Program information

Overview

The EEC program broadly consists of

3 focus subjects, which can be chosen among 7+2 possible topics
3 compulsory soft skill modules
And the MSc thesis

An overview of a typical sequence of the modules can be found below. For details about the modules, see the boxes as well as the linked course catalogue

Fokus subjects

A focus subject consists of a theoretical and a practical module. Theoretical modules consist of lectures, a seminar, and an oral exam. Practical modules are essentially lab internships. As focus subjects, you can elect

Ecology
Biodiversity
Evolutionary and systematic botany
Theoretical ecology
Molecular ecology and evolutionary biology
Animal ecology and evolution
Conservation ecology and genetics
Microbiology
Bioinformatics

Compulsory Module "Ethics, Law and Communication Skills"

For this module, choose courses from 2 of the following 4 areas. When in doubt about whether courses are eligible, please contact Prof. Christoph Reisch, who is responsible for the module.

1) Science and philosophy

A lecture or seminar from the areas of (science)philosophy or ethics.

2) Environmental law

For example VHB Kurs "Biodiversitätsfördernde Maßnahmen" or an introductory lecture in public law.

3) Language skills

You can take any language course offered by the UR (e.g. the courses by the SHK here) or any other language course (e.g. VHS or private language school with a certificate) with a duration of at least 2 SWS

4) Soft Skills

Any courses in the following areas:

Any presentation, rhetoric or scientific writing courses, see e.g. courses offered by the ZSK
Job skills (application training or career events)
IT courses, see e.g. here

Compulsory module "Internship"

An internship of at least six weeks, organized by the student, in an institution or company with potential jobs for biologists. E.g. planning offices, authorities, biological collections, zoos, national parks, botanical gardens, museums, associations or scientific institutes. Positions at the University of Regensburg or other universities in Germany will not be recognized. Only in exceptional cases and after consultation with the chair of the examination committee is it possible to do the internship at the university. The internship can take place in Germany or abroad.

Contact person: Prof. Erhard Strom

Compulsory module "Research Skills"

A compulsory 3-week block course in research methods that is offered once per year. It is recommended to take this course in your first year. The date will be announced in the course catalogue.

MSc Thesis

Broadly, the same rules for the thesis apply as for the MSc biology, with the addition that you would typically search for a supervisor within the groups that contribute to the EEC programme (this, however, is not a requirement). External MSc thesis are also possible and encouraged.

Study and examination regulations

The examination regulations for the program can be found here.

Because of legal / administrative reasons, all regulations are in German. For translation, you can use, for example, the DeepL German-English translation.

Course catalogue

You can find the course catalogue for the EEC program here.

Differences between the MSc EEC and the MSc Biology program

The MSc EEC program is very similar in structure to the MSc Biology program at the University of Regensburg. Thus, in principle, it's easy to switch between the two programs.

The main difference is that a) for the EEC program, you can only take focus subjects with relevance to the EEC field (see examination regulations), and b) the EEC program has slightly different soft skills modules than the EEC.

If you want to change from the MSc Biology to the MSc EEC, you need to apply for the EEC, following the normal application procedure. Expect that:

All focus subjects from the MSc Biology that you have already started or completed that are also included in the MSc EEC can be transferred
The Research Skills module can be transferred
Possibly, some courses from the MSc Biology job skills module can be transferred to the MSc EEC Ethics, law and communication
You will definitely have to do the MSc EEC Internship module, which is not included in the MSc Biology.