Biomedical Sciences, Master's, 2 years

How does the human body function on the molecular, cellular and physiological level? The Master’s Programme in Biomedical Sciences studies how we can understand, prevent, diagnose and treat human diseases.

TuitionNone
Years2 Years
Grade requirementsMinimum C
LanguageEnglish
ECTS120
StartAutumn

Main content

The field of biomedicine deals with questions like:

What are the cellular mechanisms/pathways of diseases and disorders?
How is the genotype in different diseases?
How do genes and the environment interact?
How can we improve/enhance therapeutic efficacy?
How does the brain work?

Biomedical research has a central role in shaping tomorrow's medicine, through the development of new drugs and understanding disease mechanisms.

The impact of new discoveries in biomedicine is significant: we develop technology that can lower the production costs of medicine, we analyse cancer development and progression and develop molecular imaging techniques.

Through biomedicine, we understand human body function and health. Fighting infectious diseases through new therapies and vaccines also has an extra impact on life in developing countries.

The master’s programme offers you the opportunity to engage in biomedical research and to be an active member of an international research group.

More information below

Photo:

Elias Dahlen

Career

The Master’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences will qualify you for work such as:

Scientific research and other academic positions
Technical positions in research laboratories (Staff engineer)
Lecturer within the education sector
Administrative consultant- public and private businesses
HSE consultant
Research communicator

92 percent of alumni with a master’s degree from the Faculty of Medicine say that they have found relevant work within two years of graduating.

You can apply for a PhD degree at UiB or another institution if you are interested in pursuing a career in research.

More information below

Portrait of a male student in a lab dressed in a lab coat

The facilities at the university are wonderful. The hospital and the faculty have all kinds of equipment that are unique to the different research fields.

Nelson Soaugawu

Master's student

Structure

Semester 1

Mandatory courses:

HELVIT300 Theory and ethics of Science 5 ECTS
BMED320 Methods in Medical Cell Biology 25 ECTS
Choose the topic for your master’s project

Semester 2

Elective courses relevant to your research field, 30 ECTS in total. You can choose other courses (both at UiB and other institutions) as long as they are approved by your supervisor and the Programme Committee.

List of UiB courses.

Semesters 3 and 4

Master’s project

You can choose from the available master’s topics, or find a project on your own. The project must then be approved by the Programme Committee.

You will meet your supervisor on a regular basis. You will be guided as the research project progresses in the lab, and especially when you are writing the thesis.

Read more about our master’s students and their projects.

See full list of courses

What you will learn

With a master’s degree in biomedical sciences, you can:

Critically analyse central theories, methods and results within the field of biomedicine, and work independently with practical and theoretical problem solving.
Carry out an independent research project under supervision and in line with established ethical norms and regulations.
Apply knowledge and skills acquired during the study to new areas and fields in order to carry out advanced tasks and projects.

See full list of required learning outcomes.

Student life

The Department of Biomedicine has excellent facilities in the Building for Basic Biological Research (BBB), which is on the University’s health campus just outside the city centre. Here, you will be a part of an active scientific community through daily contact with researchers and students.

Work load

Year 1: You will be busy with courses, reading theory, getting to know other students and gradually get familiar with various research groups.

In semester 1, you have 40 hours of lectures and laboratory work per week. Most of it is mandatory.
In semester 2 , you have roughly 10 hours of lectures and other activites per week. It varies depending on the courses you choose. Normally the lectures are recommended and other activities mandatory.

Year 2: You work in the laboratory, and become integrated in the research group matching your master’s project. You are also assigned an office space with other master’s students at the department to work on your project.

You write your master’s thesis including theoretical work and laboratory work at your research group. This will amount to a full working week.

This master’s programme demands both independent work and cooperation in groups with other students and staff in the research group. You will be trained in soft skills like scientific writing and dissemination skills.

Study period abroad

There are several options if you want to spend some time abroad. As a member of the Nordic Biomedical Master Network, we have agreements with universities in Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

You can follow courses (semester 3), do lab projects and also the experimental part of the Master's project (semester 3 and 4).

See list of recommended exchange agreements.

How to apply

Follow these links to find the general entry requirements and guidelines on how to apply:

Citizens from outside the European Union/EEA/EFTA (1 December)
Citizens from within the European Union/EEA/EFTA (1 March)
Nordic citizens and applicants residing in Norway (15 April)

You will also have to meet the programme specific entry requirements.