Decisions and guidelines

The program is established by the faculty of medicine, following decision by the vice chancellor at Uppsala University

The program must fulfil the general goals for advanced university education stipulated in the Higher Education Act.

The programme is provided in English.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. The main field of study must be in biomedicine, medicine, pharmacy, biology, or a similar field of study that gives relevant knowledge in cell and molecular biology, chemistry and biochemistry, pharmacology, physiology and neurobiology.

Also required is knowledge and practical experience of laboratory experiments in life sciences.

Language requirements

Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6. This requirement can be met either by achieving the required score on an internationally recognised test, or by previous upper secondary or university studies in some countries. Detailed instructions on how to provide evidence of your English proficiency are available at universityadmissions.se.

Aims

The theme of the programme is "From the ailing body and the ailing brain to the discovery and development of new drugs".

The Master programme offers courses giving in-depth knowledge in medical cell and molecylar biology, physiology and neurobiology as well as how normal and pathological processes are regulated in the development of major diseases. The students are given skills to use bioinformatic tools to identify drug targets.

The programme aims to prepare the students for independent work within research, development, production, control, project management or information within medical or biomedical sectors. It also is a good option for students who want to go into academic research and do a PhD. The students will get methodological skills and an in-depth knowledge of the subjects, as well as an ability for independent critical thinking.

Learning outcomes

In order to obtain the degree of Master in Biomedicine, a student should have deep and broad theoretical knowledge within the field of study. The student should also possess advanced knowledge and practical experience of relevant experimental techniques. With this knowledge, the student will be able to:

• indepently perform complex scientific investigations and use results from different areas to find solutions to complicated problems, even in the absence of full background information. To do this, the student has to have in-depth knowledge, see the limits of this knowledge and have a great ability to independently perform empirical investigations.
• critically and correctly summarize the level of knowledge in biomedicine and related fields when it comes to methods, results and applications. The student must therefore possess a considerable level of theoretical knowledge, be well acquainted with literature and data bases, be able to judge results from different research traditions and formulate their conclusions.
• have developed the ability to continue their training. The student should have an extensive experience with group work and be able to lead a groups' work.
• have reached a considerable intellectual maturity and education, as well as a good overview of how their own knowledge and skills, together with research and applications of scientific results, could be used to solve different societal challenges.

Layout of the programme

The courses are given at the advanced level. They are a continuation of studies at the Bachelor level and will provide a broader and deeper understanding of the field of study. The students are further expected to work independently and take responsibilty for their own learning process.

The main part of the first year consists of mandatory courses. The first semester gives a progression in pathology and the molecular mechanisms behind our major diseases, as well as in-depth knowledge of neurobiology concerning cognition, behaviour and clinical neurobiology regarding the diseases of the brain.

The second semester applies this knowledge in regard to possible new treatment options for these diseases, with a focus on current research with the aim to identify new targets for pharmacological treatments. Laboratory and bioinformatical techniques of use in research and life science industry are central themes. The focus is on research oriented questions that can be used within a subsequent PhD or work in life science or clinical trials. It is also possible to gain indepth knowledge in immunology through a 15 credit eligible course. It is possible to finish the programme after the first year with a one-year Master degree, in which case some of the courses in the second semester are exchange for a thesis. This is often followed by post graduate studies.

During the second year, the students usually gain deeper knowledge in their main field of study by further specialization and a thesis of 30 or 45 credits. It is possible to study a 30 credit course in Clinical Drug development or gain more research experience by either a laboratory project within the programme or by applying to the second year of the Master programme in Medical Research. Other alternatives are the school of Entrepreneurship or courses within any of the other Master programmes at Uppsala university.

The fourth semester consists of an independent thesis at an academic department, a government or within the life science industry.

Instruction

The teaching consists of lectures, seminars, laboratory practicals, group work and projects.

Degree

The programme leads to a Degree of Master of Medical Science (Two Years) with Biomedicine as the main field of study.