MSc in Systems Biology
Master of Science in Engineering (Systems Biology)
Systems Biology is a field of study focusing on biological
systems (as opposed to more reductionist approaches, where
individual components are studied individually). An important
aspect of systems biology is the integration of different types of
biological data (e.g., sequence data, mRNA expression data,
protein-protein interaction data, data on post-translational
modifications, free-text descriptions of disease phenotypes, etc.)
as a way of addressing biological research questions. Recent
developments in high-throughput technologies has meant that both
the types and amount of such data are growing with ever-increasing
speed, and knowing how to handle such data, as well as knowing how
to analyze them computationally, are therefore important
competences in the field. Systems Biology is highly
interdisciplinary and combines methods from areas such as
bioinformatics (the field focusing on computational analysis of
biological data), molecular biology,
genetics, microbiology, computer science, mathematical
modelling, and biostatistics.
Read more about the education at:
Department for Systems Biology’s page on the
education.
Academic Requirements
The MSc in Systems Biology is aimed at
students with a background in either biology or computation.
Correspondingly, it is possible during the study to focus more on
the biological or the computational
aspects.
Regardless of your background, basic knowledge of biochemistry
and molecular biology is essential in order to understand the
biological problems that are addressed in Systems Biology. We
therefore very strongly recommend that all prospective students
should make sure to build competences in these fields, for instance
by taking elective courses during your BSc, or perhaps by
self-study. A good source of inspiration is the
list of courses on the BSc in Biotechnology.
Bachelors from DTU
Admission to the MSc program in Systems Biology is offered to
students holding one of the following BSc degrees from DTU:
- Biotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
- Medicine and Technology
- Environmental Engineering
- Human Life Science Engineering
- Software Technology
- Physics and Nanotechnology
- Mathematics and Technology
Students with BSc degrees in other fields can also
apply. As mentioned we strongly recommend that students should
have basic knowledge of biochemistry and molecular
biology. Merits and qualifications of the applicants will be
considered individually based on the material submitted.
Students with a bachelor degree who seek admission to MSc
programs at DTU must demonstrate proficiency in English (B-level
for students from Nordic countries, IELTS, TOEFL or Pearson test
for international students).
Bachelors from other universities
Students holding a BSc in natural or medical science or the
equivalent can apply for the MSc in Systems biology. Merits
and qualifications of the applicants will be considered
individually based on the material submitted.
Students with a bachelor degree who seek admission to MSc
programs at DTU must demonstrate proficiency in English (B-level
for students from Nordic countries, IELTS, TOEFL or Pearson test
for international students).
Program Provisions, MSc Eng
In order to obtain the MSc degree in Systems
Biology students must fulfill the following requirements:
- Have passed General Competence Courses adding up to at least
30 points
- Have passed Technological Specialization Courses adding up to
at least 30 points
- Have performed a Master Thesis of at least 30 points within
Systems Biology
- Have passed a sufficient number of Elective Courses to bring
the total number of points of the entire study to
120
Courses
General Competence Courses
The following course is mandatory:
| 27041 | Systems Biology | 5 | point |
At least 5 points must be achieved from these courses:
| 23530 | Beer Brewing and Entrepreneurship Summer School | 5 | point |
| 27690 | Module 1: From idea to project plan in biotech and pharmaceutical research | 5 | point |
| 27692 | Module 3: Value creation in pharma- and biotechnology | 5 | point |
| 42435 | Knowledge based Entrepreneurship | 5 | point |
| 42490 | Technology, economics, management and organisation | 10 | point |
The remaining points (up till 30 points) must be achieved from
these courses:
| 23258 | General Medical Microbiology | 5 | point |
| 27104 | The Scientific Communication of Comparative Genomics | 10 | point |
| 27230 | Prokaryotic Cell Biology | 5 | point |
| 27430 | Eukaryotic Cell Biology and Disease | 5 | point |
| 27508 | Enzyme Discovery and Engineering | 5 | point |
The following will also count as general competence in the
innovation and entrepeneurship category. These should be taken as
special courses:
For students accepted at DTU prior to February 2013 course
no. 27041 is not mandatory and the course listed below also count
as General Competence Course:
| 27691 | Module 2: Pilot project 2011/2012 | 5 | point |
The courses listed below also count as General Competence
Courses for students accepted at DTU prior to September 2010:
| 27103 | Development and Research | 15 | point |
| 27230 | Prokaryotic Cell Biology | 5 | point |
The courses listed below also count as General Competence
Courses for students accepted at DTU prior to September 2009:
| 27101 | Framework Course in Biotechnology and Food Sciences | 10 | point |
| 27102 | Research and Development | 15 | point |
Technological Specialization Courses
| 02450 | Introduction to Machine Learning and Data Modeling | 5 | point |
| 27233 | Molecular genetics of industrial bacteria | 5 | point |
| 27405 | Metabolic Engineering and Functional Genomics | 10 | point |
| 27432 | Experimental Molecular Biology of Eukaryotes | 5 | point |
| 27612 | DNA Microarray Analysis | 5 | point |
| 27615 | Molecular Evolution | 5 | point |
| 27617 | Protein structure and computational biology | 5 | point |
| 27618 | Chemoinformatics in drug discovery | 5 | point |
| 27619 | Perl and Unix for Bioinformaticians | 10 | point |
| 27622 | Introduction to Bioinformatics - Turbo version | 5 | point |
| 27625 | Algorithms in bioinformatics | 5 | point |
| 27626 | Next-Generation-Sequence Analysis | 5 | point |
| 27685 | Immunological Bioinformatics | 5 | point |
The courses listed below also count as Technological
Specialization Courses for students accepted at DTU prior to
February 2013:
| 27301 | Advanced Biochemistry | 10 | point |
| 27321 | Immunology | 5 | point |
| 27411 | Biological data analysis and chemometrics | 5 | point |
| 27508 | Enzyme Discovery and Engineering | 5 | point |
The courses listed below also count as Technological
Specialization Courses for students accepted at DTU prior to
September 2012:
| 02409 | Multivariate Statistics | 5 | point |
| 02459 | Machine Learning for Signal Processing | 5 | point |
| 24102 | Development and production of vaccines | 5 | point |
| 26316 | Analysis and Chromatography | 10 | point |
| 27302 | Advanced Experimental Biochemistry | 5 | point |
| 27412 | Microbial Chemistry | 5 | point |
| 27416 | Fermentation processes (web based course) | 5 | point |
| 27623 | Algorithms in Bioinformatics | 10 | point |
The courses listed below also count as Technological
Specialization Courses for students accepted at DTU prior to
September 2011:
| 01625 | Nonlinear Dynamics in Engineering and Science | 5 | point |
The courses listed below also count as Technological
Specialization Courses for students accepted at DTU prior to
September 2010:
| 27232 | Experimental Molecular Biology of Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes | 5 | point |
| 27335 | Functionality of nutrients and food supplements in disease prevention and novel food development | 5 | point |
| 27621 | Prokaryotic Gene Discovery, Metagenomics and Pangenomics | 10 | point |
| 28855 | Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and quality in pharma, biotech and food industry | 5 | point |
The courses listed below also count as Technological
Specialization Courses for students accepted at DTU prior to
September 2009:
| 01449 | Advanced Nonlinear Dynamics | 7.5 | point |
| 27301 | Advanced Biochemistry | 10 | point |
| 27408 | Analytical metabolomics | 5 | point |
| 27414 | Fermentation processes | 5 | point |
| 27614 | Advanced Bioinformatics | 10 | point |
| 27725 | Global regulatory networks in microorganisms | 5 | point |
| 27961 | Biotechnological Processes | 5 | point |
Elective Courses
Elective Courses can be chosen among all courses offered by DTU
at the MSc level. It is also possible to take MSc level courses
at other universities. A list of the DTU courses most relevant
for the MSc in Systems Biology can be seen at the
Department for Systems Biology’s page on the
education.
Studying abroad
DTU recommends that students study one semester at a foreign
university if they have not been on an international exchange
before. Please contact International Affairs for further
information. The faculty staff may also be able to
assist. Deadlines for international exchange are listed
here
The head of studies may approve selected courses taken as part
of an approved International Exchange Program as substitutes for
required DTU courses.
Master Thesis
The Master Thesis is the final project of the course of study.
The Master Thesis must as a minimum equal 30 ECTS points but may
also be 32½ or 35 ECTS points. The Master Thesis combined with the
elective courses must total 60 ECTS points.
Up till september 2012 the thesis may be larger but no larger than
50 ECTS points. Please read Chapter 11 in the generel curriculum
program for more information.
Head of Studies
Anders Gorm Pedersen
Department of Systems
Biology
DTU Building 208, Room 017
DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Phone: (+45) 4525 2484
E-mail: gorm@cbs.dtu.dk