Master programme in Molecuar Biology

Your steps in the admission procedure depend on whether you have completed your previous degree programme at the University of Vienna or another post-secondary educational institution.

In the Master Access Guide you can find out with which previous study programmes you may fulfil the prerequisites for admission to this master programme. 

 Degree programme instructed in English

The language of instruction in this degree programme is English. A proof of German language proficiency is not required.

Additional requirements

English language proficiency at level B2

To be admitted to an English or multilingual master programme at the University of Vienna, you have to provide a proof of English language proficiency. 

To apply for admission to this degree programme, you require a proof of English language proficiency at level B2. 

Qualitative admission requirements (QZB)

Admission to a master programme is only possible if you have completed a closely related previous degree programme. In this master programme you must also fulfill qualitative admission requirements (QZB) at the time of application. These stringent requirements determine the knowledge and competences you must fulfill ahead of your application. QZB may not be postponed to be fulfilled during the degree programme you are applying for (contrary to supplementary examinations).

As a requirement for admission, applicants must provide evidence of the following knowledge and competences amounting to at least 53 ECTS according to the curriculum (only available in German):

  • a) Knowledge of the chemical and biological principles of molecular biology worth at least 25 ECTS credits (all areas listed must be covered): 
    •  Fundamentals of organic, (bio)physical and biological chemistry
    • In-depth knowledge of molecular genetics and the mechanisms of transmission and expression of genetic information
    • Understanding of the principles of population genetics and molecular and organismic evolution
  • b) Mathematical and bioinformatics knowledge in the following areas worth at least 13 ECTS (all areas listed must be covered): 
    • Mathematical foundations (vector calculus, differentiation and integration of functions, Taylor series, partial differentiation, matrices)
    • Fundamentals of statistics (basic concepts, descriptive statistics, mathematical models and data fitting, statistical methods)
    • Bioinformatics basics (basic algorithms, pattern search, clustering, alignment, tree reconstruction)
  • c) Practical skills in the following areas worth at least 15 ECTS (all areas listed must be covered):
    • independent application and interpretation of standard microbiological and molecular biological methods (bacterial or cell culture, transformation, DNA extraction and (sub)cloning, PCR, protein expression, SDS-PAGE)
    • independent application and interpretation of simple biochemical and chromatographic methods (centrifugation, spectroscopy, enzymological analyses, gel filtration, ion exchange chromatography, dialysis)

Prospective students who have completed the bachelor programme in Biology (with the specialisation Molecular Biology) at the University of Vienna already fulfill the QZB. All other prospective students must create a description of qualifications (details and required form see below). 

Description of qualifications

To be admitted to the master programme in Molecular Biology, you need previous knowledge relevant to the field. You may prove the required knowledge by completing the bachelor programme in Biology (with the specialisation in Molecular Biology) at the University of Vienna. If you have completed the required specialisation upload your transcript of records at "Further documents and proofs" as document type "Description of qualifications" when applying for admission in u:space.

If you can not prove your previous knowledge by completing the programme at the University of Vienna, you have to provide a description of qualifications (form, PDF). This is a depiction of achievements that correspond to the required knowledge, which you obtained before your application for admission. Save the form and fill it in. Attach the form when applying for admission in u:space at "Further documents and proofs" as document type "Description of qualifications".

Fill in the description of qualifications as follows: 

  1. Enter the title of the achievement. 
  2. Enter the date, when you completed the achievement.
  3. Enter the ECTS, that you achieved thereby.
  4. State at which educational institution you completed the achievement.
  5. Describe which of the QZB you fulfil thereby. 

You can find detailed information on the required previous knowledge in the curriculum (only available in German). 

Application and admission procedure

Degree from the University of Vienna

This information is only available in German.