Master in Life Sciences - Analytical Chemistry, FHNW School of Life Sciences

Analytical chemistry underpins almost all life science disciplines and plays a central role in studying drugs, formulations, metabolites, foodstuffs, natural products, materials and medical products. Demand for specialists is growing steadily as technological developments and the need for deeper molecular insights drive research. This degree prepares you for challenging roles in both industry and academia.

The demand for experts in the field of analytical chemistry is steadily increasing as technological developments and the demand for deeper insights at the molecular level drive research activities in life sciences.

Typical areas of employment for graduates are:

• Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies: medicine development and quality control.
• Research and development laboratories: analysis and characterisation of biological systems.
• Regulatory authorities and certification bodies: Monitoring and evaluation of analytical methods.
• Food and environmental analysis: Examination of constituents and pollutants.

The programme provides in‑depth knowledge of modern analytical methods and their applications. The focus is on strategies for investigating, identifying and characterising metabolites, biomarkers, proteins, formulations and biological tissues.

ðCore modules are dedicated to mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy and their impact on life sciences applications, including studies of state of the art technologies like MS/MS 2D NMR techniques.

Other topics include structural protein analysis, characterisation of solids and biological systems imaging.

You can also choose modules from related fields such as Organic Chemistry, Bioanalytics, Biotechnology or Pharma Technology. This allows you to structure your studies in a flexible and practical way – tailored to your interests and professional goals.

A total of 50 ECTS credits (i.e. 17 modules each worth 3 ECTS credits) must be earned. Other modules can be selected: Module overview (English)

You can also plan your studies in advance with our MSc Life Sciences planning tool.

Direct admission requires:

• a Bachelor’s degree in a related field from a university of applied sciences or university with a good grade (Switzerland: A, B or ≥ 5; Germany/Austria: at least “good”),

• sufficient English proficiency.

If you do not fully meet the requirements, you may be invited to a personal interview.

Proof of sufficient English skills must be provided with one of the following certificates:

If you are unable to provide evidence of the required command of English, you are obliged to improve it during your master’s degree programme. You can either attend the advanced English course offered by the FHNW School of Life Sciences or other suitable language courses. At the end of the programme, proof must be provided that the required level of English has been achieved (see table above).