Students are given a comprehensive bioanalytical education allowing them to take over responsibility in research and development in analytical laboratories, medical laboratories, clinics, contract research organizations and pharmaceutical companies. Modules cover the broad field of bioanalytics including the analysis of metabolites, environmental pollutants and proteins. More over high-throughput genome and RNA sequencing and the pharmacological and toxicological assessment of active pharmaceutical ingredients is addressed. Further modules focus on cellular and whole organism bioassays and the use of organ chips and tissue engineering for drug discovery.
The studies are concluded with an eight months long Master’s thesis which is usually carried out in a laboratory of a company. Alumni of the Master’s studies have ample theoretical and practical knowledge to start a career in research and development in companies or in specialized analytical laboratories.
The course offers lots of opportunities to meet new people and gain a foothold in the industry.
Timon Bussinger, Master's graduate
Details
In total each student has to gain 50 ECTS by visiting modules. Students can choose modules from the whole Master of Sciences in Life Sciences programme. It is also possible to gain up to 12 ECTS from outside this Master programme by visiting suitable modules offered by other Universities (prior approval by the head of Master's Studies required). Please be aware that each student has also to visit at least three cluster-specific modules.
Annual Plan Master of Sciences in Life Sciences
Core Competences
The Core Competence Modules provide the students with essential competences in data literacy and for their professional position. These modules are offered by the cooperation and are visited by students from all partner schools allowing students to build up a Swiss-wide network.
Data:
Handling and Visualizing data
Design and Analysis of Experiments
Modelling and Exploration of Multivariate Data
Business, Management & Society:
Business Administration for Life Sciences
Management and Leadership for Life Sciences
Innovation and Project Management
Politics and Society
Specialisation and Cluster-specific Modules in Bioanalytics
Specialisation and cluster-specific modules give the students an in-depth scientific and technical education in their respective field.
Specialisation modules are held and organised by the School of Life Sciences and take place in Muttenz whereas the cluster-specific modules are organised by the four schools of the cooperation and are open to students from all cooperating schools. The cluster-specific modules usually take place in Bern or Olten; both venues can be easily reached by public transport.
Students choose a minimum of three compulsory elective modules worth three ECTS credits each.
Compulsory elective modules:
Advanced Mass Spectrometry and NMR Spectroscopy
Proteomics and Protein Analytics
Genomics
Bioassays: Engineered Cells, Tissues and Organisms
Compound Profiling in Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery (cluster-specific module)
Recommended elective modules:
Biointerface Engineering
Formulation of Biologics and Routes of Drug Delivery
Environmental Risk Assessment
Environmental Bioremediation
Drug Formulation and Delivery for Solid Dosage Forms (cluster-specific module)
Physiology and Immunotherapies (cluster-specific module)
Tissue Engineering for Drug Discovery (cluster-specific module)
Medical Imaging and Image processing (cluster-specific module)
Water and Wastewater Treatment Technologies
Design of Biopharmaceutical Production Facilities (cluster-specific module)
The Master's thesis is worth 40 ECTS credits and is the most important module in the course. As part of their thesis, students work on demanding, application-based projects. The thesis can be done in the industry, at a university or at a research institute in Switzerland or abroad or at an institute within the FHNW School of Life Sciences.
The Master's thesis is written in English and lasts for eight months (full-time).
The Master's course is taught exclusively in English. Students therefore require good language skills. The following table shows the required levels:
If prospective students do not have the required English skills, they can acquire these during their studies and be tested on them at the end of the course.
Prospects
Graduates of the Master's Life Sciences with specialisation in Bioanalytics predominantly work in research and development, in technical development and production, in quality assurance and in project and product management.
After my Bachelor's in Life Sciences, I decided to stay on and do the Master's in order to develop my technical expertise further and to open up new prospects on the job market.
The interdisciplinarity and the in-depth dialogue with students from universities of applied sciences in other countries and various majors were formative for me.
The structure of the modules and courses at the School of Life Sciences is highly varied and wide-ranging. The modules in Bern especially and the entrepreneurial focus in the block modules in Spiez were ideal preparation for the challenges of the world of work. I now work as a production engineer at F. Hoffmann-La Roche and firmly believe that my broad-based studies at the School of Life Sciences are of particular benefit to me in this international arena.
Organisational information
The Master's course usually lasts one and a half years full time. The focus in the first two semesters is on attending lectures. At the end of the second semester, students begin their Master's thesis, which lasts for eight months.
It is possible to study part time while working, with the course then extending from three to six semesters. Experience suggests that working between 50 to 60 per cent of full-time equivalence is appropriate.
Part-time students attend lectures over several semesters and usually begin their Master's thesis at the end of the fourth semester.
The course begins in the autumn semester (calendar week 38). It is possible to begin in the spring semester (calendar week 8).
Admission
Graduates with an excellent Bachelor's degree are admitted directly if they:
hold a Bachelor's degree in a related technical field from a university of applied sciences with a mark of A, B or ≥ 5 or an equivalent mark (≥ good)
or demonstrate an equivalent background (BSc) and practical experience
and have excellent English skills.
Prospective students who meet most but not all of the entry requirements are invited to interview.
New: Application for the Master's programme was never easier! Click on the "apply now" button in the right-hand column to go directly to the registration form.
After my Bachelor's in Life Sciences, I decided to stay on and do the Master's in order to develop my technical expertise further and to open up new prospects on the job market.
