Master's programme Biology General

The general master’s programme in biology gives you an opportunity to design a personal study plan. You choose from around 30 courses at advanced level in biology. Are you interested in biodiversity and taxonomy? Choose the Nordic Master’s programme in Biodiversity and Systematics (NABIS) as a specialisation within General Biology, see information below.

At the Department of Biology we have excellent facilities for laboratory work and conducting field experiments. Most courses are full-time studies and you usually take only one course at a time. The courses are typically teaching-intensive, with lectures, seminars, excursions, laboratory work as well as theoretical and practical exercises. The teachers are active researchers so you will study in close association with vibrant international research environments.

Get some inspiration to what the Master's programmes leads to. You find completed Master's degree projects in biology on LUP Student Papers.

Recommended course of study

You choose among around 30 advanced level courses in Biology. You may also choose some courses from other disciplines. Together with the study advisor you create an individual course of study. Please notice that many of the advanced courses in Biology have other prerequisites than the Master’s Programme in Biology itself. 

Elective courses: Students on the Master's in Biology: general choose courses both in Biology and other subjects depending on their interest. To help you choose we have made a special file that you can use to do a preliminary study plan. Find the course planning list for Biology Master's students here.

Year 1

Autumn

Population and Community Ecology BIOR69, Neurobiology BIOR58, Microbiology BIOR18 or an electiv course, 15 credits.

Elective and/or optional course, 15 credits

Spring

Elective and/or optional courses, 30 credits

Year 2

Elective and/or optional courses and a Master's degree project, 60 credits

NABIS

The Nordic Master’s Academy in Biodiversity and Systematics (NABIS) is a collaboration between leading universities in Sweden and Norway. Students are admitted to the university where they are undertaking their thesis project, and through the programme they have access to a rich selection of specialised courses provided by the participating universities. 

As a NABIS student you are trained to gain the systematic and taxonomic expertise needed in our society to be able to take action against loss of biodiversity. Upon completion of the programme you will have a broad overview of living organisms and specialization in one or more organism groups. You will learn the theoretic background of speciation and evolutionary processes. You will have a good knowledge of traditional systematic methods as well as modern phylogenetic and molecular tools, allowing you to make scientific descriptions of new species, generate DNA data such as barcodes and use computerized biodiversity databases.

The courses are taught as assisted e-learning in combination with hands-on field or lab sessions where students and teachers meet for an intensive period of time at the campus or, more commonly, at a field station belonging to the host of the course.

As a NABIS student you are admitted to the university at which your thesis work is supervised. At the time of admittance you will, together with the tutor, establish an individual curriculum designating the courses to be included in your master’s degree. The subject for the thesis is determined and the project is linked to a research group. The length of the thesis is optional and amounts to 30, 45 or 60 ECTS. Thesis work may extend over several semesters, and be interspersed with courses giving practical or theoretical training.

NABIS at Lund University is a part of the Biology: General specialisation.