Teaching

MSc/PhD Program

The International Master's/PhD Molecular Biology Program is conducted jointly by the Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB) with its participating university departments and research groups, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine. The intensive, research-oriented education qualifies the students for professional work in the fields of molecular and cellular biosciences.

The program is open to students from Germany and from abroad, holding a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in the biosciences, chemistry, medicine, or related fields. All courses are held in English. Tuition fees are waived, scholarships are available. The academic year starts in mid-October, preceded by four weeks of orientation. Applications are welcome until January 31 of the year of enrollment.

All students first participate in one year of individually supervised course work. This first segment of the program comprises lectures, tutorials, seminars, methods courses, and independent research projects (laboratory rotations). The traditional German structure of academic semesters is abandoned. Thus, the workload of the first year corresponds to 90 credits (ECTS), which is usually achieved only after 3 semesters. Subsequently, two separate segments are offered:

  • PhD Program: Good to excellent results after the first year qualify for direct admission to a three-year doctoral project in one of the participating research groups. The Master’s thesis requirement is waived. After successful defense of a doctoral thesis, the degree Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or the equivalent title Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.) is conferred.
  • MSc Program: Alternatively, students may conclude the program with a Master’s thesis, based on six months of experimental, scientific research. The degree Master of Science (MSc) is awarded upon successful completion of the Master’s thesis.


GZMB MSc/PhD Program "Molecular Life Sciences: Microbiology, Biotechnology and Biochemistry"

Doctoral Programs
Members of the GZMB participate in the following doctoral programs:
Doctoral programs of the Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB). (funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in the framework of the Excellence Initiative by the German Federal and State Government to promote science and research at German universities)


Lectures, seminars, pratical courses
Lectures, seminars and courses offered by GZMB members are available at the central data base UniVZ administered by the University of Göttingen:
http://univz.uni-goettingen.de

Teaching Facilities
The new building of the GZMB accommodates several seminar rooms and a large wet lab area dedicated to the teaching activities of the GZMB research groups:

  • Large seminar room (0.232): 60 persons
  • Small seminar room (0.233): 20 persons
  • Large practical course laboratory: 40 students
  • Small practical course laboratory: 16 students


These rooms are currently used for:

  • lectures and practical courses in Biochemistry, Bioanalytics, Developmental Biology and Molecular Medicine which are joint teaching activities of research groups belonging to the faculties of biology and medicine.
  • all lectures of the International Master's/PhD Molecular Biology Program and as well the seminars of the PhD students within this program.



In addition, the coordination office of the International Master's/PhD Molecular Biology Program is located in the Ernst-Caspari-Haus(Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen).