Faculty of Biology and Chemistry (08)

The department offers a full spectrum of degrees across biology, chemistry, food chemistry, and materials science:

Bachelor's programmes (B.Sc., 6 semesters standard):
- B.Sc. Biology
- B.Sc. Chemistry
- B.Sc. Food Chemistry (Lebensmittelchemie)
- B.Sc. Advanced Materials

Master's programmes (M.Sc.):
- M.Sc. Biology
- M.Sc. Chemistry
- M.Sc. Food Chemistry
- M.Sc. Advanced Materials (English-taught option available)
- M.Sc. Sustainable Chemistry (English-taught, launched Winter 2024/25)
- M.Sc. Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (joint with Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen, THM)
- M.Sc. Global Change: Ecosystem Science and Policy (English-taught, joint with University College Dublin, UCD)

Teaching-oriented pathways are also available for future Biology and Chemistry teachers at secondary school levels (L2, L3, L5). The exclusive PreProChem programme allows top Chemistry Bachelor's students to transition directly into doctoral research without a separate Master's degree.

Studying here means joining a department shaped by one of science's great reformers — Justus Liebig — and benefiting from that living research tradition today.

• Double Degree opportunities in the M.Sc. Chemistry and M.Sc. Advanced Materials programmes through agreements with partner universities in Italy and Japan.
• The PreProChem fast-track programme offers high-achieving Chemistry Bachelor's students a direct path into doctoral studies — a rare elite route at German universities.
• Two fully English-taught Master's programmes — M.Sc. Sustainable Chemistry and M.Sc. Global Change: Ecosystem Science and Policy — open the department to international students without German language requirements.
• Research is backed by competitive third-party funding including ERC grants, DFG Emmy Noether fellowships, and DFG SFB/Transregio collaborative research centres, meaning Master's and doctoral students work alongside internationally recognised scientists.
• The Zentrum für Materialforschung (ZfM/LaMa), a joint centre with the Physics department, provides access to interdisciplinary materials research infrastructure including techniques such as SEM, XRD, and XPS.

Biology research is organised around three pillars: gene expression regulation (epigenetics, transcription, RNA biology, signal transduction), biodiversity loss and global change impacts on ecosystem services and UN SDGs, and metagenomics of microbial communities using culture-free bioinformatic analysis of large sequencing datasets. Funding highlights include ERC grants in gene expression, DFG Emmy Noether fellowships, a DFG SFB/Transregio project on chromatin interactions, and a BMBF-funded High-Performance Computing infrastructure.

Chemistry research focuses on organic catalysis, nanostructured materials, analytical methods for food and materials sciences, electrochemical concepts, and new battery materials and components. Additional active fields include novel enzyme discovery, biotechnological production of natural flavours and active compounds, Computational Chemistry, and Data Science. Collaborative projects span sustainable materials development, electrochemical energy storage, and food biotechnology.

Key institutes and centres:
- Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie
- Institut für Organische Chemie
- Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut
- Institut für Lebensmittelchemie & Lebensmittelbiotechnologie
- Zentrum für Materialforschung (ZfM/LaMa) — joint Chemistry/Physics interdisciplinary centre
- Interdisziplinäres Forschungszentrum

International research collaborations include the DAAD Excellence Centre for Marine Science "CEMarin" (German-Colombian) and the German-Israeli Battery School.

The department actively recruits international students through dedicated English-taught Master's programmes:
- M.Sc. Sustainable Chemistry (fully English, launched Winter 2024/25) — addresses resource efficiency, energy optimisation, and green chemical design.
- M.Sc. Global Change: Ecosystem Science and Policy (fully English) — run jointly with University College Dublin (UCD), combining ecosystem science with environmental policy.
- M.Sc. Advanced Materials — now available fully in English, covering functional materials for energy, mobility, and medical applications.

For M.Sc. Chemistry and M.Sc. Advanced Materials, Double Degree agreements with universities in Italy and Japan offer international students a pathway to two nationally recognised qualifications. The department's graduate training also has an explicit international dimension, illustrated by the DAAD-funded CEMarin excellence centre and the German-Israeli Battery School.

Most of the department's institutes are located on the Campus Natur- und Lebenswissenschaften at Heinrich-Buff-Ring in Gießen, with a small number of institutes situated in the central university district. The chemistry buildings at Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17 and 19 can be explored via a dedicated 360° virtual tour on the faculty website.

Gießen is a compact university city in central Hesse, approximately 60 km north of Frankfurt am Main. Frankfurt Airport (FRA) — one of Europe's largest international hubs — is reachable in under an hour by regional train, making Gießen highly accessible for international arrivals.

On-campus resources include the university's Botanischer Garten (Botanical Garden), student chemistry and biology laboratories, the Hermann-Hoffmann-Akademie for young researchers, and close institutional ties with the historic Liebig-Museum in central Gießen.

Graduates from this department enter a wide range of science-driven industries and research careers, shaped by the department's dual strength in fundamental science and applied innovation.

• Chemistry and materials graduates find roles in the battery and energy storage sector (electrochemical engineering, R&D), pharmaceutical and fine chemical industry (synthesis, process chemistry), food and flavour industry (biotechnology, analytics), and advanced materials manufacturing (semiconductors, coatings, functional polymers). The M.Sc. Advanced Materials specifically prepares students for applications in energy, mobility, and medical technology.
• Biology graduates move into genomics and bioinformatics (microbial community analysis, sequencing data pipelines), ecology and environmental consulting (ecosystem services, sustainability reporting aligned with UN SDGs), and molecular biology research in academic or industrial settings.
• The PreProChem programme and strong DFG/ERC-funded research environment provide a direct pipeline into academic research careers and doctoral programmes at leading European institutions.
• The joint M.Sc. Global Change: Ecosystem Science and Policy (with UCD) opens doors in international environmental policy, NGOs, and intergovernmental organisations.