About the Master's program in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
Goals
Bioinformatics is an emerging and challenging discipline at the interface of Informatics (or Computer Science) and Life Sciences. Bioinformatics has been and still is a major trigger for the current developments in the fields of Bio-Engineering, Molecular Biology and Medicine.
The M.Sc. in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology is a two year bilingual programme. It aims to provide a deeper understanding of Bioinformatics' methods and to broaden the students' knowledge in the fields of Biology and Computer Science. Students attend lectures, seminars and lab courses in Biology, Computer Science and Bioinformatics, which they may select according to their background, language proficiency and their areas of interest.
Curriculum
The MSc. Programme in Bioinformatics aims at qualifying students for research and application in the field of bioinformatics. To achieve this aim, students need to build a sound basis in formal techniques of computer science. In addition to the expertise acquired during computer science studies the computer scientist working in the field of bioinformatics is expected to be very familiar with the issues raised in the context of biology. Besides conveying and deepening the students' knowledge in computer science and biology, the programme therefore aims at integrating and combining these two disciplines. Thus, the main pillar of the Master's Programme is the area of bioinformatics. Compulsory courses cover a broad range of sub-areas which are an integral part of bioinformatics. A variety of elective courses allow the students to select their individual focuses.
This is a selection of courses offered in the Master's program:
• Bioinformatics
• Genomic Bioinformatics
• RNA Bioinformatics
• Simplified protein models
• Bioinformatics and molecular biology
• Applied systems biology
• Theoretic systems biology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Architecture
• Theory of Algorithms
• Image Processing
• Machine Learning
• Molecular biology and genetics: genes and genomes
• Evolutionary biology / genetics
• Biochemistry
• Microbiology
• Cell biology
• Neurobiology and Biophysics
• Advanced genetics and molecular biology
• Advanced topics of evolutionary biology
About the Biology and the Computer Science Department
The MSc. Programme in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology is a joint-venture offered by the Biology and the Computer Science Department. The Biology department has its roots in the 1960s and has been repeatedly top-ranked for teaching and research by the renowned German Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE).
The Computer Science department is one of the youngest departments of the University of Freiburg. After a development phase of only 13 years, the CHE has ranked it as one of the fastest growing computer science research departments in Germany. It received top marks for teaching, technical equipment and success in attracting external funding.
It currently has 15 professors and approximately 110 research assistants working in a total of 17 research groups. They cover a broad spectrum of teaching and research topics which range from computer graphics to artificial intelligence, from algorithms to software technology, and from communication systems to applications in engineering and the life sciences. 600 students are enrolled in both, undergraduate and postgraduate programs at the Department of Computer Science.
About the University of Freiburg
In October 2007 the University of Freiburg was selected by the German government to become one out of 9 "excellence universities". This demonstrates its top position among German universities, also documented in nationwide rankings. Besides its excellence in research and teaching, the scholarly diversity is above all what attracts so many students to Freiburg`s Alma Mater. The University of Freiburg consists of 11 Faculties, which offer degree programmes in theology, mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, pharmacy, geo sciences, forestry, computer science and microsystems engineering. The university library holds more than two million volumes as well as multimedia facilities. All students have the opportunity to join the General University Sports Association, which offers 35 different kinds of sports.
With 30,000 students, Freiburg is clearly a college town. The relaxed and friendly atmosphere coupled with the large spectrum of cultural offerings has made Freiburg one of the most attractive destinations for students.
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