Studium Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Eine Frau schaut durch ein Mikroskop

Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology bachelor degree programme

Would you like to play a part in improving the quality of life of millions of patients around the world? The Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology bachelor programme will give you the opportunity to do just that.

Biotechnology is one of the world’s fastest growing research disciplines. There is an urgent need for experts, managers and researchers who are qualified to work in the industry. As a graduate, you will have the expertise to contribute to the development of groundbreaking innovations in the field.

The degree programme

The Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology bachelor degree is taught in English and comprises theoretical courses and extensive laboratory practicals that cover the fundamentals of natural sciences, biomedicine and the applicable technologies.

The main topics are

Medical biotechnology

Lectures and laboratory exercises on biochemical processes, cell and molecular biology, and genetic engineering – including the various analytical techniques – provide a solid knowledge base. You will also gain insights into human medicine and pharmaceutical science in order to acquire an understanding of the effects of medicines and their production.

Pharmaceutical biotechnology

This is an important part of the degree: courses on the theoretical principles and practical implementation of processes used in the biopharmaceutical industry. These cover aspects such as the design of biopharmaceutical production processes and the basics of planning the related production facilities.

In the lab-based courses, a model process set-up is used to illustrate important concepts.

Quality management

High quality in the medical and pharmaceutical industry is crucial for safety of drugs and biopharmaceuticals.  Accordingly, a thorough knowledge of quality management is essential.

Fundamentals of business

Besides acquiring fundamental scientific knowledge, you also focus on biotech entrepreneurship and drug regulatory affairs and prepare for working in an interdisciplinary environment.

Strong focus on practical work

Starting from the first semester you will intensively put into practice your theoretically acquired knowledge in the laboratory. This includes microbiology, biochemistry, genetic engineering, cell culture and working with bioreactors and enables you to conduct your own research project in the 5th semester internship. The results can be the basis of your bachelor thesis.

International opportunities

During the second year you can go for an exchange semester to one of our partner universities (Dublin, Linköping, Nijmegen, Vlissingen).

A particularly attractive option is the dual degree we offer together with the Turku University of Applied Sciences in Finland. Besides obtaining a bachelor of science at IMC Krems, you will also be accredited with completing the Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering programme at our partner institution.

Find out more about the reseach projects

Student Stories

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is an interdisciplinary subject encompassing aspects of medicine, chemistry, biology, physics and pharmacy. Findings from this broad discipline are exploited using integrative approaches.

In this way, they can be implemented to develop biological systems for the production of therapeutic molecules or antibodies for cancer treatments, for instance.

New treatment methods

Biotechnology has developed into a key technology for the future by providing innovative new active substances and diagnostic methods.

There is an increasing focus on stem cells and the cultivation of human tissue in medical biotechnology research. This generates new treatments for previously incurable diseases.

Medical and pharmaceutical technology is by its nature an extremely interdisciplinary field, with the natural sciences, biomedicine and technology playing an especially important role.

Studium Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Mann mit Pipette
Studium Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Mann und Frau mit Notizbuch
Studium Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Frau zeigt auf Landkarte

" Medical and pharmaceutical theory combined with extensive lab work: our graduates have a solid foundation on which to build when embarking on careers in biotechnology. They will play a part in tackling problems to which medicine cannot currently provide adequate solutions, and will have the chance to improve the quality of life of people all over the world. "

Programme director Harald Hundsberger

A formula for success: theoretical knowledge + practical experience

The programme is built on three pillars.

  1. 1

    1. The basics

    Semesters 1-4

    You will study a comprehensive range of medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology topics during your degree. Courses at the beginning of the programme cover the fundamentals of science, biomedicine, engineering and analysis in preparation for the more advanced subjects that comes later. The curriculum also includes quality management, business fundamentals, communication and interpersonal skills.

    You spend a lot of time in the lab right from the very start. You’re introduced to scientific procedures in small groups, which you put into practice straight away.

  2. 2

    2. The internship

    Semester 5

    The 22-week compulsory internship comes in semester 5. Over 50% of our Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology students complete their internship abroad at international companies, research institutes or universities.

    We provide you with support before and during your internship: you identify your strengths and evaluate your development potential in the course of one-to-one coaching from our internship coordinator, who then helps you to find a suitable internship place at a company in Austria or abroad.

    Looking to gain even more international experience? From 2020, students can spend semester 3 or 4 at a high-profile university such as the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland or Linköping University in Sweden.

  3. 3

    3. Electives

    Semester 6

    Towards the end of the programme you opt for one of two electives: the medical biotechnology specialism Production of Therapeutic Proteins or the pharmaceutical biotechnology specialism Drug Development Management.

    The goal of medical biotechnology is the replacement of damaged cells or organs, not with transplants or dialysis, but with naturally grown cells. Pharmaceutical biotechnology is concerned with manufacturing medical and pharmaceutical products and related operations. Antibiotics, which are produced with the help of microorganisms in large bioreactors, are examples of established biotechnology products.

Curriculum

What can you expect from your studies? The curriculum provides an overview.
​​​​​​​Click on the individual courses for further information.

  1. CourseSWSECTS
    Introduction to Laboratory
    Introduction to Laboratory Techniques 11
    Basics of Physics
    Applied Physics - Theory 23
    Applied Physics - Laboratory 34
    Basics of Chemistry
    Analytical Chemistry Laboratory 23
    Chemical Calculations 12
    General and Inorganic Chemistry 34
    Fundamentals in Mathematics
    Applied Mathematics
    Applied Mathematics - Theory 23
    Applied Mathematics - Exercise 11
    Introduction to Data Science I 11
    Human Medicine I
    Anatomy and Physiology 22
    Human Genetics 12
    Microbiology
    Applied Microbiology 12
    Microbiological Working Techniques Laboratory 22
  2. CourseSWSECTS
    Organic Chemistry
    Organic Chemistry - Theory 23
    Organic Chemistry - Laboratory 23
    Biostatistics and Data Analysis in Biotechnology
    Biostatistics 24
    Introduction Data Science II 12
    Biophysics
    Applied Biophysics 23
    Biophysics Laboratory 23
    Human Medicine II
    Human Diseases 11
    Immunology and Medical Microbiology 22
    Microbiology and Pharmaceutical Production Environment
    Microbiological Monitoring Laboratory 22
    Introduction to Contamination Control and Clean Room Training 11
    Molecular Biology of the Cell
    Cell Biology 23
    Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering - Theory 23
  3. CourseSWSECTS
    Laboratory Skills for Biotechnology
    Instrumental Analytics - Theory 12
    Instrumental Analytics - Laboratory 23
    Genetic Engineering Laboratory 23
    Theoretical and Practical Biochemistry
    Biochemistry - Theory 34
    Biochemistry - Laboratory 23
    Applied Bioinformatics
    Bioinformatics 23
    Medical Biology
    Cell Physiology and Medical Molecular Biology 23
    Cell Culture Techniques 11
    Cell Culture Laboratory I 23
    Fundamentals of Engineering
    Bioprocess Technology Theory I 11
    Measurement and Control Systems I 11
    Quality Management and GLP
    Introduction to Quality Management 11
    GLP/GMP - Theory 11
    Practical Training in Industry
    Practical Training Application and Preparation 11
  4. CourseSWSECTS
    Cell and Tissue Engineering
    Cell Culture Laboratory II 35
    Scientific Skills 23
    Pharmaceutical Production Processes
    Protein Purification and Bioprocess Technology
    Biochemical Analytics, Protein Purification 23
    Equipment and Production Design 23
    Bioprocess Technology Theory II 24
    Fermentation and Bioseparation Laboratory, Data Analysis 46
    Applied Quality Management
    GLP/GMP - Seminar 23
    Genetic Engineering Laboratory under GLP 23
  5. CourseSWSECTS
    Practical Training in Industry
    Practical Training Semester 025
    Scientific Methods and Tools
    Bachelor Paper and Bachelor Exam
    Bachelor Seminar I 15
  6. CourseSWSECTS
    Pharmaceutical Sciences
    Pharmacology 24
    Current Issues in Molecular Medicine 23
    Project Management
    Project Management in Life Sciences 23
    Elective Module 1: Production of Therapeutic Proteins
    Journal Club for Current Issues
    Journal Club for Current Issues 12
    Validation and Biomaterials
    Introduction to Validation 12
    Material Science and Biomaterials 12
    Recombinant Protein Technologies
    Measurement and Control Systems II 12
    Pharmaceutical Protein Production Systems 12
    Elective Module 2: Drug Development Management
    Journal Club for Current Issues
    Journal Club for Current Issues 12
    Management and Marketing
    Principles of Management and Marketing 23
    Biomedical Regulations
    Clinical Studies and GCP 13
    Drug Regulatory Affairs 12
    Scientific Methods and Tools
    Bachelor Paper and Bachelor Exam
    Bachelor Seminar II and Bachelor Paper 18
    Bachelor Exam 02

Key features

What makes our Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology programme so special? Here’s an overview.

The Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology bachelor programme is one of the world’s most comprehensive biotechnology degrees focused on red biotechnology, making it compatible with many biomedicine master programmes offered internationally.

Numerous research projects mean that the latest international research topics are frequently integrated into the curriculum, and work for bachelor and master papers is often part of research projects at our Institute for Biotechnology.

Studying and working abroad

Your English-language, industry-focused bachelor degree will lay the foundations for an international career. Half of the lectures and exercises are taught by experts with research or business experience. Many of them come from well-known universities, leading research institutes and research companies in Austria and 22 other countries.

Our university participates in numerous research partnerships with top universities such as Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Harvard University and the Garvan Institute in Sydney – as well as 3,000 other institutions across the world. The close relations we enjoy with our partners enable you to take advantage of many exchange opportunities and gain international experience.

Another highlight: the Institute for Biotechnology organises an annual scientific conference, which gives our students and alumni the chance to network with international speakers from research and industry.

More about the IMC Life Sciences Week

Lab work: practice makes perfect

As well as acquiring fundamental theoretical knowledge, one of the main objectives of our programme is to equip students with practical skills by including plenty of laboratory work. You do laboratory practicals from the first semester onwards. Importantly: all students are guaranteed a workspace in our state-of-the-art microbiology and molecular biology labs and our chemistry and physics labs.

You also develop a good command of standard research, analysis and production methods, as well as learning basic laboratory skills. Laboratory excises form part of the fundamentals of biology, analysis, biotechnology, bioprocess technology and quality management elements of the programme.

Your 22-week internship – an opportunity to gain first-hand insights into day-to-day research and working life – also gives you additional practical experience.

Excellent career prospects

When you graduate, you can look forward to outstanding job opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry and at technology companies, as well as at research institutes involved in stem cell, regenerative medicine, pharmaceutical development and bioprocess engineering research.

Your impressive skill set will encompass quality control and marketing, and the development, production and approval of biotechnologies for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The ideal preparation for the jobs of the future.

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Key skills

After graduating from this bachelor degree programme, you will have excellent practical skills in addition to solid professional and scientific abilities.

Working in biotechnology gives you the opportunity to tackle problems to which medicine has yet to find satisfactory solutions. The development of antibodies for use in arthritis therapy, and the new technologies for skin transplants and cartilage generation have dramatically improved the quality of life of millions of patients worldwide. And these are only the first outstanding successes of a discipline that is still in its youth.

On our bachelor programme, you develop specialist know-how in the field of medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology. You learn about the properties of technical and biological materials and their interactions, the fundamentals of electrical engineering, measurement technology in bioprocess technology, control technology, and plant engineering and process development for industry. This means you’re ideally placed to start work in industry or research.

Research plays an essential role in medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology. This is why we help you to develop academic skills that allow you to understand and successfully participate in research processes.

During the degree you develop a thorough knowledge of quality management, acquiring know-how in areas such as legal requirements in the pharmaceutical industry, best practice in clean room operations and clean room monitoring.

Medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology is a very interdisciplinary field. It incorporates insights from microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, engineering and process engineering.


An interdisciplinary mindset and the ability to work effectively with colleagues from different disciplines will be important parts of your day-to-day work, which is why the programme places such a strong emphasis on these aspects.

Career paths

After completing the Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology bachelor degree, you will have excellent career prospects thanks to a curriculum that is closely aligned to the needs of industry and research.

Graduates of the programme are in high demand because of their interdisciplinary training and unique skills profile.

After obtaining your bachelor, you have the choice of starting a career or enrolling for a full-time or part-time master degree. Our tip: the Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnologymaster degree is designed to dovetail seamlessly with our bachelor programme.

And, of course, there is the option of taking a related master degree at another Austrian or foreign university.

  • Potential entry-level positions
  • biotechnological production and biotechnology process development
  • routine biomedical laboratory work or applications-based laboratory research
  • quality assurance for processes and products
  • approval, marketing and sales of medical products
  • auditing and inspection of biotechnology products at regulatory and service organisations
10 good reasons

What makes us special? We are more than happy to tell you about the aspects of our university, which we are especially proud of.

Krems

Friendly and cosmopolitan: The city attracts students from all over the world, who come to study, research and work together.

Service centers

Our university has removed a host of administrative hurdles, leaving you free to concentrate fully on your studies.

Advisory Service

Do you have questions regarding our degree programmes or the application? Contact our Prospective Student Advisory Service.

Opinions: Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

Click through the videos of the degree programme.

Get to know our university of applied sciences from a new and very personal perspective.

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Information events

Our Team

Get to know the core team of our bachelor degree programme Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.

  • Prof.(FH) Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Harald Hundsberger | Head of Institute Biotechnology / Programme Director Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - IMC Fachhochschule Krems
    Prof.(FH) Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Harald Hundsberger
    Head of Institute Biotechnology / Programme Director Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

    Head of Institute Biotechnology / Programme Director Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

    Prof.(FH) Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Harald Hundsberger

    Core Competencies
    • Recombinant Protein Expression, Cell Culture Models, Peptide Engineering,
    • Instrument Development
  • DI (FH) Anita Koppensteiner
    Scientist Institute Applied Chemistry
  • Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Franz Herzog
    Endowed Professor/Head Mass Spectrometry / Institute Krems...
  • Mag. Dr. Peter Allacher
    Head of Operations / Institute Krems Bioanalytics
  • Prof.(FH) Priv. Doz. Mag. Dr. Andreas Eger
    Head of Research Institute Krems Bioanalytics / Professor Department...
  • Dr. techn. Dipl.-Ing. Sarita Paudel
    Senior Lecturer Institute Digitalisation and Informatics
  • Prof.(FH) Mag. Dr. Christoph Wiesner
    Professor (FH) Institute Biotechnology
  • Prof.(FH) DI Dominik Schild
    Professor (FH) Institute Biotechnology
  • Dipl.Biol. Maren Pflüger, PhD
    Scientist Institute Biotechnology
  • Prof.(FH) Mag. Dana Mezricky
    Professor (FH) Institute Biotechnology
  • Prof.(FH) Priv.Doz. Dr. Reinhard Klein
    Professor (FH) Institute Biotechnology
  • Prof.(FH) Dr. Christian Klein
    Professor (FH) Institute Biotechnology
  • Prof.(FH) DI Bernhard Klausgraber
    Professor (FH) Institute Biotechnology
  • Prof.(FH) Dr. Barbara Entler
    Professor (FH) Institute Biotechnology
  • Clemens Trost, MSc
    Scientist Institute Applied Chemistry / Laboratory technology
  • Dr.rer.nat Benjamin Neuditschko
    Postdoc / Institute Krems Bioanalytics

Application and admissions – the next steps

You've found a course that's a perfect fit? Great – you’ve already taken the most important step! We’ve put together an overview to guide you through the next steps.

What are the admission requirements for bachelor programmes?

To qualify for admission to a university of applied sciences bachelor degree programme, you must have an Austrian school-leaving certificate or an equivalent qualification.

Do you have a school-leaving certificate issued outside Austria?

We’ll check to make sure it’s equivalent to an Austrian certificate in accordance with section 4 of the University of Applied Sciences Studies Act (FHG) when you’ve sent us all the relevant documentation via our online application tool. If it is not an equivalent, you’ll receive information on the supplementary examinations you’ll need to pass. In a nutshell, you will have the option of completing a summer school and the necessary supplementary examinations at IMC Krems or look for an external provider. In that case, you might consider our cooperation partner, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria: It offers a one-year International Foundation Programme which provides you with all the necessary qualifications you need in order to start your studies in Krems.

What proof of your language skills is required for our English-language bachelor degree programme?

We’ll assess your English language proficiency at your interview, so there is no need to provide additional evidence of your English skills. 

Important​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​
Do you still need to complete your military or alternative service?  If you’re a male Austrian citizen, we strongly recommend completing your compulsory national service before beginning your studies. This will allow you to finish your degree with no interruptions and start your career without delay afterwards.

 

Application interview

We would like to get to know you as a person:
As part of the online application you will have to write a statement of motivation and a short essay on a topic relevant to the degree programme. Predefined questions about your motivations as well as the requirements and topics for your essay can be found in the online application. You choose one of the suggested topics, conduct research to broaden your knowledge, deal with the issues and bring your own point of view to the essay. Your answers are to be entered in the fields provided.

Your statement of motivation and your essay form the basis for your application interview. Every applicant has an opportunity to introduce themselves in a face-to-face discussion, usually with the degree programme director. In addition to the personal introduction and your motivation to study, the applicant and the interviewer discuss the topic selected and the arguments used in the essay, as well as the topic’s relevance for the degree programme.

The application interview is held in the language of instruction of the degree programme and can take place either online via Microsoft Teams or in presence.

After the application interview, your statement of motivation, the essay and your performance throughout the interview are assessed on the basis of the content-related remarks, the manner in which they express themselves and the arguments used.
 

Interview dates

There is usually a selection of dates to choose from, with quotas allocated for each date. You can select a preferred date and time slot for your admission interview during the online application process. In order to still benefit from the full selection of dates, we recommend that you submit your application in good time.

Get an overview of the dates for your programme.

Admission interview
15/06/202327/06/202305/07/202318/07/2023

After you have successfully completed your online application, your application will be checked for completeness and correctness. As soon as this process is completed, we will inform you by e-mail and confirm the date for your admission interview. We will send you the Microsoft Teams Meeting Link in a separate e-mail a few days before the application interview date.

Application deadline for EU nationals / Extended application deadline 15/04/2023 / 15/08/2023
Application deadline for non-EU nationals
Application for the next study year possible from 01/12/2023
15/04/2023
Please note that the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems reserves the right to close the extended application period at any time without prior notice. We therefore recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible.
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You've decided for one of our degree programmes? First of all: congratulations and thank you for choosing us! We’ll be happy to guide you step-by-step through your online application.

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