Molecular and Applied Biotechnology, B.Sc.
Anyone, who enjoys yogurt or a good beer, knows what microorganisms can achieve. The smallest living organisms have been used for centuries to produce foodstuffs. One of the tasks of biotechnology is to turn them into more efficient microbial factories in the future.
The metabolism of microorganisms, for example, is increasingly used to acquire energy from biomass or in the production of tailor-made enzymes or other molecules. On the other hand, targeted disruption of the cell metabolism or the suppresion of propagation can contribute to successfully fighting dangerous microorganisms.
As the interface of biology, chemistry, bioinformatics, and chemical engineering, biotechnology offers an interdisciplinary research platform, which makes microorganisms predictable and able to be used in a controlled matter for certain purposes. The skills that budding biotechnologists acquire at RWTH are likewise diverse. The spectrum ranges from microbiology to genetics to biochemical engineering.
Programme facts
| Degree | Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) |
|---|---|
| Duration | 6 semesters, 180 ECTS |
| Language of instruction | German |
| Required German | C1 |
| Study mode | Full-Time |
| Start | Winter semester |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 15.07 |
| Admission | Admission restriction (NC): a competition of school grades |
| Tuition fee | €0 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €375.19 per semester |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
The programme has an admission restriction: the average grade of your certificate, converted to the German scale, decides. The cut-off changes every year — last year's value shows the order of magnitude, not a promise.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →What you study
The course offers many institute internships and first-class laboratory training. External internships or theses in companies or at cooperating research institutions, for example the Fraunhofer Institutes and the Research Center Jülich, provide important application experience
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
Interest in biotech-products remains uninterrupted and will only grow in the future. As an application-oriented science, biotechnology offers diverse entry-level opportunities for graduates.
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The first option is, of course, scientific research. However, the industrial application of biotechnological processes offers a breadth of fields of activitiy.
In the medical and pharmaceutical industry biotechnologists support the development of medications, vaccines, and diagnostic methods. Many biotechnological service providers work in agriculture. They are devoted to the optimization of fodder or breeding stress-resistant crops. In the energy sector the trend is moving towards the more sustainable use of existing resources. Here, specialists are needed for energy production from biomass. Last but not least, the chemical industry is interested in biotechnological expertise as biocatalytic processes are increasingly being implemented.
Cost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (North Rhine-Westphalia), international students | €0 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €375.19 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | In addition to a great interest in biological questions, students should have basic skills in mathematics, physics, and chemistry or at least the readiness to quickly acquire these skills, which are urgently needed. |
|---|---|
| Language | German C1 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 15.07 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2German up to C1 and a certificateDSH or TestDaF has to be passed before you apply.
- 3Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 4Application directly to the university until 15.07Send the documents well before the deadline — an incomplete application cannot be completed after it.
- 5Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
If your level is not enough yet
The two most common stoppers are a language level below the requirement and a certificate without direct admission. Both can be solved, but they take months — plan them now, not after a rejection.
Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
What language level do I need?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 15.07.2027 (274 days left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.