Biosciences

Have you ever heard of Nanoarchaeum equitans, a tiny archaeon riding a fire sphere? It is a tiny species of bacteria. In fact, it is one of the smallest living organisms on earth. And it pales in comparison to Armillaria ostoyae, a giant mushroom that covers an area of approx. 9 km² in a national park in Oregon – that’s around 1,200 football pitches. Gigantic, right?

These are just some of the peculiarities covered in biology, which essentially deals with everything that lives on our planet. If you study ‘Biosciences’, you will take a closer look at living things and their interactions with the environment – with a special focus on social relevance. After all, biological aspects are becoming increasingly important in tackling the great issues facing society, which is why more and more specialist knowledge is needed in many non-scientific areas. For example, you have the option of combining Biosciences with subjects such as Educational Science, Philosophy or Sports Science.

If you take ‘Biosciences’ as a minor subject, you will mainly learn the basic theoretical principles taught in various branches of modern life sciences. You will set your own focus in terms of content – and there is a wide range of modules to choose from, including Zoology, Botany, Ecology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, as well as Nutritional Sciences, Human Biology, Pharmacy and Genetics / Bioinformatics.

• Rare combinations: The University of Jena offers students majoring in non-scientific subjects the rare opportunity to choose Biosciences as a minor subject. This means that a humanities subject or social science can be combined with a natural science subject.
• Excellent research: The research conducted at the Faculty of Biological Sciences is focused around three main areas in which the University of Jena has made significant contributions over the years: microbial communication; biodiversity and evolution; and the regulation of age-associated processes.
• Close cooperation: You can benefit from our ties to internationally renowned research institutions based in Jena, such as the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Hans Knöll InstituteExternal link), the Leibniz Institute on Aging (Fritz Lipmann InstituteExternal link), the Max Planck Institute of GeoanthropologyExternal link, the Max Planck Institute for BiogeochemistryExternal link and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical OncologyExternal link.
• A world of possibilities: Experience our international flair! Our University appeals to students and researchers from all over the world and helps to shape Jena’s character as a cosmopolitan city that is fit for the future – it’s the perfect place for international studentsmp4, 57 mb · de.
• Adventures abroad: You can easily realize your dream of spending a semester abroad de. We have a global network of partner universities.

Career opportunities:

Your career opportunities will mainly depend on the major subject you choose. Here are some examples:

• Scientific journalism
• Public relations / publishing
• Science and natural history museums
• Environmental education
• Government agencies and environmental protection institutions

• An interest in scientific topics
• Good knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics 
• Basic computer skills
• Independent learning and organizational skills
• A good command of English as the academic lingua franca