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UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

Faculty of Mathematics and Natural SciencesDepartment of Biology

M.Sc. Examination regulations

Here you find all important documents, which are useful to organize your study. Click on the different headings to open the respective section.

Examination Regulations | as of winter term 24/25

Admission regulations

ER | as of winter term 2023/24

ER | as of winter term 2021/22

ER | as of winter term 2015/16

ER | as of winter term 2009/10

Valid for students enrolled in the expiring M.Sc. programme "Biological Sciences" from winter term 2009/10. The following is a combined version of the original examination regulations (2009/10) including the modifications from 2013, for better understanding. Please note that this version is not legally binding.

Combined ER (German) - not legally binding

Examination regulations from 2009/10.

Examination regulations (German)

Modifications from July 2013:

ER modifications (German)

Admission Regulations

Down below you will find an overview of the admission requirements for each M.Sc. program. Please note that only the Information provided in the German version of the Admission Regulations are legally binding:

M.Sc. Computational Biology

Regarding formal admission criteria, we require:

having a final grade of 2.7 or better (according to the German Grading System)
a proof of English language proficiency (at least level B2)

Regarding the subject-related criteria, we require the following amounts of ECTS credit points to ensure that our students spent a certain workload on important areas of the study program during their bachelor studies:

At least 12 ECTS Credit Points in the fields of genetics and / or molecular biology,
At least 60 additional ECTS Credit Points from at least three of the subject areas of biochemistry, botany / plant sciences, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, ecology, neurobiology / neurosciences, physiology or cell biology and
At least 24 additional ECTS Credit Points in Fundamentals of Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Bioinformatics and / or Biomathematics,
of which at least 6 ECTS Credit Points are in Bioinformatics / Computational Biology.

1 ECTS Credit Point relates to a workload of 30h.

M.Sc. Ecology, Evolution and Environment

Regarding formal admission criteria, we require:

having a final grade of 2.7 or better (according to the German Grading System)
a proof of English language proficiency (at least level B2)

Regarding the subject-related criteria, we require the following amounts of ECTS credit points to ensure that our students spent a certain workload on important areas of the study program during their bachelor studies:

At least 30 ECTS Credit Points in the fields of zoology and / or ecology and / or molecular biology and / or genetics,
At least 45 additional ECTS Credit Points in the fields of biochemistry, bioinformatics / biomathematics, botany / plant sciences, developmental biology, microbiology, physiology and / or cell biology,
At least 12 additional ECTS Credit Points from the Bachelor's thesis in the fields of ecology, zoology, biochemistry, bioinformatics / computational biology, botany / plant sciences, developmental biology, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, neurobiology / neurosciences, physiology and / or cell biology and
At least 5 additional ECTS Credit Points in mathematics and / or statistics and / or bioinformatics and / or biophysics.

1 ECTS Credit Point relates to a workload of 30h.

M.Sc. Genetics and Biology of Aging and Regeneration

Regarding formal admission criteria, we require:

having a final grade of 2.7 or better (according to the German Grading System)
a proof of English language proficiency (at least level B2)

Regarding the subject-related criteria, we require the following amounts of ECTS credit points to ensure that our students spent a certain workload on important areas of the study program during their bachelor studies:

At least 75 ECTS Credit Points in the following study areas: Biochemistry, Bioinformatics / Biomathematics / Computational Biology, Biophysics, Botany / Plant Science, Cell Biology, Developmental / Regenerative Biology, Genetics, Immunobiology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Neurobiology / Neuroscience, (Animal) Physiology, Virology and / or Zoology
From those, min. 40 ECTS credits points have to be achieved in at least three of the following areas: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Developmental / Regenerative Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Immunobiology, (Animal) Physiology
At least 30 ECTS Credit Points in the experimental / practical area of the following disciplines: biochemistry, developmental/regenerative biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, neurobiology , physiology, virology and/or cell biology
At least 5 additional ECTS Credit Points in fundamentals of mathematics, statistics, and/or physics
At least 10 additional ECTS Credit Points in fundamentals of inorganic, organic, physical chemistry and/or theoretical chemistry

1 ECTS Credit Point relates to a workload of 30h.

M.Sc. Molecular Plant and Microbial Sciences

Regarding formal admission criteria, we require:

having a final grade of 2.7 or better (according to the German Grading System)
a proof of English language proficiency (at least level B2)

Regarding the subject-related criteria, we require the following amounts of ECTS credit points to ensure that our students spent a certain workload on important areas of the study program during their bachelor studies:

At least 50 ECTS Credit Points from at least three of the following disciplines: biochemistry, bioinformatics / biomathematics, botany / plant sciences, developmental biology, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, ecology, neurobiology / neurosciences, physiology or cell biology
of which at least 20 ECTS Credit Points in the experimental / practical field of biochemistry, bioinformatics / biomathematics, botany / plant sciences, developmental biology, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, ecology, neurobiology / neurosciences, physiology and / or cell biology as well as
At least 10 additional ECTS Credit Points in basic mathematics, statistics, physics, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and / or physical chemistry

1 ECTS Credit Point relates to a workload of 30h.

M.Sc. Neuroscience

Regarding formal admission criteria, we require:

having a final grade of 2.7 or better (according to the German Grading System)
a proof of English language proficiency (at least level B2)

Regarding the subject-related criteria, we require the following amounts of ECTS credit points to ensure that our students spent a certain workload on important areas of the study program during their bachelor studies:

At least 4 ECTS Credit Points from the fields of neurobiology / neuroscience or animal physiology
At least 12 additional ECTS Credit Points from at least two of the following disciplines: biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomathematics, developmental biology, genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, biophysics, cognitive sciences, robotics, behavioral biology or ecology,
At least 6 ECTS Credit Points in the experimental / practical field of biochemistry, developmental biology, genetics, molecular biology / cell biology, neurobiology / neuroscience, psychology, experimental physics and / or chemistry as well as- at least a further 10 credit points from the fields of mathematics, statistics, physics, physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry and/or organic chemistry

1 ECTS Credit Point relates to a workload of 30h.