Organismic and Molecular Biodiversity

Understanding and safeguarding biodiversity is one of the key challenges of our time. Thus, scientific and societal interest in biodiversity has been growing consistently, and novel methods in biodiversity science are continuously opening up new research avenues. However, the increased need for biodiversity research and monitoring is not matched by the availability of trained personnel. For this reason, the TU Dresden and Senckenberg offer a comprehensive Master’s programme that addresses both organismic and molecular aspects of biodiversity research. The inclusion of collection-based research as well as applied topics allow graduates to work in a variety of fields. Lectures are held at: Görlitz, Dresden and Zittau Compulsory core modules are: Systematics and Evolution of Plants, Fungi and Animals Applied Ecology Basic Molecular Approaches in Biodiversity Research Collecting and Analysing Biodiversity Data The programme is organised into three specialisations: The specialisation Species Diversity and Natural-History Collections offers courses on a uniquely broad range of taxa, covering their identification, ecology and treatment in natural-history collections. Teaching in museology, in particular in the communication of biodiversity topics, spans the bridge to society. The specialisation Evolution of Functional Biodiversity focusses on the structural diversity of organisms, including palaeontological aspects, to emphasise the evolutionary component. Possible applications in technology, architecture and design (bionics) are explored and again provide a link to society. The specialisation Molecular Biodiversity teaches how modern molecular and cytogenetic techniques can be used to trace the evolution, domestication and conservation of species. Courses address the effective design of molecular-biological experiments, as well as the generation and analysis of genetic, genomic and cytogenetic data. Additionally, courses can be chosen from a general elective area. PDF Download