Study and Teaching
Using computers for scientific purposes plays a major role in many fields of natural sciences. Computing is omnipresent in life sciences as well as theoretical physics, chemistry and other fields of the natural sciences. Today, bioinformatics is part of the curriculum of many life sciences study programs. Lectures especially focusing on the application of bioinformatics methods, the opportunities and their limits. However, for the development of bioinformatics methods fundamental computer science knowledge is required. In order to also create an indepth understanding of the application field, i.e. life sciences, special interdisciplinary study programs have been created that cover both scientific fields. This webpage given an overview of the study programs with distinct bioinformatics content.
In Germany various possibilities to study bioinformatics exist. The beginning of such a path is the study of a bachelor’s program. In contrast to uni-disciplinary programs with a long tradition, the contents and concepts of bioinformatics study programs are very diverse. This is due to the huge thematic spectrum of bioinformatics: Nearly all methods of informatics are nowadays used in all fields of the life sciences. On the one hand, a bioinformatics study program can concentrate on the application and therefore rather focus on the life sciences. On the other hand it can focus on the methods and the informatics aspect of bioinformatics. Many universities offer bioinformatics master study programs for their students with a bachelors degree in Molecular Biology or Biochemistry on the one hand or Computer Science on the other. The orientation of a study program can mostly be derived from its affiliation in the organization (i.e. the faculty). Eventually, the precise curriculum defines the content and the overall structure of a study program. Due to the heterogeneity of bioinformatics rankings are not very reliable. When choosing a certain study program matches personal interests as well as that a reasonable thematics variety of subjects are offered. Universities also offer the option of individual study counseling. Take up the offer!
Bioinformatics master programs offer similarly thematic varieties. When you are interested in a master program, please be aware that the selection criteria and admission requirements may vary significantly between the universities. While some universities offer masters programs that especially build on the bachelor program offered at the same university, other universities offer master programs that can be combined with many different bachelor programs. As witih the bachelor program, when choosing a study program you should foremost take the thematic orientation and the variety of the program into account.
The information on the study programs on bioinformatik.de is based on the information provided by the universities. No warranty of any kind related to accuracy and completeness of this information is granted. If you notice that a study program is missing, please let us know by email to webcontent@bioinformatik.de.
Please also consider our notes on studies and teaching.