Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is an up-and-coming academic subject and research area that combines modern information sciences (informatics, mathematics, and statistics) with the life sciences (biology, chemistry, pharmacy, medicine, biotechnology, and food technology). Bioinformatics deals with questions of informatics that arise with the application of new technologies and a rapidly growing quantity of data in the life sciences. The discipline is also of continuously increasing significance in medicine and drug discovery.

The exponential growth in biological data generated by national and international research projects provides a highly inviting field of application for modern bioinformatics. The application of informatics methods first made mathematical modeling possible in the biosciences, as well as the analysis of new kinds and large quantities of data. Yet the potential for applying informatics to the biosciences still exceeds its current application.

In industry, bioinformatics is perceived as a key technology. It is not least young biotechnology companies that are reliant on job applicants with specific, interdisciplinary competencies. Though the methods of bioinformatics have already been applied on an industrial scale, there are few graduates of this interdisciplinary science to date. Hence the demand in industry for well-educated bioinformaticians. 

For a comprehensive description of the program, please refer to the degree program documentation:

• Degree program documentation for the bachelor's program in Bioinformatics (PDF, German) 

As a graduate, you possess a sound foundational knowledge of informatics, mathematics, and the natural sciences. By way of example, in terms of informatics, this covers programming, algorithms, and data structures, automated devices and formal languages; in terms of mathematics, it covers analysis and stochastic processes as well as combinatorics and algebra. As for the natural sciences, here the central focus is on biology, chemistry, and biochemistry.

You are familiar with the foundational approaches and methods of bioinformatics required for inter alia the sequencing of genomes or the prediction of protein structures and functions. The completion of your bachelor’s thesis provides you with your first experience of independently handling pertinent research tasks. 

Should you decide to embark upon a professional career after successfully completing the bachelor’s program in Bioinformatics, multifaceted opportunities arise in various sectors. These include opportunities in the areas of pharma and medicine as well as in food technology, in addition to those in biotechnology companies. Further options arise in industrial research or in fundamental research in the natural sciences that is oriented toward IT.

The degree is oriented towards an interdisciplinary vocational education and training in biology / chemistry and informatics. In the first two years of study, students acquire foundational knowledge of the respective disciplines of mathematics, informatics, biology, and chemistry. You receive a comprehensive introduction to bioinformatics that brings together the individual disciplines. In the final year of the bachelor's degree there is a clear emphasis on bioinformatics, including with regard to the bachelor's thesis, along with specialized courses in informatics and molecular biology.

• Program structure & Overview of modules

• Information on exams
• Information on studying abroad

Admission requirements and the application procedure vary depending on the type of higher education entrance qualification you hold.

For more information on the application procedure, please visit the LMU homepage.

For more information on the application procedure, visit the course homepage. 

For more information on the application procedure, please visit the LMU homepage.

• Restricted Admission (NC)

More information about the application process