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Biology

Master

How is Biology structured?

The master's programme in Biology takes two years to complete, and each academic year is divided into two semesters.

The diagramme below gives you an overview of the course of study. On small screens it works best in landscape mode.

Areas of specialisation

If you wish to delve into a particular area of research, you can choose from a range of elective courses that together form a specialisation. We recommend selecting your modules from one of the following areas:

  • Sound, behaviour and physiology
  • Conservation biology and biodemography
  • Ecology and environmental management
  • Environmental toxicology and chemical regulation

Read more about the areas of specialisation at MySDU.

Example of schedule

Below is an example of how your weekly schedule might look like in the first semester of the Master’s programme in Biology. Please note that your schedule may vary from week to week and that teaching activities may be scheduled on weekdays in the hours between 8 and 18.

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

8-10
Field Course in Terrestrial or Marine Biology (common class)





10-noon
Data handling, visualization and statistics (common class)


Noon-14
Biology Experiments – Communicating Biology (common class)

Noon-14
Data handling, visualization and statistics (group class)

14-16
Biology Experiments – Communicating Biology (group class)
14-16
Field Course in Terrestrial or Marine Biology (common class)


 
16-18
Climate adaptation (common class)

The programme regulations are the legal foundation of the programme. They describe the rules applying to the programme, including the admission requirements, the programme structure, the qualifications you will achieve, and a summary of the general rules applying to all students.

As a student, you are responsible for keeping up to date with the programme regulations, which may be revised once every year – any changes typically come into effect on 1 September.

See the programme regulations on MySDU

A course description is a detailed description of a course, in which you can read about the aim and contents of the course, teaching methods, the expected workload and the form of the exam.

The master's degree programme in Biology includes the opportunity to complete a company project with a scope of 15 or 30 ECTS.

A company project is a well-defined project, which is done in a company or organisation with a specific problem as its starting point, and places demands on learning on a par with other courses and projects at the university.

  • A 15 ECTS company project forms part of your course of study as an activity to put your main subject into perspective, typically during the 2nd semester. It is a part-time project, which requires that you take other courses at the university concurrently with your company project.

  • A 30 ECTS company project constitutes the entire 3rd semester of the programme. It is a full-time project, which entails the Master's thesis project being reduced in scope to 30 ECTS.

There is both an SDU supervisor and a company supervisor associated with the project and the study board must approve the project description before you can start working on the project.

Company projects are always unpaid.

As part of the Master's degree programme in Biology, you have the opportunity spend a semester at a university outside Denmark. You can choose either a university that SDU collaborates with, or you can choose to arrange your stay at another university. SDU collaborates with more than 200 partner universities, and we can help you find the perfect place for you.

If you start the programme in September, spending your 2nd semester abroad grants you the most flexibility – if you start in February, you get the most flexibility if you spend the 1st semester abroad. Additionally, on the second year of the programme, you have the opportunity to do your Master's thesis project or parts of it abroad.

Read more about spending a semester abroad on MySDU

On the 2nd year of the programme, you will work on your Master's Thesis project, which has a scope of 60 ECTS.

You will typically be affiliated with a research group from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, who will be able to counsel and guide you in your literature search and your collection and processing of research data.

Academic culture in Denmark

Danish academic culture is characterised by active participation in class, group work and critical thinking. Rather than simply accumulating and reproducing knowledge, you will be expected to analyse, question and discuss the course topics.

The relationship between lecturers and students is often rather informal; students and lecturers may find themselves joking together and engaging in vigorous debates during classes and lectures.

Studerende på Syddansk Universitet