Bachelors programme in biology/molecular biology
Molecular biology Biology
This programme is given in Swedish. Therefore you can only apply for it if you studied upper secondary school in Sweden, Denmark (including the Faeroe Islands), Iceland or Norway. If you didn’t, you have to show that you have sufficient proficiency in the Swedish language by passing a language test. Read more about that at the bottom of this page.
A bachelor degree in biology from Uppsala University leads to many different possibilities. The bachelors programme offers a large variety of courses in close collaboration with current research.
Programme description
There are two kinds of bachelors programme in biology/molecularbiology; one for students who studied natural science in High School and one for students who didn’t study natural science in High school.
Below you can read about the programme for students who studied natural science in High school. The Bachelor programme in biology/molecular biology, including prep course is aimed at those who didn't study natural science in High school. A lot of the information below applies for both programmes. In short, the only thing that differs is the amount of specialised courses the third year.
The first two years (out of three) students will study basic courses in Swedish. However, much of the literature used is in English. These courses will provide students with good insight and knowledge into all the fields within biology. The contents of the courses will include cell biology, ecology, genetics, chemistry, physiology, as well as mathematics and statistics.
The third (final) year students will choose specialised courses depending on their field of interest (e.g. conservation biology or molecular biology). Most of these courses are taught in English, and to study these courses the students must show proof of mastering English at the Swedish level English 6. In addition, students will also do a independent project work of 15 credits, which correspond to half a semester.
The tuition fee for students who are not citizens of a country of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) country, or Switzerland is SEK 65000 per semester (= SEK 130000 per year; year 2022).
Programme content
More about the programme
Active teachers, broad competence and communication
All teachers at the programme are researchers with a lot of special competence. Since there are many teachers/researchers at Uppsala University this also allow us to offer a great range of different courses.
It is important that the students learn to work with scientific methods. The close contact with researchers will give the students a good insight into the current research. I addition, the education will provide the students with the knowledge and competence to solve problems, think critically and work in a scientific way.
The teaching consists of lectures, group exercises, laboratory practicals, seminars, excursions and study visits. Students will also be trained in oral and written communication. These kind of communication exercises are included in all the courses.
Interest driven with practical training
Some courses will require the students to work in the field. Uppsala University and IBG has mainly two field stations, which the students will come in cotact with throughout their education: Klubban Biological Station at Fiskebäckskil on the West Coast, and Erken Laboratory close to Lake Erken outside Norrtälje. Already in the first course of the programme, students will visit Klubban where they will get an introduction to the world of marine biology and their first training in how to work in a scientific way. This part is often very appreciated by the students!
At the end of the bachelors programme students will do independent projects. The students independently choose the subject for their project based on their interest. They then use their knowledge and their communicative skills in order to compile and analyse data from different sources of literature. In rare cases students may instead do a degree project c, which means that the students will gather data on their own and then analyse this data and compile and write a report.
Opportunities after completing the studies
The programme will give students a bachelor's degree. After graduation, students can either head out in the working life or continue to study an advanced master programme.
Biologists from Uppsala University have a broad field of work depending on their focus and interest. With a specialisation within ecology or evolutionary biology students may for example work with conservation and environment for county boards, the Environmental Protection Agency, environmental organisations, or companies within consultation. With a cellular or molecular specialisation, students may work with drug or microbiological analyses, particularly in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Biologists can also work as teachers and science journalists.
The bachelor's programme provide students with a broad knowledge which will allow them to continue to study many of the different master programmes available all around the world.
The bachelor's programme together with our own master's programmes also provides good opportunities for further research. Many of the students who complete their masters in Uppsala continue with postgraduate research.
Study programme in Swedish
Admission to The Swedish First Degree programmes (see below) requires written and oral fluency in Swedish. Information about specific requirements and how to show that you have got them can be found in Swedish on the Swedish University Admissions Site.
The Swedish First Degree programmes offered at the Biology Education Centre (IBG) are:
- Bachelor's Programme in Biology/Molecular biology (3 years, 180 credits)
- Bachelor's Programme in Environmental science (3 years, 180 credits)
- Master's Programme in Molecular Biotechnology Engineering (5 years, 300 credits)