The Master's Programme Life Science
The consecutive Master's Programme Life Science requires a bachelor's degree in Life Science at the University of Konstanz or a bachelor's degree in a similar study programme at another university. Applicants need broad basic knowledge in chemistry as well as biology. The master's programme is an advanced study programme that will systematically introduce you to international research methods and the international research level in the areas of Life Science, i. e. the molecular-oriented areas of biology and the bioorganic or biomolecular-analytical oriented areas of chemistry.
The standard period of study for the master's programme is four semesters. The first two semesters you attend modules, followed by several weeks of exam preparation and six to nine months for writing your master's thesis. In the master's thesis you independently work on a larger scientific project. After you have completed the thesis, you will present your findings in an colloquium, open to the department, and defend them in an expert discussion. To successfully complete the master's programme, you need to acquire 60 ECTS credits in the modules. Additionally, you have to complete an internship of two months (10 ECTS credits) You can work with e.g. private or public institutions in Germany or abroad. This internship is a great help for your career planning. You can acquire a total of 120 ECTS credits in the master's programme. One ECTS credits corresponds to 25 - 30 working hours. You can individually select your specialisation area with an equal proportion of biological and chemical subjects, or with a focus on the biological or chemical area. You cannot focus only on chemical or only on biological subjects.
The modules in biology consist of advanced level courses, held as six-week all-day compact courses (15 ECTS credits each). In addition to the lectures and seminars, you will carry out an extensive practical research project in a research laboratory and present and defend your findings in a final seminar. In the chemistry modules you can select advanced courses worth either 6 or 12 ECTS credits. In the 6-credit courses you usually study theoretical aspects in lectures, seminars and exercises. The 12-credit courses also include extensive practical project work in research groups, similar to the advanced level courses in biology.
Biology Courses
- Disease Biology I
- Disease Biology II
- Pharmacology and Toxicology II
- Biochemistry III
- Methods in Biology
- Evolutionary Organismal Biology
- Concepts in Ecology
- Advanced Technologies for the Life Sciences
- Applied Bioinformatics for Studying Health and Disease
- Behavioral Neurobiology
- Biochemical Pharmacology
- Biochemistry and Mass Spectrometry
- Bioinformatics and X-Ray Structural Analysis
- Cell Biology – Cell Adhesion and Signal Transduction
- Cellular Biochemistry
- Chemical Ecology / Biological Chemistry
- Collective Animal Behavior
- Developmental Biology
- Dynamics of aquatic ecosystems
- Environmental Genomics
- Global change ecology and plants
- Going Wild: Behavior and Ecology of Animals
- Human and Environmental Toxicology
- Immunology
- Microbial Ecology and Limnic Microbiology
- Molecular Evolutionary
- Molecular Genetics: Cell cycle regulation – from mechanisms to disease
- Molecular Microbiology and Cell Biology: Chaperone functions in health and disease
- Molecular Toxicology
- Novel in vitro Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Physiology and Biochemistry of Plants
- Physiology, Ecology and Molecular Biology of Algae
- Systems Toxicology
- The role of microbes in stress response and resilience of aquatic metaorganisms
Sample list for further courses. The course program slightly changes each semester. Please check ZEuS for updated list.
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology and Evolution
- Applied Bioinformatics
- Behavioral Neurobiology
- Biochemical Pharmacology
- Bioinformatics and X-Ray Structure Analysis
- Cell Biology – Cell Adhesion and Signal Transduction
- Cellular Biochemistry
- Chemical Ecology
- Developmental Neurobiology
- Dynamics of Aquatic Ecosystems
- Fish Ecology
- Human and Environmental Toxicology
- Immunology
- Limnic Microbiology
- Limnology: Limnology of the Lakes
- Microbial Physiology and Ecology
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology
- Molecular Genetics
- Molecular Microbiology
- Molecular Toxicology
- Novel in vitro Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Organismal Biology: Going Wild
- Physiology and Biochemistry of Plants
- Physiology, Ecology and Molecular Biology of Algae
- Plant Ecology
- An Introduction to R and Analysis of ecological Data
- Animal Protection: Legal and Ethical Principles - Focus on Laboratory Animals
- Biochemistry, Regulation and Systems Biology of Signal Transduction
- Bioorganic Chemistry - Chemistry and Biochemistry of Natural Products
- Chemical Ecology
- Common errors and mistakes as revealed by retracted papers
- Ecological and evolutionary physiology
- Endocrinology of Mammals I
- Endocrinology of Mammals II (Selected Chapters)
- Evaluation of Pharmacological and Toxicological Data sets
- Evolutionary Organismal Biology
- How to write a thesis in biology: a practical guide
- ImageJ Workshop
- Innovations in Vertebrate Evolution
- Laboratory Animal Science
- Molecular Ecology
- Nature and culture as false dichotomy
- Pharmacology and Toxicology III
- Photoshop Workshop
- Pluripotent stem cells – novel uses and approaches
- Quantitative Aspects of Light Microscopy
- R coding sessions
- R for Biologists I: Introduction course in R programming language
- R for Biologists II: Visualisation and analysis of spatial information
- Self-Organization in Social Insects and other Communities
- Seminar in Phylogenetic Comparative Methods
- Signal Transduction: Regulation and Disease Relevance
- Stable isotope ecology / Journal Club
- Topics and questions of current biological research
- X-Ray Structure Analysis of Proteins
Chemistry Courses
Chemistry master courses summer semester 2024:
- Biopolymer Chemistry (Nucleic Acids, Carbohydrates, Proteins) - (Prof. Dr. A. Marx, Prof. Dr. V. Wittmann)
- Computational Chemistry (Prof. Dr. C. Peter)
- High-resolution NMR spectroscopy directed to biological and biophysical applications (Prof. Dr. M. Kovermann)
- Molecular Spectroscopy (Prof. Dr. M. Drescher)
- Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials (Prof. Dr. S. Mecking)
- Synthesis of natural products and drugs (Prof. Dr. T. Gaich)
Chemistry master courses winter semester 2023/24:
- Advanced Element-Organic Chemistry (Prof. Dr. M. Unterlass, Prof. Dr. R. Winter)
- Advanced Organic Chemistry (Prof. Dr. T. Gaich, Prof. Dr. A. Marx, Prof. Dr. V. Wittmann)
- Advanced Physical Chemistry (Prof. Dr. A. Zumbusch)
- Breakthroughs in natural sciences exemplified by granted Nobel prizes (Prof. Dr. M. Kovermann), nur Vorlesung 3 Credits, no practical course
- Biocatalysis – From Chemical Logic to Modern Enzymology (Prof. Dr. Lena Barra, Prof. Dr. Jörg Hartig)
- Biophysical Chemistry (Prof. Dr. M. Drescher, Prof. Dr. K. Hauser)
- Dispersion Colloids in Research and Industry (Prof. Dr. A. Wittemann)
- Gene Expression and Replication (Prof. Dr. J. Hartig / Prof. Dr. A. Marx)
- Industrial Chemistry and Renewable Resources (Prof. Dr. S. Mecking, Dr. I. Göttker)
- Nanochemistry and Analytics (Dr. C. Ruiz-Agudo)
- Working with scientific data: significance, handling & case studies, 3 Cr. online self-teaching, no practical course (Prof. Dr. M. Kovermann)
Further Courses (in German language only!)
- Anorganische Chemie II: Prof. Dr. R. Winter
Molekülchemie der Nichtmetalle
Praktikum Anorganische Chemie II - Festkörperchemie: Prof. Dr. Miriam Unterlass
Grundlagen der Festkörperchemie,
Praktikum Festkörperchemie - Physikalische Chemie III
- Physikalische Chemie IV
- Organische Chemie III: Reaktionsmechanismen, Prof. Dr. A. Marx
- Organische Chemie IV: Heterocyclen und Naturstoffe, Prof. Dr. T. Gaich