Master in Comparative Biomedicine

What you study

The Master's Programme in Comparative Biomedicine is taught entirely in English and focuses on two areas of molecular medicine research: Tumour Signalling Pathways and Infection Biomedicine. You learn biomedical analytics, biotechnology and bioinformatics alongside molecular biology, biomedicine and biomodels. The first year covers virology, bacteriology, parasitology, immunology and pathology, plus bioinformatics and electives. In the second year you continue with biomedicine and molecular biology, add technology training, bioinformatics and biomedical economy, and choose more electives. The programme is research-based: you are expected to think and work independently, and the final master's thesis (one semester) asks you to formulate a question with a leading researcher, present the current state of knowledge, choose methods and carry out the measurements and laboratory work yourself.

How the programme is organised

This is a 120 ECTS master's degree over four semesters. There are 15 places, allocated through a selective admissions process each winter semester. The small cohort means close interaction with faculty. An eight-week practical training period is part of the second year. Around 90 percent of students gain experience abroad, either as interns or while doing their thesis work, and the student body comes from diverse cultures and countries. The programme prepares graduates for international PhD programmes, and the page names Cambridge and London (UK), Zurich (CH) and IMP+IMBA (Austria) as examples.

Who it suits

The programme is suitable for both veterinarians and general practitioners. If you want a research career in molecular medicine and are ready to work independently in a lab, this fits. The limited number of places suits students who prefer personal attention over large lectures. You should be comfortable with English, since that is the language of instruction.

Admission, language and next steps

Admission is through a selective procedure; details and current information are on the programme's admission page. The language of instruction is English. There is no central application portal: you apply directly to the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, and its own page gives the application period. As a public university, EU/EEA and Swiss students pay no tuition within the standard duration plus two semesters; other students pay a fee per semester. Check the institution's page for the exact application steps and deadlines.

The interdisciplinary degree programme focuses on infectious diseases and tumours, which pose great challenges to our healthcare system, not least in view of the impending consequences of demographic change. The study programme has been designed according to the latest research findings to train urgently needed specialists for these challenges. The aim is to train students both in diagnosis, research of diseases, development of new active ingredients, management of diseases and in the use of innovative therapies. The degree programme provides an understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms causing these diseases and involves the use and development of model organisms to understand the course of complex biological interactions.

There is no central application portal in Austria: you apply to the institution, here University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. A public university sets the admission requirements and dates for this level, so read them on the programme page. Entrance examination, as the register states it: Admission procedure. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, the student residence permit and housing.