Summary

General Information

The establishment of the Bachelor's Study Programme in Biological Sciences was provisionally approved for the Winter Semester 2007/08 by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art. With effect from14 Oct. 2008, the Study Programme has been accredited for 5 years.

Orientation Events

To facilitate your start in the biology degree programme, the Biosciences Student Association organises “First-Semester Days", which take place in the week before the beginning of courses.You will find more detailed information on this on the Bioscience Student Association.

In the scope of the introductory meeting to the course “Structure and Function of Organisms", you will receive further information; for location and time see the above link.

General Description of the Degree Programme

Area of Studies: Biology is the science of living nature; it thus belongs to the natural sciences. Biological research results are of essential importance for competently dealing with living nature as well as for its responsible use and preservation. The required knowledge, methods and skills for scientific work in biology are imparted in the faculty's study programmes.

Study Programmes: At present you can begin a course of study in the Faculty of Biological Sciences in the Bachelor's Study Programme and biological sciences as well as in the Teacher Training Study Programmes; the Diploma Study Programmes in Bioinformatics and Biology have been discontinued. Since the Winter Semester of 2010/11, four '"faculty-internal" Master's Study Programmes are offered:

• Ecology and Evolution
• Physical Biology of Cells and Cell Interactions
• Molecular Biosciences
• Molecular Biotechnology.

In addition, numerous cooperative master's study programmes with participation of the Faculty of Biological Sciences are offered, e.g. Interdisciplinary Neurosciences, Environmental Sciences or Biophysics.

The objective of the training in these study programmes is to give you a broad overview of the entire field of biology as well as to enable you to set individual foci in the biological fields of your choice. Our students learn to perform scientific research independently and to use state-of-the-art methodology. The biology study programmes also clarifies epistemological and socio-political contexts; ultimately, the ability to evaluate research results responsibly is imparted.

Special foci at the Frankfurt University

With 36 professors the Frankfurt Biological Sciences Programme is one of the largest biological faculties in Germany. Thus, it is possible for students in Frankfurt to experience their field of study in a breadth of research and teaching that is only possible at a few other German universities.

The following fields of modern bioscience comprise the teaching and research foci in Frankfurt:

• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Biotechnology
• Genetics
• Mikrobiology
• Neurobiology
• Plant ecology and evolution
• Animal ecology and evolution
• Plant physiology and biochemistry
• Animal physiology
• Cell and developmental biology

The professors in these research fields successfully attract funding from many national and international organisations, e.g. the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), the European Union, the Human Frontiers of Science Programme, and many more. Consequently, many opportunities for collaboration result for students in our faculty even during their study programme. We offer innovative teaching concepts and a modularised study programme, which makes it easier for you to profit from our national and international contacts in the course of your degree programme.