, sports, the theatre or a special academic subject, there is a club for you.
The faculty has a large number of international students who contribute to the dynamic and exciting student life. You will also have plenty of opportunity to travel abroad in connection with your studies.
Would you like to hear from a student what it is like to study on the MSc programme in Biology-Biotechnology at LIFE? Then you can read an interview with the student Jakub Zbigniew Kaczmarek.
Applicants with a BSc degree from Denmark must apply before 1 April to start the programme the following September.
Applicants from Scandinavia, the EU and Lichtenstein must apply before 1 April to start the programme the following September.
Applicants from countries outside Scandinavia and the EU must apply by 1 January to start the programme the following September.
Tuition Fees
Read more about application processes, tuition fees and scholarships.
You are always welcome to contact the faculty’s student counselling service, LIFE Student Services, if you have any questions about the programme, student life etc.
You can contact Student Services on tel. +45 3533 3533 or by email to .
Each spring, the faculty’s MSc programmes host open house events. At these events, you have the chance to meet directors of studies and students, who can tell you more about the programme.
Mikkel Oliver Stubgaard, - last update:6 February 2012