Master of Science [M.S] [Biodiversity] From University of Duisburg-Essen

Biodiversity is a broad, interdisciplinary research field that has experienced a strong boom in recent years.Modern research has to consider biodiversity at different levels: at the level of genetic diversity within species, which results in an adaptive potential to change, at the level of species diversity and the interaction of species, and at the level of structural and functional diversity of ecosystems and the Ecosystem services. In addition, the repercussions on people are socio-politically relevant and must be anchored in the curriculum as well as the protection of biodiversity as one of the global core tasks of the future. For skills development and practical training, an understanding of the economic value of biodiversity is just as essential as interdisciplinary knowledge of social institutions, authorities and the economy.

Graduates of the Biodiversity Master’s degree specializing in research-oriented areas in molecular and organismic sub-areas of biodiversity. They are able to systematically present complex relationships between the different organizational levels of biodiversity and to place them in the context of existing research results. Students have deepened knowledge of the systematics, taxonomy and phylogeny of organisms as well as their function and distribution in natural habitats. They have expanded their methodological knowledge to modern, specialized methods and can apply them in the laboratory and in the field. Multidisciplinarity and the expansion of key competencies as well as competencies in the area of ​​"soft skills" are part of the curriculum. Students have an overview of the current state of research in special sub-areas of biodiversity research and can evaluate results critically and objectively. They place these in the historical context and gain knowledge about the principles and mechanisms of biology. Graduates of the Biodiversity master’s degree can record contributions to the scientific discussion of socially relevant issues, assess them objectively and ethically and justify the individual and societal relevance of research projects. Students can develop questions independently, plan, carry out and evaluate research projects, place them in a bioscientific context and present them to the addressees in oral and written form.