Master's in Bioscience Engineering: Cell and Gene Biotechnology

Ghent University is a public university in Ghent, Belgium. It was founded in 1817 and is one of the largest universities in Belgium. The university has over 40,000 students and 6,000 staff members. It offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in the fields of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, medicine, and engineering. Ghent University is ranked #121-130 in the QS World University Rankings 2024. It is also a member of the League of European Research Universities and the Coimbra Group.

The basis of the programme is driven by acquiring in-depth fundamental and practical knowledge regarding the biological, biochemical and molecular aspects of humans, animals, plants and microorganisms, including their applications to solve complex problems. This is further complemented by technological, process and engineering-oriented courses, which enable (industrial) upscaling (e.g. through cell and tissue cultures, bioreactors or mass cultivation) and subsequently harvesting, purification and formulation into economically viable products, taking into account ecological and ethical aspects. To this end, also management skills are imparted. Based on biological data sciences a quantitative approach to the fundamental and technological aspects of the training is central. Thanks to the solid and multidisciplinary training, every bioscience engineer in cell and gene biotechnology will, upon graduation, be proficient in the biotechnology and bioscience engineering of animals, plants, the human body and micro-organisms to solve scientific and societal challenges in multidisciplinary teams. The explosive growth of biotechnology has on the one hand resulted in a high variety of employment possibilities in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, agricultural and food and feed sectors, and to an increasing demand for specialized academics on the other. Our study programme addresses this need by giving future bioengineers with a specialization in cell and gene biotechnology a three-year broad basic training (Bachelor), complemented with a specialization by means of an elective major (Master) Each major consists of a fixed set of electives in a specific discipline: Biomedical biotechnology Plant biotechnology Industrial biotechnology Computational biology The Faculty of Bioscience Engineering is highly international. As such it is a hub for coming into contact with students and cultures from all over the world. Additionally, there are several ways to gain experience abroad: you can e.g. participate in an exchange programme during the Master’s programme. A work placement abroad is also one of the possibilities. In addition, you can go abroad for a period of time as part of your Master’s dissertation.