Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Bioinformatics
The master’s program in Bioinformatics is offered by the Technical University of Munich in partnership with Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). The program offers great freedom in terms of individual specialization within the discipline.
Key Data
- Full Time
- 4 semesters (fulltime)
Prospective students apply via LMU
- Possible for both winter and summer semester
Information on Degree Program
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 use 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 academic subject to date.
For a comprehensive description of the program, please refer to the degree program documentation:
Not only will graduates have been able to fundamentally broaden their skills in the information and life sciences, they will also have acquired a completely individual competency profile.
Depending on the choices you make in creating your curriculum, it will cover content from the specialties of algorithmic bioinformatics, sequence analysis, systems biology, structural bioinformatics, chemoinformatics, genome analysis, databases and data mining, project management, software engineering, statistics, structural biology, genetics / genomics, evolutionary biology, biochemistry, and biotechnology.
During the course of the degree, you can also acquire experience of working in interdisciplinary teams as well as handling pertinent research questions.
The successful completion of the Master of Science opens up many career options. You may enter, via a doctoral degree, into research. Or you work in a corporation. There, you develop bioinformatic applications and implement them. Thus, for example, you develop new medicines in pharmaceutical companies. Beyond which, corporate consultancy offers good career prospects.
The core of the degree consists of an interdisciplinary vocational education and training in biology, chemistry, informatics, and statistics.
In addition to the master’s internship, during the first three semesters, the central focus is on elective courses from all areas of study, which can be selected according to one’s own interests and specializations pursued. However, there is a clear emphasis throughout the degree on bioinformatics.
The degree concludes with the master’s thesis in the forth semester, which as a rule is orientated towards research that is already underway.
Academic Regulations: Application, Studying and Exams
General Student Advising & Student Information
Questions about application and admission
studium@tum.de
+49 89 289 22245
Arcisstr. 21, Room 0144
General Student Advising
Appointments by arrangement in advance
Departmental Student Advising
Prof. Dr. Volker Heun
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, LFE Bioinformatik, Institut für Informatik, Fakultät 16
volker.heun@bio.ifi.lmu.de
+49 89 2180 4341
Amalienstr. 17, Room A 303 (front building, 3rd floor), 80333 München