Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology

Introduction

Objectives and competences

Objectives

• To become professionals with a profile that meets the demands of biotechnology companies, as well as to access a wide variety of postgraduate studies in the area.
• To acquire skills in the applications of biotechnology to the sustainability of production systems, waste treatment and environmental decontamination.
• To develop an entrepreneurial spirit by training in the basics of biotechnology project management (R&D), marketing of biotechnological products and services, and in the legal aspects.
• To acquire training and skills in biotechnology research (frontier technologies and strategies) and their transfer.
• To learn to ensure safety in laboratory work and to show an understanding of ethics and bioethics as they relate to biochemistry.

Competences

General competences

• Capacity for learning and responsibility (capacity for analysis and synthesis, to adopt global perspectives and to apply knowledge in practice, and capacity to take decisions and adapt to new situations).
• Ability to work in a team (capacity to collaborate with others and contribute to a common project, and capacity to work in cross-disciplinary and multicultural teams).
• Creative and entrepreneurial skills (capacity to conceive, design and manage projects, and capacity to research and integrate new knowledge and approaches).
• Concern for sustainability (capacity to assess the social and environmental impact of actions taken in a particular setting, and capacity to adopt integrated and systemic approaches).
• Communication skills (capacity to understand and produce spoken and written Catalan, Spanish and a third language, including the comprehension and use of specialized terminology, and capacity to research and integrate information in these languages).
• Commitment to ethical practice (critical and self-critical capabilities, and capacity to demonstrate attitudes consistent with accepted notions of ethical practice).
• Capacity to work safely in a laboratory environment.

Specific competences

• Understanding of the concept of life and its physical and chemical principles.
• Capacity to study organisms at the cell and molecular levels in order to understand life processes.
• Capacity to understand and explain the underlying chemical principles of biochemical reactions and techniques.
• Understanding of the inheritance mechanisms and the genetic bases of biodiversity.
• Ability to describe the molecular, cellular and tissue structure and functions of living beings and the regulation and integration of functions in organisms.
• Knowledge of the applications of biological systems to human activities.
• Ability to handle, analyse and characterize biological samples, including human samples.
• Ability to isolate, analyse, identify and quantify biomolecules and evaluate metabolic activity.
• Ability to prepare cell, tissue and microorganism cultures.
• Ability to prepare bioessays and functional tests and to determine vital parameters.
• Ability to carry out animal and plant production and improvement studies.
• Ability to obtain, handle, analyse, integrate and communicate biological information from bibliographic sources and databases.
• Ability to obtain information, design experiments and interpret experimental results.
• Ability to implement, manage and report on processes, services and projects related to biology in a range of economic and service sectors.
• Knowledge of the structures and processes that make up prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
• Knowledge of the types and organizational levels of living beings.
• Ability to design, interpret and safely carry out laboratory studies in the field of biotechnology.
• Ability to combine disciplines such as genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, physiology and cell biology with technical disciplines such as chemical engineering, information technology or robotics in the development of biotechnological products and bioprocesses.
• Ability to identify the role of biotechnology in the sustainability of resources and the circular economy.
• Ability to research and interpret databases of biological and chemical data, compare data on integrated biological systems ('omic' disciplines), and understand the main concepts of bioinformatics.
• Knowledge of basic mathematics and statistics tools for their application in the analysis of data from biotechnological studies and in the design and modeling of processes.
• Ability to define new markets and opportunities for industrial businesses through biotechnological processes and products.
• Capacity to understand the ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of professional practice in the field.

Access and admission

Applicant profile and access requirements

Recommended applicant profile

Successfully completed school-leaver studies in the fields of science and technology, especially biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics.
English language skills.

Access requirements and conditions

Admission for students with studies completed outside Spain.

Applicants holding higher educational qualifications from a university outside Spain should consult the page Admission with foreign qualifications to find out about specific admission requirements.
 

Pre-enrolment

Students that have studied abroad and who wish to study at the University of Barcelona may be admitted to EHEA bachelor's degree courses. Procedures for gaining admission will depend on the qualifications held by each applicant.

For further information about admission, consult the page Admission with foreign qualifications.
 

Enrolment

As a general rule, at the UB you will be required to enrol online via the Món UB portal. To find out the date and time you have been assigned, check the specific information for your course. Remember that you can lose your place if you do not enrol on the day you have been assigned.

Academic information

• Documents required for enrolment
• Procedure to formalize enrolment
• After enrolment
• Grants and financial aid

Schedules

• Academic year 2024-2025

Welcome

Support and guidance

Pre-enrolment information and events

• Welcome portal
• Student Support Service (SAE)
• Open days
• Informative sessions

Course curriculum

Subjects and course plans

Distribution of credits

List of subjects

Pathways and specializations

Previous years

• Course plans 2023 - 2024
• Course plans 2022 - 2023
• Course plans 2021 - 2022

Teaching staff

Placements

• Regulations on external placements
• FeinaUB

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

• Industrial research, including the pharmaceutical, biomedical and veterinary sectors.
• Research in new biotechnology-based processes.
• Production of biological materials including enzymes, antibodies, protein engineering, antibiotics and vitamins.
• The chemical industry, including chemical engineering-based processes and sustainable processes.
• The food industry, including food production and the study of food conservation and processing.
• The agriculture industry and exploitation of agricultural resources.
• Optimitzation of biotechnology-based processes in private sector companies.
• The biotechnology industry, materials manufacture and nanobiotechnology.
• Primary production, including animal husbandry, cultivation, aquaculture, biomedicine and molecular therapy.
• Environmental business networks, including bioremediation, pest control and environmental consultancy.
• Plant identification pedigree analysis using map-based molecular markers.
• R&D management, patents and independent private sector business.

Contact us

Diagonal, 643 - 08028 Barcelona