• 1st-4th semester: basic section
  In the first two years, you will primarily learn fundamentals in important areas of biology (cell biology, developmental and molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry), mathematics (linear algebra, analysis, stochastics, bioinformatics algorithms) and physics (experimental physics, structural physics, optics). “Integrated” modules such as microscopy, genomics, structural biology, and metabolic networks offer you the opportunity to network your knowledge of biology, mathematics, and physics and apply it across disciplines.
• 5th-6th semester: Consolidation phase
  In the third year of study, you will choose two areas of specialization from the three main areas of the program (molecular biology, computational biology and biophysics). In these areas you will attend advanced lectures and practical courses and practice presenting scientific results in seminars.
• 6th semester: Bachelor thesis
  The bachelor thesis is normally written in the 6th semester in one of the specialization areas. In a period of 12 weeks you will work on your own small, scientific project and write a written paper about it. In addition, you will present your research results at the end to the members of your research group in the form of a small seminar presentation.

In the first four semesters of the ILS bachelor’s degree program, you will take equal parts of courses in biology, mathematics and physics. In addition to lectures, the modules usually include exercises or laboratory practicals in which you can immediately apply the knowledge you have acquired in practice. The focus is deliberately placed on the interdisciplinarity of the degree program. Thus, integrated modules have been designed especially for ILS, in which the content is taught jointly by lecturers from the different departments. In this way, topics such as optics and microscopy, bioinformatics/systems biology, biophysics and structural biology, and metabolic networks are taught across disciplines, preparing you for interdisciplinary work in the fields of structural biology, synthetic biology, cell biology, and the “…omic techniques” (genomic, proteomic, …).

The main areas of study are:

• Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Structural Biology, Crystallography.
• Genetics and genomics, “computational biology” and bioinformatics
• Biomathematical methods for modeling biological processes
• Structural physics, biophysics, imaging techniques, microscopy

• A broad interest in science, as ILS is very interdisciplinary.
• A soft spot for mathematics and physics. If you couldn’t do anything with it in school, studying will be difficult.
• Enthusiasm for biological issues.

As a graduate of Integrated Life Sciences, many opportunities open up to you:

• Interdisciplinary fields of work in research and development in industry and in research institutions (microscopy, modern high-throughput techniques in biology, such as genome analyses, biophysical analysis of macromolecules (e.g., proteins)
• Pharmaceutical industry
• Biotechnology
• University teaching
• Management consulting

• For the biology and chemistry courses, a lab coat is required from the 2nd semester.
• Even though it says “Biology” on it: collecting bugs and identifying flowers does not exist in ILS! The basic biological education includes cell biology, molecular biology & genomics, biochemistry & physiology, cell-cell communication, signal processing & development.
• Examinations in the Bachelor’s program are taken during the course of study for the respective modules. The examination periods are normally always at the beginning and end of the lecture-free period.
• The course of studies is very demanding due to the high technical breadth; a lot is demanded of you. Programming should not deter you either, as computers are an important tool.
• Biology, mathematics and physics are equally represented in the degree program – i.e. you have to deal with three subjects and cannot neglect any of them.