MSc in Biology

Students participate in intensive advanced and high-level courses in the different fields of biology, which are the most relevant for their specialization, to make them informed about the recent developments and frontline problems. Some 60 % of the time is practical hours (spent on laboratory/field practice and on research) ensuring knowledge of state of the art methods.

The curriculum is assembled from intensive advanced level courses on the theoretical aspects of selected disciplines and special seminar series on problems in a narrower field of science. The program also involves practical courses and a supervised research activity, which is needed for the preparation of the “M.Sc. Thesis”. In the first two semesters emphasis is on theory and basic laboratory or field practice. The third and the fourth semesters are devoted to research and preparation of the thesis.

The training medium is English so students can gain a better command of academic English in different fields of biology.

Strength of program

The Institute of Biology consists of 12 departments and so it gives one of the most differentiated education in our country. This also results in broadly-based sub-programs and generates knowledge which is interdisciplinary a bit.

Besides teaching, there is an international level research work at each department, which gives the possibility for students to learn the most important methods in different research fields of biology. During their thesis work, M.Sc. students join a research group preferably in a department of the University, but research groups in other universities or laboratories can also be chosen. Students have their own research project, which they work on under the supervision of a project leader. Project leaders usually also act as tutors, who are responsible for the progress of the students and for giving advice in assembling a personal curriculum for them.

During their studies, students can participate in different (university and country) level competitions where they can practice presentations of their research achievements in a conference setting.

Structure

Fundamentals to Science

• Bioinformatics I-II

Fundamentals to Biology

• General Ecology
• Molecular Cell Biology
• Genetics and Population Genetics

Essentials of Biology

• Evolutionary biology – Zoology
• Gene Technology and Protein Engineering I.
• Plant biology
• Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection
• Regulatory Biology – Physiology

Compulsory courses for the Neuroscience and Human Biology branch

• Human growth and development
• Experimental Methods in Physiology
• Human morphology I
• Human morphology II
• Neurophysiology I
• Neurophysiology II
• Neurochemistry
• Behavioral Physiology I
• Behavioral Physiology II

Optional courses for the Neuroscience and Human Biology branch - 20 ECTS

• Anthropogenetics
• Anthropology of the Carpathian Basin
• Applied human biology I
• Applied human biology II
• Behavioral Pharmacology
• Bioethics
• Biorhythms
• Cell Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases
• Data management and modeling in human biology
• Dermatoglyphics
• Electrophysiology
• Experimental Methods in neurobiology I.
• Experimental Methods in neurobiology II.
• Experimental stem cell biology
• Forensic Anthropology
• Human Ecology I
• Human ecology II
• Human Origin: Evolutional Theories and Human Adaptation
• In vitro Cell Technology
• Methodology for Studies of Paleoanthropological Inquiry
• Neuronal Cell Differentiation I
• Neuronal Cell Differentiation II
• Neuroanatomy I
• Neuroanatomy II
• Neuroendocrinology
• Neurotoxicology
• Paleopathology
• Pathophysiology I
• Pathophysiology II
• Pathophysiology III
• Pathophysiology IV
• Pharmacology
• Psychopharmacology
• Statistical Methods in Biology

Compulsory courses for the Molecular Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology branch

• Programmed Cell Death and Autophagocytosis
• Eukaryotic Gene Regulation
• Developmental and molecular genetics
• Developmental Biology
• Genetic Analysis
• Genomics
• Histological and cell biological methods
• Molecular genetics
• Prokaryotic Gene Regulation
• Tumor biology
• Epistemology

Optional courses for the Molecular Genetics, Cell and Developmental Biology branch - 19 ECTS

• Advanced Drosophila genetics
• Bacterial and (New) Phage Genetics
• Biological Membranes
• Cell Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases
• Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture in Biomedical Research
• Developmental biology II
• Developmental genetics
• Human Histology and Development I-II
• Immunocytochemistry
• Mammalian-Human Histo- and Organogenesis I-II
• Molecular evolution
• Receptors, Signal Transduction, Cell-cell Communication
• RNA interference
• Stem Cell Biology
• The Cytoskeleton of Eukaryotic Cells
• Transgenic Organisms: GMOs, Gene Therapy, Knockout, Live Imaging

Compulsory courses for the Molecular-, Immuno- and Microbiology branch

• Introduction to Systems Biology
• Protein Science
• Developmental and molecular genetics
• Inflectional Immunology
• Gene technology and protein engineering II
• Methods in Immunology I
• Immunopathology
• Trends in Microbiology
• Classical and Molecular Biological Methods in Microbiology
• Molecular Biology - Selected Topics

Optional courses for the Molecular-, Immuno- and Microbiology branch - 17 ECTS

• B-cell Ontogeny and the Humoral Immune Response
• Biological Membranes
• Biotechnology
• Classical and molecular bacterium taxonomy I
• Classical and molecular bacterium taxonomy II
• Environmental Microbiology Practice
• Enzymology
• From Birth to Pass Away, the Molecular Biology of Pattern Formation I
• From Birth to Pass Away, the Molecular Biology of Pattern Formation II
• Human Bacteriology
• Human Microbiology
• Human Virology
• Immunobiotechnology
• Medical Genomics
• Membrane Microdomains and Cell Communication in the Immune System
• Methods in Immunology II
• Microbial Ecology
• Microbiology in the Food Industry
• Microbiology of Environment Protection
• Microbiology of Plant Diseases I
• Molecular Graphics of Macromolecules
• Motor Proteins
• Mycology
• Parasitology
• Physical Analysis of Proteins
• Physical Biochemistry I
• Protistology
• Signal Transduction, Immune Receptors
• Structural Bioinformatics
• T-Cell Ontogeny and the Cellular Immune Response
• The Innate Immunity, Evolution of the Immune System
• Veterinary Bacteriology
• Veterinary Virology
• Algology

Compulsory courses for the Plant Biology branch

• Embryogenesis and differentiation in plants
• Microscopic Techniques
• Research Methods in Plant Physiology I
• Plant-Fungus Interactions
• Electron microscopic techniques of plants I
• Molecular plant biology I
• Physiology of fungi
• Plant stress biology
• Plant Transformation and Transgenic Plants
• Reproduction of Plants I
• Reproduction of Plants II
• Plant Molecular Biology II

Optional courses for the Plant Biology branch - 17 ECTS

• Actual Problems of Environmental Protection
• Applied mycology
• Biology of Crops
• Ecology of Fungi
• Ecophysiology of tropical forests
• Electron microscopic techniques of plants II
• Fluorescence Microscopic Techniques
• Gel electrophoresis and its Application in plant physiology
• Light Microscopic Microtechniques for Plant Materials
• Mechanism of Protein Biosynthesis
• Microscopic Photography
• Molecular biology of plant transport mechanisms
• Molecular Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Methods in Mycology
• PCR Techniques in Plant Molecular Biology I
• PCR Techniques in Plant Molecular Biology II
• Photosynthesis and its Evolution
• Phylogenetic Systematics of Fungi
• Physiology and Ecophysiology of Mycorrhizae
• Planning Experiments in Plant Molecular Biology
• Plant Cell and Tissue Culturing I
• Plant Cell and Tissue Culturing II
• Plant lipid metabolism
• Plant Pathology I
• Plant Pathology II
• Research Methods in Plant Physiology II
• Spectroscopy of Plant Materials
• Structure and function of plant RNAs
• Symbiosis
• Ultrastructure and Cytochemistry
• Writing Scientific Papers in English

Compulsory courses for the Ecology, Evolutionary, and Conservation Biology branch

• Major Evolutionary Transitions
• Introduction to Behavioural Ecology
• Biostatistics
• Evolutionary Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Design of Experiments
• Ecology Practical I
• Ecology Practical II

Optional courses for the Ecology, Evolutionary, and Conservation Biology branch - 21 ECTS

• Advanced Population Genetics
• An introduction to Biostatistics I
• An introduction to Biostatistics II
• Animal Collecting and Preparation
• Animal welfare
• Applied Ethology I
• Behavioral Ecology
• Botanical Garden Botany I
• Botanical Garden Botany II
• Bryology
• Coevolution
• Cognitive Ethology
• Ecological modeling I
• Effects of Habitat Fragmentation
• Ethology of the predatory behavior
• Evolution of Behavior
• Evolutionary Ecology of Reproduction Systems
• Evolutionary Game Theory
• Fauna of Hungary
• Field Methods in Plant Ecology and Coenology
• Fish Monitoring of Inland Waters
• Grassland Ecology
• Human Ecology I
• Human ecology II
• Human Ethology
• Human Origin: Evolutional Theories and Human Adaptation
• Human-Animal Interactions
• Hydrobiology
• Marine biology
• Mathematical Models in Biology
• Migration, Orientation, Navigation I
• Migration, Orientation, Navigation II
• Numerical Methods and Computer Simulation in Biology
• Physiological Plant Ecology
• Plant Strategies
• Plant Trait Databases
• Programming for Biologists
• Reproductive Strategies in Animals
• Significance and Use of Animal Venoms and Bioactive Products
• The Social Behaviour of Vertebrates I
• The Social Behaviour of Vertebrates II
• Theoretical Ecology Seminar
• Vegetation of Hungary

Optional courses

Diploma research work

Career opportunities

Biology M.Sc. program is intended for students who wish to pursue a research-oriented or teaching career in biology, for students who interested in carrying out distinguished scholarly activities: have original, creative and critical thinking and are able to develop a both theoretically and technically broadly based research knowledge in their selected fields of specialization or who want to gain competence in high/university-level teaching.

M.Sc. graduates will be able to participate creatively in research projects, to recognize and handle complex problems through a multi-sided approach in planning and performing experiments. The knowledge obtained in the M.Sc. program forms an excellent basis that is necessary for studies in a Ph.D. program.

Students having a diploma from the Biology Master of Science Program of Eötvös Loránd University will be competent researchers in any countries on wide fields of biology from basic to applied science, they can get a job as researchers in industrial firms, different research institutes or even in other universities. Diploma awarded by Eötvös Loránd University scores full marks worldwide.

Those who do not want a career as a researcher but are interested in more practice-oriented jobs can exploit their knowledge from this program, after some further training, in teaching, in managing technology development projects at industrial or agricultural firms, and in governmental organizations.

Job examples

• Researcher in basic or applied research institutes in different fields of biological discovery or development (from agriculture through environmental protection, health care, medical techniques, and applications, to drug development).
• University teacher of different fields of biology, college or high school teacher of biology.
• Company employees of agricultural firms (gene technology of organisms, pest control e.t.c.), of industrial firms (among others, gene technology products, environment protection, drug development), officials in governmental organizations (e.g. health care, environmental management, and protection).

Admission requirements

Entry requirements

BSc degree is required preferably in biology-related fields.

Language requirements

Transcript of test report of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or equivalent (e.g. TOFEL).

Documents to submit with the application

• Online application form
• Bachelor-level degree
• Transcript of records
• CV
• Motivation letter
• Letter of recommendation
• Copy of the main pages of the passport (needs to be valid)
• Passport photo
• Medical certificate
• Certificate of clean criminal records
• Copy of application fee transfer
• Language certificate

Application procedure

The application starts at the online application system. Students need to register in the system, fill in the online application form, upload the required documents and follow the instructions during the application process.