Bachelor Biology

A New Understanding of Life

Educational objective and career profile

The study programme for biology is a course in fundamental principles which encompasses an enormously wide range of specialist areas. After the solid grounding of the Bachelor’s course, in the Master’s degree programme students opt for one of nine specialisation, in which they learn about the specific methods of working and research that are applied in biology. About two thirds of all Master’s graduates continue their education with a doctorate.

With their broad scientific training, Biology graduates find that a wide range of careers is open to them. The main employment opportunities include research posts at universities and in private industry, secondary school teaching and applied work in fields such as medicine, pharmacy, agricultural sciences, environmental protection and other areas.

Bachelor's degree programme (180 credits)

The first year of the programme provides an in-depth education in the fundamental natural sciences.

The second year is divided into core subjects (to be taken by all students) and elective modules (three areas to choose from, see below).

In the third year, students are free to choose from a range of block and concept courses, which they select in view of their intended Master’s degree programme specialisation.

Basic courses in the first year:
Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Statistics
Courses in the second year:
Core courses: Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Systems Biology, Microbiology/Plant Biology, Bioinformatics/Genetics/Genomics, Methods of Biological Analytics, etc.
Elective modules:

  • Biodiversity: Population and Evolutionary Biology, Mycology, Systematic Biology, Anatomy/Physiology, etc.
  • Cellular and Molecular Biology: Population and Evolutionary Biology, Systems Biology, Anatomy/Physiology, Organic or Physical Chemistry
  • Biological Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Systems Biology or Anatomy/Physiology, etc.

Third year: Concept and block courses (free choice)

For detailed information please consult the pages in German (Biologie).

Master's degree programme (90 credits)

In the Master’s degree programme, the focus is on experimental research (two twelve-week research projects and one six-month Master’s thesis). Students choose one of the following areas for specialisation:

  • Biochemistry
  • Biological Chemistry
  • Ecology and Evolution
  • Microbiology and Immunology
  • Molecular and Structural Biology
  • Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
  • Molecular Plant Biology
  • Systems Biology

Choice of specialisation (see above)
Lectures, two research projects
Master’s thesis (6 months)

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